Title Sponsor
NGC Bocas Lit Fest
25 - 28 April 2024
Preservation for Beginners, With Danielle Fraser
The National Library’s conservator leads a hands-on session on the long-term preservation of paper-based artefacts, from prized books to photographs to family documents.
Registration Closed
Friends
Spirits in the Dark
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking novel by H. Nigel Thomas.
Vincentian-Canadian author H. Nigel Thomas reflects on his landmark debut novel, exploring Caribbean-Canadian LGBTQ+ issues, and what has and hasn’t changed a generation later — in an intimate, far-ranging conversation with Anglique Nixon.
H. Nigel Thomas
Angelique V. Nixon
CAISO Presents BackChat
A festival favourite returns: poetry and music, stories and celebration, with some of T&T’s most exciting LGBTQ+ voices and some surprise guests.
Welcome to the Festival!
The NGC Bocas Lit Fest is back, for our 14th year! As we kick off, a NALIS representative welcomes audiences to the home of the festival, and festival director Nicholas Laughlin tells us what to expect.
Nicholas Laughlin
Writers First
Our series of free seminars for early-career and self-published authors returns, covering crucial aspects of the book business and tips to unlock your creativity.
Featuring Helen Johnson, Director, Information Networks Division at NALIS, on turning your book into an accessible ebook or audiobook, and Aimée Felone, Managing Director of the UK children’s and young adult publisher Knights Of, on writing for young audiences.
Helen Johnson
Aimée Felone
Genre fiction 101, with Kevin Jared Hosein
A special interactive writing workshop for teens! Are you a lover of fantasy, speculative fiction, or horror? A secret or not so secret writer of fan fiction? And ready to take your writing to the next level? The winner of the 2024 OCM Bocas Prize for Fiction offers practical tips and exercises to help you expand your writing imagination.
Registration via schools.
Kevin Jared Hosein
Fantastic Friday: Take Two
SFF writers Karen Lord (The Blue, Beautiful World, longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction) and Premee Mohamed (No One Will Come Back for Us) kick off our special day of events focused on Caribbean speculative fiction and fantasy, with readings and conversation with Akilah White.
In partnership with the J.B. Fernandes Memorial Trust.
Akilah White
Premee Mohamed
Karen Lord
The Travelling Journal
Launching the latest We Lit Student Chapbook! With readings from selected writers.
In partnership with the J.B. Fernandes Memorial Trust.
Fantastic Friday: Stand and Deliver
It’s a special version of our popular open mic event, just for writers of speculative fiction and fantasy! Hosted by Jayron Remy.
Registration Closed
Jayron Remy
FANTASTIC FRIDAY: One on One with Irenosen Okojie
Irenosen Okojie (Nudibranch) reads from her tales of strange realities, and talks about her Afrofuturist festival Black to the Future — with host Brandon O’Brien.
In partnership with the British Council
Irenosen Okojie
Brandon O’Brien
Writers First
Our series of free seminars for early-career and self-published authors continues, covering crucial aspects of the book business and tips to unlock your creativity.
Featuring Natalie Fiawoo, producer for the Africa Writes festival, on using digital content to promote your work, and literary agent Elise Dillsworth on the whats, hows, and whys of agenting.
Natalie Fiawoo
Elise Dillsworth
Fantastic Friday: World-Building 101, With Premee Mohamed
Creating a convincing and coherent imaginary world is a key task for all fiction writers — and especially those writing speculative fiction and fantasy. Where do you start, and what are the key techniques of imagination and craft?
Register Here | $100 TT
Premee Mohamed
Fantastic Friday: New Talent Showcase
Meet four up-and-coming fantasy writers from Trinidad and Tobago, and hear from their works in progress! Featuring Dixie-Ann Belle, Jolanda Charles, Janine Mendes-Franco, and Vindhar Suraj.
Janine Mendes-Franco
Friends
Jolanda Charles
Friends
Fantastic Friday: Take Two
SFF writers R.S.A. Garcia (The Nightward) and Zalika Reid-Benta (River Mumma) explore reinventing traditional Caribbean folklore for a new generation of fantasy readers, in conversation with Breanne Mc Ivor.
Zalika Reid-Benta
Breanne McIvor
R. S. A. Garcia
New Voices
A special showcase of debut and self-published books by T&T authors, exploring a diversity of voices, subjects, and styles. Featuring Troy Hadeed, Jessica Gopaul, Yansie Rolston, Joel Frederick, Christine Salandy, Stuart W. Ramon Fortuné, True Nicks, and Shehnaz Mohammed, hosted by Jean-Claude Cournand.
Christine Salandy
Yansie Rolston
Stuart W. Ramon-Fortuné
True Nicks
Shehnaz Mohammed
Troy Hadeed
Jessica Gopaul
Joel Frederick
Discussion: They Don’t Write Them Like They Used To
Do people read the print newspapers mostly for the columns? What should good analysis in the daily press look like? Can a column in the daily newspapers be considered “literary”? And what are the legacies of late star columnists like Keith Smith, Wayne Brown, and B.C. Pires? Marina Salandy-Brown leads a discussion on the present and future of the newspaper column.
Friends
Franka Philip
Asha Javeed
Mark Lyndersay
At the Full and Change of the Moon
A big night of words and music at the Big Black Box, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the landmark novel by Dionne Brand.
A novel that ranges over centuries and continents, full of unforgettable voices and stories, At the Full and Change of the Moon is the definition of a classic — and one ripe for rediscovery by today’s readers. Author Dionne Brand reads from her fiction masterpiece, with a dramatised performance directed by elisha efua bartels and a surprise musical guest. Get ready for revolutionary ideas and words!
Elisha Efua Bartels
Dionne Brand
One on One with Dionne Brand
Nomenclature: New and Collected Poems firmly establishes Dionne Brand as one of the major poets writing in any language today. Ranging from her experience of the Grenada Revolution to the Iraq War of the early 1990s to the catastrophes of the burning present, these poems combine an acute political awareness with deep formal experiment. She joins Shivanee Ramlochan for a wide-ranging conversation about literary commitment.
Dionne Brand
Friends
Film: Green Days by the River
Our two-part tribute to the late T&T author Michael Anthony begins with the feature film adaptation of his beloved 1967 novel, followed by a conversation between filmmaker Michael Mooleedhar, scholar Roydon Salick (Mayaro Gold: The Fiction of Michael Anthony), and writer Hadassah K. Williams, with interlocutor Rose-Ann Walker.
In partnership with 24P
Michael Mooleedhar
Rose-Ann Walker
Roydon Salick
Hadassah K. Williams
Workshop: Postcard Poems, With Kayo Chingonyi
An exploration of the possibilities of mixing text and image to form epistolary poems drawn from the particular sensory resonances of a place, led by the award-winning UK poet and editor.
Register Here | $100 TT
Kayo Chingonyi
Quarrelling With History
How are conflicts and tensions of the present — from racism to war in the Middle East, xenophobia to climate change — rooted in injustices of the past? And what is the work of the creative imagination in envisioning better and more just futures? Christina Sharpe (In the Wake, Ordinary Notes), Karen Lord (The Blue, Beautiful World), and Myriam J.A. Chancy (Harvesting Haiti) join the debate, moderated by D. Alissa Trotz
Friends
Christina Sharpe
Myriam J.A. Chancy
Karen Lord
Stand and Deliver
Our signature open mic event is back! Hosted by Jayron Remy.
Registration Closed
Jayron Remy
Take Two
Marchelle Farrell (Uprooting) and Safiya Sinclair (How to Say Babylon) discuss their new memoirs exploring the making and remaking of the self in contention with history, family, nature, and religion, in conversation with Tracy Assing.
Safiya Sinclair
Marchelle Farrell
Tracy Assing
Take Two
Carol Mitchell (What Start Bad a Mornin’) and Shinie Antony (Can’t) read from and discuss their new novels about how secrets from the past complicate the present, in conversation with Caroline Mackenzie.
Shinie Antony
Caroline Mackenzie
Carol Mitchell
Workshop: Start Short, With Zalika Reid-Benta
Registration Full
For most budding fiction writers, the short story is where their journey begins. What are the fundamentals of good short fiction, and what lessons do shorter forms teach a writer about moving on to the novel?
Registration Closed
Zalika Reid-Benta
Take Two
Ingrid Persaud (The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh) and Soraya Palmer (The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter & Other Essential Ghosts) share their new novels about tempestuous families, dangerous loves, and a longing for freedom, in conversation with Teresa White.
Teresa White
Soraya Palmer
Ingrid Persaud
Life Writing
New biographies by Vaneisa Baksh (Son of Grace) and Celeste Mohammed (A Different Energy) tackle real-life stories about breaking through barriers of race, class, and gender. They discuss their books with Franka Philip.
Vaneisa Baksh
Celeste Mohammed
Franka Philip
One on One with Geetanjali Shree
In her International Booker Prize-winning novel Tomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree explores the traumas of history and how they shape the present — and what it means to be a woman in today’s India. She talks about the groundbreaking elements of this monumental work with Ira Mathur, winner of the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Non-Fiction for her memoir Love The Dark Days, on three generations of women, set in India and the Caribbean.
Geetanjali Shree
Friends
Take Two
Family and legacy are constant themes for poets Anthony Joseph (Sonnets for Albert) and Kayo Chingonyi (A Blood Condition). They read and discuss their most recent books with Arielle John
Kayo Chingonyi
Anthony Joseph
Arielle John
Writers Union Presents
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 special guest Carol Mitchell
Carol Mitchell
Ole Mas Competition and Extempo Debate
Ideas meet costumes and performance in T&T’s traditional protest masquerade, interpreting the theme “Quarrelling with History” — plus two of T&T’s wittiest calypsonians, Black Sage and Dion Diaz, face off in the ever-popular Extempo Debate!
Cost for Registration is $50 TT for Individuals and $100 TT for Groups.
In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
Register Here
Dion Michael Diaz
Black Sage
OCM Bocas Prize + Bocas Henry Swanzy Award 2024 Announcement Ceremony
The festival’s centrepiece awards ceremony recognises the past year’s best books of poetry, fiction, and literary non-fiction, and the winner of this year’s award for distinguished service to Caribbean letters. Hosted by Ardene Sirjoo.
By invitation only.
Ardene Sirjoo
One on One with Edwidge Danticat
Haitian-American writer and 2024 OCM Bocas Prize chief judge Edwidge Danticat is one of the contemporary Caribbean’s most beloved authors, for her searing fiction and unsparing essays and memoirs. She speaks with Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw about the roots of her work, and if and how writing can bridge gaps of understanding and empathy.
Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw
Edwidge Danticat
Films: We Rebuild. We Reclaim
This global touring programme of short films curated by We Are Parable and supported by the British Council explores Black British and Caribbean people’s experience. Reflecting on the cultural significance of the Empire Windrush — the boat that brought over 500 Caribbean people to the UK in 1948 — these short films encourage reflection on wider issues of migration and identity.
In partnership with the British Council.
Workshop: Inner Landscapes, With Marchelle Farrell
What does it mean to be in intimate relationship with the landscape? The author of Uprooting (winner of the 2021 Nan Shepherd Prize for Nature Writing) leads a relaxed writing session where you are encouraged to explore the relationship between our inner and outer worlds.
Register Here | $100 TT
Marchelle Farrell
A Literary Friendship
Combining penetrating insight with frank self-awareness, A Literary Friendship — based on Rohlehr’s private notebooks and correspondence, and completed not long before his death in early 2023 — is at once memoir, literary analysis, and meditation on fame and obscurity. Publisher Jeremy Poynting introduces this important posthumous work, followed by a conversation among scholars and writers Aaron Kamugisha, Anu Lakhan, and Paula Morgan, chaired by Barbara Lalla.
Aaron Kamugisha
Paula Morgan
Anu Lakhan
Jeremy Poynting
Barbara Lalla
Bocas Breakthrough Fellows Showcase
Readings from works in progress by the five 2024 Bocas Breakthrough Fellows: June Aming, Heather Barker, Stephanie Koathes, Rhea Manley, and Amílcar Sanatan. Introduced by Shivanee Ramlochan.
In partnership with Creative Caribbean.
Rhea Manley
Stephanie Koathes
Friends
Amílcar Sanatan
June Aming
Friends
Stand and Deliver
Our signature open mic event is back! Hosted by Jayron Remy.
Register Here
Jayron Remy
One on One
In her new book Ordinary Notes, Christina Sharpe steps past conventions of academic scholarship and literary genre to explore public and private histories, Blackness, language, memory, and the power of art. In conversation with Gabrielle Hosein.
Christina Sharpe
Gabrielle Hosein
Workshop: Reading for Mental Health, With Ella Berthoud
How does reading enhance your well-being? In a world of digital overload, escaping into fiction provides an essential tool kit to enhance personal and professional life, as well as giving us worlds of wisdom and understanding. This unique, interactive session will explain the full psychology of reading and end with personalised book prescriptions.
Register Here | $100 TT
Ella Berthoud
Discussion: the History We Need
The late historians Brinsley Samaroo and Gérard Besson had different backgrounds and approaches to their research, but shared a passion for documenting and narrating T&T’s past, always with an eye on the present. What are their legacies for today’s writers of history, whether scholarly or literary, academic or popular? Historians and writers Bridget Brereton, Claudius Fergus and Jerome Teelucksingh tackle these questions in conversation with Judy Raymond
Claudius Fergus
Judy Raymond
Bridget Brereton
Take Two
In this cross-genre session, Canisia Lubrin (Code Noir) and Nicole Sealey (The Ferguson Report) read from their searing books about history, race, and justice, writing from and back to formal archives, in conversation with Michael A. Bucknor.
Michael A. Bucknor
Canisia Lubrin
Friends
Black Light Void: Between the Brushstrokes
What do you see and feel when you experience a work of art? Join Marsha Pearce, editor of Black Light Void: Dark Visions of the Caribbean, and artist Edward Bowen in this interactive, hands-on salon session, as they share art from the new book to spark your creative expression — from microstories to drawings. Participants will be invited to write, draw, and make collages in response to the images in Black Light Void.
Register Here
Edward Bowen
Marsha Pearce
Take Three
What can poetry do that other forms of writing can’t? T&T poets Paula Obé Thomas (Remembering her brown head-tie), Ruth Osman (All Made of Longing), and Derron Sandy (The Chaos) read from their work exploring family and ancestry, love, loss, public and private tensions and tenderness, in conversation with Desirée Seebaran
Paula Obé Thomas
Desiree Seebaran
Ruth Osman
Derron Sandy
Take Two
Novelists Rabindranath Maharaj (The Amazing Absorbing Boy, Fatboy Fall Down) and Kevin Jared Hosein (Hungry Ghosts) discuss their fictional explorations of Trinidad’s past and present, secrets and ambitions, in conversation with Camille Hernández-Ramdwar.
Camille Hernández-Ramdwar
Rabindranath Maharaj
Kevin Jared Hosein
Take Two
The bonds of family — and the very definition of “family” — are at the heart of new novels by Myriam J.A. Chancy (Village Weavers) and Barbara Lalla (By Such a Parting Light). They read from and discuss their books, in conversation with Alake Pilgrim.
Myriam J.A. Chancy
Alake Pilgrim
Barbara Lalla
Amazing Scenes
The launch of a comprehensive collection of the journalism of Seepersad Naipaul, first published mainly in the Trinidad Guardian between 1928 and 1953. Seepersad Naipaul’s articles and columns form a unique social and cultural history of Trinidad’s sugar-lands and its many peoples, as well as a vivid portrayal of a colonial Trinidad teeming with character, incident, and political vibrations. Peepal Tree Press’s edition gives this “lost” body of writing back to all those who want to understand the making of David Rudder’s magic island. This launch event includes contributions and conversations from co-editors Kenneth Ramchand, Nivedita Misra, and Aaron Eastley, and publisher Jeremy Poynting. There will be readings from the book by Breanne Mc Ivor, Celeste Mohammed, Ingrid Persaud, and David Sammy.
Friends
Friends
Aaron Eastley
Jeremy Poynting
FIRST CITIZENS NATIONAL POETRY SLAM THE GRAND SLAM: the Festival’s Grand Finale!
It’s the year’s biggest night of poetry, as T&T’s top performance poets vie for the championship and the first prize of TT$50,000.
Get your tickets here | $200 TT
Festival Participants
Aaron Duncan
Musician
Aaron Eastley
Speaker
Aaron Kamugisha
Professor of Africana Studies at Smith College
Aarti Gosine
Author
Abigail Parry
Author
Aché Abrahams
Children's Author
Adalber Salas Hernández
Author / Translator
Adam Andrews
Author
Adam Lowe
Author of Patterflash
Afua Hirsch
Author / Broadcaster / Barrister
Agyei Archer
Graphic Designer
Aija Jerome
Children’s Author
Aimée Felone
Speaker and Bocas Caribbean Literature Showcase Delegate
Aisha Acres
Author
Akilah Jaramogi
Activist
Akilah White
Speaker
Alake Pilgrim
Author
Alana-Marie Gopaul
Marketing and Media Manager at Bocas Lit Fest
Alecia McKenzie
Author of A Million Aunties
Alette Liz Williams
Actor
Alexander Girvan
Environmental Economist
Alexandra Stewart
Spoken Word Poet
Alexia Arthurs
Author
Alianna Grant
CEO & Creative Director of The Li Collection By Creativ-li
Alison Donnell
Head of School of Literature, Drama, & Creative Writing At The University of East Anglia
Alissa Trotz
Professor / Author
Aliyyah Eniath
Author
Alscess Lewis-Brown
Author
Festival Workshops
PRESERVATION FOR BEGINNERS, WITH DANIELLE FRASER
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
NALIS
FANTASTIC FRIDAY: WORLD-BUILDING 101, WITH PREMEE MOHAMED
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
1st Floor Seminar Room, NALIS
POSTCARD POEMS, WITH KAYO CHINGONYI
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
1st Floor Seminar Room, NALIS
START SHORT, WITH ZALIKA REID-BENTA
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
1st Floor Seminar Room, NALIS
INNER LANDSCAPES, WITH MARCHELLE FARRELL
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
1st Floor Seminar Room, NALIS
READING FOR MENTAL HEALTH, WITH ELLA BERTHOUD
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
1st Floor Seminar Room, NALIS
