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.
Twenty-two youngsters have moved onto the second phase of Dragonzilla’s Short Story Writing Challenge, and now have a great chance at winning one of many wonderful and useful prizes! Over 100 children aged 5-12 shared their 300-400 word story on the theme “My COVID experience in Trinidad and Tobago” for the online Storywriting Challenge that
On Thursday 12 November, we’re hosting the first of two interactive online workshops with St Kitts & Nevis-born author Carol Mitchell, guiding participants through the fundamentals of writing dialogue and point of view. In the second on Thursday 19 November, Mitchell shares insights for spotting and addressing common errors in participants’ manuscripts. Both workshops are
Bios & Bookmarks Season 3 starts on Sunday 1 November! Join us for a riveting third season that kicks off this Sunday, with St. Lucian poet Canisia Lubrin. Her second collection of poems, The Dyzgraphxst (McClelland & Stewart) has been described as “a triumph of anticolonial poetics” by 2017 OCM Bocas Poetry Prize winner, Safiya Sinclair. Sunday
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest will debut a brand new online series aimed at introducing Caribbean writers to industry professionals overseas. Titled LIT’S BE REAL, the series — which takes the form of frank, solution-oriented discussions with editors, educators, agents, and more — will be hosted by Amanda Choo Quan,
The Bocas Lit Fest and The Scotiabank Foundation are partnering to supply secondary schools with exciting new digital content to support virtual English classes this term. The Write Away! Young Adult Literature project is giving all schools access to five virtual creative writing workshops via the Ministry of Education’s School Learning Management System. Led by
WED 14 OCT | ONLINE | 2PM (TT)/ 7PM (UK) FREE EVENT, BUT BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL BOOKING NOW OPEN at www.uealive.com Three Caribbean writers, Ayanna Gillian Lloyd, Tessa McWatt and Ingrid Persuad, join Alison Donnell in conversation about their work, careers and motivations, as part of the UEA Live series of online events. UEA Live
International Day for Reparations is marked on Monday 12 October. What does that mean for us in the Caribbean, the birthplace of the triangular slave trade? In an era of the Black Lives Matter movement, we are presented with an opportune moment to further examine this contentious issue. Sir Hilary Beckles, Chairman of the Caricom
This weekend, lovers of books, stories, and ideas can “binge” on a recap of the 2020 festival. With eighteen events and over 80 writers, speakers, and performers, the 2020 NGC Bocas Lit Fest was livestreamed TV-style over three days, with continuous broadcasts including archival footage from past years and specially commissioned comedy sketches. Now we’re
Alexandra Stewart makes history becoming the first National Poetry Slam Champion to successfully defend her title! Now twenty-two years old, Stewart goes down as the first winner in the eight-year history of the First Citizens National Poetry Slam to prevail for a second time, making it the fifth time a woman has copped first place.
TT poet Desiree Seebaran has won the 2021 Johnson and Amoy Achong Caribbean Writers Prize (JAAWP), the region’s only prize for emerging writers. In the third and final year of the Prize, dedicated to the advancement of new Caribbean voices, Seebaran won out over the other 2 shortlisted poets, Akhim Alexis and Jay T. John; all
A book-length poem that the Prize judges consider “postcolonial poetry at its best” has triumphed in the stakes for best book by a Caribbean writer published last year. The Dyzgraphxst by St. Lucia-born poet Canisia Lubrin is the 2021 winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, which comes with an award of US$10,000,
Even as we celebrate the legendary music and poetry of Shake Keane at the 2021 NGC Bocas Lit Fest, we are cognizant that his haunting words from Volcano Suite in 1979 are accurate descriptions for the current situation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The recent and ongoing eruptions of La Soufrière volcano on the
The 2021 NGC Bocas Lit Fest programme is live! Happening from April 23rd – 25th, all free, no registration required! A virtual literary walking tour; The 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us; our signature Big Ideas discussion; a robust activity-packed children’s programme; award-winning and emerging writers from across the Caribbean and its diaspora; the announcement 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.
