In 2014, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest celebrated South-born Samuel Selvon, one of T&T’s finest writers, who died 20 years before. His life and his work were featured in a dramatic opening session of our second NGC Bocas Lit Fest South. We had a rich mix of events for everyone during a full weekend of readings, performance, discussion, workshops, music and more. There were both new and prize-winning Caribbean writers and two all-day workshops for children. It was a perfect event for families to spend a free weekend.
In 2014, our patrons were able to enjoy 3 exceptional literary festivals – the original NGC Bocas Lit Fest in April, NGC Bocas Lit Fest South in November and NGC Bocas Lit Fest Tobago in March. These were only a part of the Bocas mandate to promote and develop our writers to create even more wonderful literature for us to read, not just in T&T but also in the Caribbean region.
Locally, the Courts Bocas Speak Out Tour was making its way around 50 secondary schools, featuring the 2 Cents Movement poets; and Bocas also partnered with ALTA to host a special reading circle, promoting literacy through literature. Internationally, several partnerships made prizes such as the Burt Award for Young Adult Literature and the Hollick Arvon Prize for emerging writers possible.
