A Pigeon Point Bocas Lit Lime in Tobago, in March was the opener for the 2012 NGC Bocas Lit Fest followed by a programme that overflowed with readings, discussions, performances, events for children, workshops, and more with over eighty events in all. Highlights included the announcement of the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, a major regional award recognising Caribbean writers of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. There was also the announcement of a new annual award to support an emerging Caribbean writer in completing a manuscript and making connections in the international publishing world.
The annual OCM Bocas Debate, a high-level discussion of burning public-interest topics was televised over four installments on the TV6 Morning Edition programme. The theme was the legacies of Independence.
The 2012 festival featured the first annual NGC Bocas Lecture: the Big Idea, delivered by distinguished geneticist Professor Steve Jones on the provocative topic “How Different Are Human Races and Should We Care?”
The Old Yard: Carnival Portraits from Trinidad, written for strings, winds, and percussion by Adam Walters and inspired by traditional characters such as the Moko Jumbie and Dame Lorraine, was premiered at the festival.
Demonstrating how literature translates to the big screen, a series of films based on Caribbean novels and poems were screened.
A partnership between the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council, and Commonwealth Writers, the Caribbean Literature Action Group, was launched during the festival, aimed at supporting the development of Caribbean writing and publishing.
