Shivanee Ramlochan
Shivanee Ramlochan’s first book of poems, Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting (Peepal Tree Press, 2017) was a finalist for the 2018 People’s Choice T&T Book of the Year, and shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Shivanee was shortlisted for the 2018 Bridport Prize for Poetry. “The Red Thread Cycle”, from her debut collection, won a Small Axe Literary Competition Prize for Poetry, and was on audiovisual display at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. Find her work online at www.novelniche.net, shivaneeramlochan.com, @novelniche
Suzette Cadiz
Suzette Cadiz has been an educator for 38 years. She opened and operated a Montessori school in the 1970s after graduating from the Association Montessori Internationale London, and then went on to teach for over two decades at a primary school. In 2010, she co-founded Let’s Read, and continues to advocate for increased literacy throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
The Wilson Siblings
The Wilson Siblings is a group of musicians and vocalists. Kaeija, 17, is the lead female vocalist of the National Parang Association Secondary School competition 2025 winners, Bishop Anstey and QRC Combined Parang Group. Kacique Wilson, 14, is the guitarist for Bishop Anstey and QRC Combined Parang Group, and also this year’s 4th place winner at the TUCO Junior Calypso Monarch competition. Kaelique, 8, is the reigning St. Patrick Newtown Boys RC Junior Calypso Monarch 2026. All are accomplished musicians on multiple instrument disciplines including pan, saxophone, guitar, piano and maracas respectively.
V. Ramsamooj Gosine
V. Ramsamooj Gosine was educated at Corinth Teachers’ College and UWI, St. Augustine . His works have been published in newspapers and magazines, The Caribbean Writer and BIM, and broadcast on the BBC. He has received awards from the National Cultural Council, The Hindu Women’s Organisation, and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. He is the author of seven books and has been one of the major contributors to two books on builders of Chaguanas.
Willi Chen
Willi Chen is a highly acclaimed Trinidadian writer, artist and sculptor. Mainly self-taught, he has exhibited in mixed shows in Trinidad, the United Kingdom and the USA, and has held one-man shows locally. Over the years, Chen has written over 20 plays, and his short stories have been included in several anthologies, including the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and McMillan Caribbean’s Under the Perfume Tree. His literary works include the short story collections King of the Carnival (1989) and Crossbones (2009). His latest book is the novel Toulum.
Yeana Kelly-Simmons
Yeana is the mother of two boys, Kimani and Khafra, and a Transformational Education Leader and creative strategist with 27 years of experience in Secondary Education, Instructional Leadership, and Arts-based innovation. Currently serving as the Vice Principal at the San Fernando West Secondary School, she has a proven record of school transformation and partnership building.
As the Chief Vision Officer, Founder and Director of the non-profit organization Art By Creative Design, she is recognized for integrating creative practice, strategic planning, and compassionate leadership to drive sustainable educational and social impact. Yeana endeavours to create opportunities for creative expression for those with whom she interacts and help make dreams come true.
Art By Creative Design’s mission is to mentor Junior Creatives, 11-19 years old, through highly regarded academic and non-academic programs as they Achieve, Believe, Create and Dream in a safe, nurturing environment that enables cultural confidence and creates positively contributing global citizens. Operating exclusively for educational purposes, its objectives are expected to be achieved mainly through the provision of free educational sessions, programs, and workshops related to academics, the arts and indigenous cultural forms. A.B.C.D. firmly believes that: ‘Arts Education is for All; Arts Education Benefits All’.
Learn more about Art By Creative Design at www.artbycreativedesign.org