2026 Festival Programme

Cultural heritage — from museum artefacts to historic buildings, and intangible heritage like stories, songs and traditions — shapes how we understand ourselves as a society. But “heritage” is never static, and each generation must debate for itself what is worth preserving and what isn’t. In the 21st century, Caribbean institutions like museums and archives […]

Our series of free seminars for early-career and self-published authors returns! To kick things off, Magdalene Abraha of UK-based Jacaranda Books shares insights about their origins, ethos, and what makes their catalogue unique — plus their special interest in writing from the Caribbean.

In drafting stories or novels, a writer always frets about the main character or protagonist. But main characters are only as strong as their oppositional forces, and the antagonist embodies this. In this workshop, we will discuss the complexities of the opposing force that either elevates, or brings low, your story’s main character. Early-bird registration […]

Little known to many in the Anglophone Caribbean, San Andrés and Providencia is an island department of Colombia, home to a rich heritage of literature and storytelling. Author and literary curator Cristina Bendek shares insights about contemporary writing in San Andrés, in conversation with Nicole Roberts. In partnership with the Embassy of Colombia.

Objects in museums tell stories about past times, people long gone, where we came from and how we got here. This special showcase event features new fiction and poems inspired by objects in the collection of T&T’s National Museum and Art Gallery, specially commissioned from writers Motilal Boodoosingh, Camille Hernández-Ramdwar, Vindhar Suraj, and Deneka Thomas. […]

The Saturday Stand & Deliver session is now full! Our signature open mic event is back! Hosted by elisha efua bartels, with featured reader Marguerite Joseph, author of Lady Under the Stairs. 📣 No registration required to attend! The event is free and open to all — come along, listen, and enjoy an afternoon of […]

Our series of free seminars for early-career authors continues! Writer and UWI creative writing MFA director Muli Amaye shares insights from her new book The Black Writer’s Toolbox, exploring both technique and theory and the historical implications of language, voice and power.

For novelist Cristina Bendek of San Andrés, Colombia, and Venezuelan poet Adalber Salas Hernández, islands are complicated places of memory, desire, identity, and loss. In partnership with the Embassies of Colombia and Spain.

Plays are written to be performed — but depend on published texts to circulate and reach new audiences. A special conversation with Kelly Baker Josephs, founder of the Manchineel + Seagrape digital imprint, and playwrights Tanya Batson-Savage and Rawle Gibbons.

How does reading enhance your wellbeing? In a world of digital overload, escaping into fiction provides an essential tool kit to enhance personal and professional life. This unique, interactive session will explain the full psychology of reading and end with personalised book prescriptions. Early-bird registration fee TT$100, through Sun 12 April; TT$200 from Mon 13 […]

In her book Lost and Found, Alison Donnell assembles 25 Caribbean writers of the 20th century whose work has slipped into obscurity. She explains the background and timeliness of this book in conversation with Ronald Cummings, alongside readings from the works of selected authors.

In her new memoir Salt, Sweat and Steam, Trinidadian food writer Brigid Washington recounts her time at one of the world’s top culinary schools, and spills secrets about what it really takes to become a top-tier professional chef. In conversation with Franka Philip

In Cheryl Boyce-Taylor’s poems, the personal and the political are fiercely inseparable. The beloved Trinidad-born, New York-based writer talks to BCLF founder Marsha Massiah about motherhood and migration, grief and pleasure, and her book The Limitless Heart: New and Selected Poems (1997–2022). In partnership with the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival.

A festival fixture returns: members of the Writers Union of T&T share their latest work and offer a snapshot of current directions in contemporary Caribbean writing. With a feature talk on “Collaborative Writing: An Alternative to the Author’s Solitary Practice” by Dr. Lynette Noel

Ideas meet costumes and performance in T&T’s traditional protest masquerade, interpreting the theme “All Together Now” — plus two of T&T’s wittiest calypsonians, Black Sage and Contender, face off in the ever-popular Extempo Debate! Want to participate in our Ole Mas Competition? Register HERE! Performances must be no longer than 5-8 minutes (1-4 players), or […]

The festival’s centrepiece awards ceremony recognises the past year’s best books of poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction, and the winner of this year’s award for distinguished service to Caribbean letters. Hosted by Ardene Sirjoo. By invitation.