Kereen Getten, Carol Mitchell and Janet Morrison are now contenders for our first Bocas Lit Fest Children’s Book Prize! The winning author will receive a cash prize of US$1,000 from the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC). The prize judges — Joan Osborne, storyteller and retired deputy executive director at NALIS; Olive Senior, writer and Poet Laureate
Our first special event just for Friends of Bocas Lit Fest is here! We’re thrilled that our first Salon will feature none other than lawyer-turned-author Celeste Mohammed. On Sunday, October 24th 2021, join us for an intimate digital get-together as she shares details of her debut collection, Pleasantview, and answers all your questions about writing
We have a new spoken word King! Five-time finalist Derron Sandy has copped his first Grand Slam win in the First Citizens National Poetry Slam 2021, taking the $50,000 grand prize! Two-time defending champion, Alexandra Stewart, placed second, and Michael Logie placed third. The Grand Slam, sponsored since 2013 by First Citizens, aired on TTT
Six writers from across the Caribbean have been longlisted for the inaugural Bocas Children’s Book Prize, with tales that bring magic, folklore, and real historical events to life for the region’s young readers. The prize, sponsored by the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), is the first of its kind, recognising Caribbean books for young independent readers
Who has been the most influential young person in literary arts in T&T in the last year? With the help of a diverse panel of judges, we are embarking on a journey to find and celebrate young writers of talent in any corner of literature: including poetry, playwriting, fiction, creative non-fiction, journalism, scriptwriting, spoken word,
The top ten finalists have been revealed, who will go up against our two-time defending champion, Alexandra Stewart, for the $50,000 Grand Prize! The top-scoring poets were announced live on the NOW Morning show on TTT on Friday, 3 September. TTT is the 2021 broadcast partner of 2021 First Citizens National Poetry Slam (FCNPS) producer,
We want you to know that there’s no Bocas without YOU! We are excited to invite you to our new subscription platform called Friends of the Bocas Lit Fest. Show your love for Caribbean Lit while supporting our work and helping us to continue thriving! Step 1: LOVE CARIBBEAN LIT Show your love for Caribbean literature and
We are looking for a visionary leader of our small, dedicated team of highly productive creatives with whom to continue the well-established path of success of the Bocas Lit Fest. Founder Marina Salandy-Brown will soon be relinquishing her role as managing director of the Bocas Lit Fest to concentrate on its strategic development, as Vice President of
Congratulations to David Ryan (8), and Josh Hansraj (9), the winners of Dragonzilla’s Short Story Writing Challenge 2021! They emerged as the winners in the 5-8 and 9-12 categories respectively, out of over 100 entries submitted in the first stage of the writing challenge, telling us about their Covid-19 experiences in Trinidad and Tobago. Twenty-one
The twenty finalists in Dragonzilla’s Short Story Writing Challenge 2021 are amazing and creative storytellers! You can see for yourself – they’ve recorded themselves reading their original stories which they submitted in June, under the theme “My Covid Experience in Trinidad and Tobago”. All their videos are ready now for you to view, and will
A new year is a chance to reflect on the changes we face and the changes we need. In this special edition of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest’s Pavement Poets series, five of T&T’s most talented spoken word poets share their hopes for 2022
The Bocas Lit Fest is perhaps the most successful NGO to launch in Trinidad and Tobago in this millennium. In December 2010 it was registered as a not-for-profit organisation, and in April 2011 T&T had its first fully-fledged annual literary festival. It has kept coming back, year after year, not missing a beat, even through
We enjoyed her writing and appreciated her commentary on topical issues which demonstrates a critical approach that is much needed in the mainstream. We believe Harmony’s work will have widespread reach and great impact. We strongly feel she has the potential to become a voice for her generation.” Franka Philip, Head Judge, NGC Bocas Youth
Over twelve consecutive days during the festivities of Christmas, we’ll celebrate Caribbean literature on our social media with “12 Days of Reading”! At the top of the current international agenda are the extreme perils of climate change, and the Caribbean archipelago is particularly endangered by the increasing pace of global warming. In 12 Days of
If you have a particular question or query, please email info@bocaslitfest.com, or call us at (868) 222-7099 – if we don’t answer, please leave a message and we’ll get right back to you.
