Bocas Book Bulletin: April 2024
Welcome to the latest installment of the Bocas Book Bulletin, a monthly roundup of Caribbean literary news, curated by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival, and published in the Sunday Express. New Releases Set in Trinidad, Palmyra (Friesen Press), shortlisted for the 2023 Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction, is Karen […]
Ingrid Persaud to launch new novel at NGC Bocas Lit Fest
“This has been my story to write,” says Ingrid Persaud of her new novel The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh. Hotly anticipated after the international success of Love After Love — which won Persaud the 2020 Costa Book Award for Best First Novel — The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh will be published […]
Join us for an intimate conversation with Ira Mathur and Celeste Mohammed on Saturday 16 December!
You’re invited to the next edition of Writer to Writer, a new series of literary conversations hosted by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, on Saturday 16 December, 2023, with authors Ira Mathur (Love the Dark Days) and Celeste Mohammed (Pleasantview
Announcing the NGC Bocas Youth Writer Award 2023 Shortlist
The new Bocas Breakthrough Fellowships are open for applications!
The Bocas Breakthrough Fellowships, a new programme for early-career Caribbean writers administered by the Bocas Lit Fest, are now open for applications.
Running from December 2023 to May 2024, the Bocas Breakthrough Fellowships will support five early-career Caribbean writers based at home in the region in advancing or completing a book manuscript or other body of work, and developing their professional skills and networks in the regional and international literary world. The application deadline is 31 October, 2023.
OCM BOCAS Prize Opens For 2024
The latest round of the region’s most coveted literary award, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, is now open for entries. Sponsored by One Caribbean Media in Trinidad and Tobago and administered by the Bocas Lit Fest, the prize is now in its 14th year. It comes with a cash award of US$10,000 for […]
T&T’s Ayanna Lloyd Banwo wins OCM Bocas Prize
For the second time in a row, a debut writer from Trinidad and Tobago has won the award for outstanding Caribbean book of the past year. When We Were Birds, the first novel by T&T’s Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, is the winner of the overall 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, which comes with a […]
Announcing the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize Longlist
Ranging from debut authors to already celebrated prizewinners, nine writers have been longlisted for the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, sponsored by One Caribbean Media, owner of the Trinidad and Tobago Express newspaper, TV6, and the OCM radio network. Now in its 13th year, the OCM Bocas Prize is considered the most coveted […]
Our 2022 favourites — a gift for you!
2022’s been a busy year for us at the Bocas Lit Fest, full of readings and performances, prizes and workshops, thrilling new books, stimulating conversations with writers, our first-ever Bocas UK Tour, programmes for readers and writers of all ages, and so much more. As the year draws to a close, all of us on […]
WRITE AWAY! MAKES LEARNING FUN
Write Away!, the secondary schools creative writing project produced by the Bocas Lit Fest and sponsored by the Scotiabank Foundation is warmly welcomed by students, teachers and the Ministry of Education. On Friday 24 June, Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly received a small box containing the unique digital learning tools for English Literature students […]
Author Celeste Mohammed wins 2022 OCM Bocas Prize
A debut novel described by the judges as “rollicking, enjoyable, and at times incredibly moving” has been named the outstanding Caribbean book of the past year. Pleasantview, the first book by Trinidad and Tobago’s Celeste Mohammed, is the winner of the overall 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, which comes with a cash award […]
Launching the Bocas Carnival Capsule 2022!
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means that Carnival activities have been scaled back this year, but Carnival lovers who are also enthusiasts for stories and poems can still find inspiration and entertainment via the Bocas Lit Fest’s online Carnival Capsule 2022, launching on Carnival Friday, 25 February, and presented in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, […]
TT Writer Monique Roffey cops £30,000 Costa Book of the Year Award
Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch, a story of exclusion and exile, has firmly secured its place in literary legacy, after winning the 2020 Costa Book of the Year Award. The book was lauded as “utterly original” by the prize’s judges in a virtual announcement ceremony on Tuesday January 26, 2021. It’s a win […]
TT Writers on the Costa Book Awards Shortlist
The recent announcement that two Trinidad and Tobago writers Monique Roffey and Ingrid Persaud have been shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Book Awards rounds off an impressive year for TT and Caribbean writers and writing on the world stage. Monique Roffey’s sixth novel The Mermaid of Black Conch (Peepal Tree Press), has been shortlisted for […]
What’s so great about Jean Rhys?: Online Event
For one thing, there is the first line of the Dominican author’s seminal work Wide Sargasso Sea: “They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did”, which, beyond making it to a 2006 list of 100 best first lines from novels, resonates eerily amidst the turbulence of the current socio-political climate. […]
OCM BOCAS PRIZE OPENS FOR 2021
The region’s most prestigious literary award, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, is now open for entries. The prize is sponsored by One Caribbean Media in Trinidad and Tobago and is now in its eleventh year. It includes a cash award of US$10,000 for the overall winner and US$3,000 each for two genre category […]
Join us online for this month’s BYOBB
Our monthly BYOBB is happening at its usual time on the last Wednesday of August, and this month we’re collaborating with The Caribbean Book Club! Bring Your Own Book & Bottle (BYOBB) is our monthly virtual hangout where you can share excerpts from your favourite books and discuss what you’re reading. It’s a chance to […]
Season 2 of Bios & Bookmarks
Bios & Bookmarks, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest’s Online Reading Series featuring Caribbean authors, is back for a second season on Sunday 9 August. Season 2 of Bios & Bookmarks will be livestreamed on Facebook every Sunday between 9 August and 13 September at 3pm. Kicking off this season’s cast of admired authors is Barbadian […]
100 Caribbean Books That Made Us: What makes a “Caribbean” Book?
When we asked you to name your favourite books during our 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us campaign, we left the definition of Caribbean up to you. It’s been a joy to sift through the recommendations of 100+ beloved books and find the rich themes that try to articulate “Caribbeanness”, including geographic location. From Franz […]
The 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us Campaign
Earlier this year, we asked the question: what makes an unforgettable Caribbean read? Which books have meant the most to you, from childhood to your adult life? Since then, hundreds of readers have commented on social media to tell us about the Caribbean books that hold pride of place on their bookshelves and their hearts. […]
Amanda Choo Quan wins the 2020 JAAWP Prize
Congratulations to Trinidad and Tobago writer Amanda Choo Quan on winning the 2020 Johnson and Amoy Achong Caribbean Writers Prize (JAAWP)! Choo Quan was shortlisted along with two other TT non-fiction writers, Melissa Doughty and Amílcar Sanatan, in this second year of the Prize, which is dedicated to the advancement of new Caribbean voices. The […]
The Books That Made Me on i95.5FM
Tune in to radio station i95.5FM on Wednesdays at 11:30am for a very special edition of The Books That Made Me! We’ll be hearing from winners of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for the next month, beginning tomorrow (Wednesday 29 April) with the 2019 overall winner Kevin Adonis Browne.
Bios & Bookmarks: an Online Reading Series with Caribbean Authors
It may be a time for social distancing, but we’ve found a way to get a little up close and personal with some of our favourite authors. Bios & Bookmarks, an Online Reading Series with Caribbean Authors, will premiere on Bocas’ Instagram Live on Sunday 5 April. The series, powered by the NGC Bocas Lit […]
Announcing the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize Shortlist
Books by three writers spanning the region and its diasporas have been shortlisted for the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, sponsored by One Caribbean Media. Internationally considered the leading literary award for Caribbean writers, the OCM Bocas Prize recognises books in three genre categories — poetry, fiction, and literary non-fiction — published by […]
Upcoming book events: Online!
So many upcoming events, including our very own #bocas2020, have been postponed, but that’s no reason we can’t celebrate Caribbean reading, writing, and ideas in virtual space. Whether it’s live readings on multiple social media platforms, podcasts, webinars and e-workshops, virtual conferencing, book launches or more, we’ll be using our Celebrating 10 Years events calendar […]
Announcing the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize Longlist
Nine books by writers with roots in seven Caribbean territories have been longlisted for the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, sponsored by One Caribbean Media. Now in its tenth year, and internationally regarded as the leading literary award for Caribbean writers, the OCM Bocas Prize recognises books in three genre categories — poetry, […]
Bring your own book & bottle, Wed 29 Jan @ TWC
We’re excited to launch The Book Network and a new monthly calendar event at The Writers Centre! Our Bring Your Own Book and Bottle event aims to connect readers of all genres in a relaxed environment. It’s about building community around books and book conversation, and creating an in-person extension of our virtual Book Network. […]
The 10th OCM Bocas Prize opens for entries
The 2020 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, the region’s most coveted literary award, is now open for entries. Sponsored by One Caribbean Media, the prize, now in its tenth year, also marks the tenth anniversary of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest! The cross-genre prize offers a cash award of US$10,000 for the overall winner […]
The Book Fair at CARIFESTA XIV
Amongst the various art forms taking centre stage at CARIFESTA XIV, the biggest celebration of Caribbean arts and culture, 16-24 August, will be a free, diverse literary programme curated and executed by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival. At the heart of the literary programme are daily open mic sessions […]
Free writing workshops at CARIFESTA XIV
New and aspiring writers are invited to take advantage of ten free workshops led by award-winning and acclaimed Caribbean writers at CARIFESTA XIV. The sustenance of a strong literary tradition relies heavily on the ongoing investment in actual reader and writer development. As part of the literary programme curated by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest […]