Launched as: Wadadli Youth Pen Prize; Wadadli Pen (for short)
Wadadli Pen email: wadadlipen@gmail.com
Wadadli Pen web: Wadadlipen.wordpress.com and Wadadli Pen YouTube
Joanne C. Hillhouse with 2012 Wadadli Pen finalists during the awards ceremony hosted by the Best of Books.
YEAR LAUNCHED 2004 YEAR LEGALLY INCORPORATED 2021 (as Wadadli Pen Inc.)
Group photo of winners at the Wadadli Pen Challenge Awards, 2017. (Photo by Linisa George/Art. Culture. Antigua)
THE WADADLI PEN STORY In 2003, Joanne C. Hillhouse, who had just published her first book The Boy from Willow Bend, hatched the idea of a literary prize for Antigua and Barbuda. She was inspired by a luncheon speech at the 2003 Caribbean Canadian Literary Expo in which Guyanese writer Ruel Johnson lamented the lack of nurseries for writers in the Caribbean – something she was able to relate to as a writer who came of age in Ottos, Antigua. She was motivated by the lack of systems in her community to encourage and support her own writing journey, the fact that such systems still did not exist, and a desire to provide such support for other young writers. Since the 2004 launch of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize and its Wadadli Pen Challenge, there has been an intermittent Independence literary arts competition, periodic themed essay competitions, and intermittent community-driven lit arts initiatives but no sustained programmes, state or otherwise, focused on nurturing and showcasing the literary arts as Wadadli Pen has done, prioritizing arts development over a sustained period with consistency. There is also (to 2021) no national lit arts coordinator (or similar appointment e.g. laureate or writer-in-residence) as recommended by a former coordinator of the Independence lit arts competition in a 2011 open letter.
Joanne C. Hillhouse, seated far left, with Ruel Johnson, next to her, and other writers from across the Caribbean at an editing workshop and reading in Guyana. 2016.
Hillhouse initially pitched her idea – for a Caribbean-imagined fiction writing contest targeting teens and younger in Antigua and Barbuda – to the Young Explorer, a youth publication, and author (Considering Venus)/screenwriter (The Sweetest Mango, No Seed) D. Gisele Isaac. Both immediately came on board. And though neither remain active partners in the project (though Gisele has consistently been one of its many patrons through the years), their collaboration at the outset made it viable. Credit must also go to the late Alstyne Allen (1973-2015), for whom the Best of Books-sponsored Challenge plaque has been re-named as of 2016. Alstyne, sister-friend of founder Hillhouse as well as Young Explorer associate and sister of its owner Douglas Allen, was the key volunteer in the early years and remained a great support in the years after her active involvement.
To the right is the now retired Challenge plaque; the left is the Challenge plaque debuted in 2016. All the names of the winners through the years have been re-located and the plaque has been named the Alstyne Allen Memorial plaque in memory and tribute following the death of Alstyne Allen in 2015. Allen had previously received one of only four tokens as a friend of Wadadli Pen for her key role in the project during the 10th anniversary/Challenge awards ceremony in 2014. Wadadli Pen is happy to remember her and her contribution in this way as it really couldn’t have gotten through the early years without her help. The Challenge plaque is sponsored by the Best of Books bookstore.
In addition to its flagship project (the Wadadli Pen Challenge), the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize has engaged in a number of activities – from workshops to lit arts showcases to school visits to making nominations for awards like the National Youth Awards – over the years. This website and the resources and databases it has built is one of these activities.
2017 Wadadli Pen Challenge winner Kaeiron Saunders during an appearance on ABS TV’s Antigua Today to promote the 2018 Challenge.
Media has been vital; including the years ABS TV/radio sponsored promotional ads and recordings of winning pieces plus numerous interviews, the year local TV/film production company HAMA assisted with producing several dramatized readings for radio broadcast (with the Optimist Club of St. John’s youth drama group), the year Daily Observer came on board as a patron in addition to publishing Wadadli Pen notices and winning pieces over the years, and the early years of partnering with Young Explorer for publication of the winning pieces. Credit must be given to Antiguanice.com (and online services like 365antigua.com and others) which made space for Wadadli Pen on its platform – the Antiguanice.com page, launched in 2006, ensured a constant online presence for Wadadli Pen before this blog even existed.
Young Explorer editor and publisher Douglas Allen speaking at the 2005 Wadadli Pen Challenge Awards ceremony.
Credit must also be given to the OECS Cultural Network Project and specifically Heather Doram, then Culture Director, who recommended Wadadli Pen for participation; Armelle Chatelier of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; consultant Deb Andrews; and tech advisor and support Ken Shipley (who created the Wadadli Pen logo during this period). A lot of the information which formed the basis for this site (with the exception of the Antigua and Barbuda bibliographies which Hillhouse originally researched for the 2005 Independence literary arts exhibition) was created while Wadadli Pen had the resources – including domain hosting and tech support – afforded to it by the OECS and Alliance Francaise project. Participation in the OECS Cultural Network allowed for online site building and networking via a portal. That project ended in 2007.
(images above from the 2014 Wadadli Pen Challenge awards, also the 10 year anniversary of the project – cake sponsored by designer Danielle George-John’s Danz’s Sweet Dreams)
The web pages were backed up. Hillhouse, who had worked closely with Shipley and Andrews on developing the site, was able to pull from that backed up content and records kept since 2004 to launch this Wadadli Pen blog in 2010. Twenty 10 also marked the return of the Wadadli Pen Challenge after a 2007-2009 hiatus. To meet the challenges of running a project like this with volunteers and to facilitate the process of the project becoming a legal non-profit, a permanent committee (consisting of longtime patron and author Barbara Arrindell of the Best of Books, longtime partner and author Floree Williams Whyte, two past winners Devra Thomas and Margaret Irish, and Hillhouse) was put in place in 2016.
2005 Wadadli Pen Challenge winner Sandrena Martin reading at Word Up! a 2006 Wadadli Pen showcase and fundraiser held in collaboration with the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda. Martin was also one of three Wadadli Pen writers recommended to receive Optimist lit awards in 2005. The other two were Rilys Adams and Sarah Ann Li.
Wadadli Pen continues to innovate, with projects like the 2019 Antigua and Barbuda Readers Choice Book of the Year initiative, while continuing to develop this website and the Wadadli Pen Challenge, and dreaming of doing so much more to nurture and showcase literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda. Wadadli Pen received its incorporation papers as a legal non-profit, November 2021.
The Wadadli Pen Book of the Year initiative was innovative in that the real prize recipients were the children. The 2019 winning author Vivian Luke, author of F.A.K.E., won the opportunity to select a school to receive the nearly $1000 worth of books sponsored by our patrons. She selected the alma mater of her mother and aunt the Foundation Mixed School. The children got to select books of their choosing from among local, Caribbean, and international favourites.
SUMMARY Wadadli Pen’s flagship project has been its annual writing Challenge, guiding young Creatives toward culturally relevant literary expression, and nurturing and showcasing their best efforts. In time, the Challenge extended its age window up to 35 from 16, and added age categories; and expanded from fiction to other genres (poetry, creative non-fiction), other arts (visual) and other prizes (e.g. Lead by Example Teachers Prize, and various themed prizes). Other activities have included workshops, recording and broadcasting of winning works, and this Wadadli Pen website promoting not just the programme but the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda , the Caribbean, and beyond.
2005 Wadadli Pen finalists flanked by then Youth Minister (guest speaker at the awards ceremony) Winston Williams and co-founder and then chief WP judge D. Gisele Isaac. The Challenge awards was held that year at the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda.
GOAL To Nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda
(Judge and, as of 2016 core team member, Floree Williams Whyte, left, with 2017 winner Kaeiron Saunders and the Alstyne Allen Memorial Challenge plaque.)
AIMS
-To promote a love of the written word among young people in and of Antigua and Barbuda
-To provide opportunity for fledgling writers in and of Antigua and Barbuda
-To channel youthful energies in and of Antigua and Barbuda into creative endeavours
-To promote the works of young writers in and of Antigua and Barbuda
-To give young writers in and of Antigua and Barbuda a chance to see the works of their peers
-To create a lasting impact by preserving the literary endeavours of young Antiguans and Barbudans (and residents thereof) and putting them to use – for instance, in promoting future contests or storytelling generally
-To celebrate Antiguan and Barbudan art and culture (generally) while also engaging (where possible) with arts from the wider Caribbean and other parts of the world
2011 Wadadli Pen Challenge judge Brenda Lee Browne speaking at the awards ceremony, held that year at the UWI Open Campus – Antigua and Barbuda as part of the Best of Books 10 anniversary celebrations.
IMPACT
It’s worth noting that Wadadli Pen would not have been able to do all it has done over the years without the support of corporate and individual patrons – Joanne C. Hillhouse is pictured with Paula Lee, then corporate communications manager for then Cable & Wireless, at a prize handover for the 2005 Wadadli Pen Challenge. Paula Lee would in 2014 host Wadadli Pen finalists on her The Paula Show.
It is not easy to quantify the impact of a project like Wadadli Pen but partners attest that looking in to the beaming faces of the winners at every Challenge awards ceremony, there’s no problem qualifying it.
2006 finalist, from left, winner Angelica O’Donoghue, Verdanci Benta, Rilys Adams, Rosalie Richards, and Blair Rose. Angelica would continue to write including editing for a time her independent publication Antigua Chronicle and Adams would go on to be a lawyer and prolific writer of self-published ebooks.
It’s in the effort and the pay off…
“Writing for the Wadadli Pen Challenge this year wasn’t easy: and that is precisely why it’s so beneficial, year in and year out. It is only through effort that we can grow, and only through difficulty can we triumph…I believe that the process of writing a cohesive story or poem in 600 words or less, tailoring each word and each sentence for maximum impact, has allowed …young persons to increase their writing ability just a little bit more.” (Daryl George, 2016 winner, in an open letter)
Daryl George collecting his prize as an honourable mention in 2012 from guest speaker and master artist/photographer Mali A. Olatunji.
…it’s in the moments…
“I looked at the face of a young man as he heard his words being read on stage and it was like magic … ” (observer @ Wadadli Pen awards ceremony, personal note). The observer was speaking of 2011 youth winner Orique Gordon pictured above in 2013 during Hillhouse’s Jhohadli Summer Youth Writing Project, an opportunity afforded him due to his participation in Wadadli Pen. Participants have also been gifted the opportunity to participate in Brenda Lee Browne’s Just Write Writers Retreat and to be coached by authors like Elaine Spires.
…it’s in giving young people a space to express him/herself and getting even one writer to find his/her voice…
“Wadadli pen opened the door to my creativity, it inspired me to let go of my fears and speak out, and most of all it helped me to channel all the energy I had by simply putting pen to paper giving something a narrative shape and in so doing I began to believe in the shape of my life again, in beginnings, and middles, and endings.” (Liscia Lawrence, pictured above, a 2004, 2005, and 2014 finalist, in a 2014 open letter to Wadadli Pen. Read the full letter.)
…it’s in the way potential shines through…
1st year, 1st 12 and younger winner. Verdanci Benta. Wadadli Pen, 2004.
“I write to express appreciation to you and your team for allowing young writers like [my son] to explore their writing potential. He was quite reluctant to enter at first, but warmed up to the challenge. Excited, elated and ecstatic are just a few of the words that could explain how he felt, by being able to share his story and be rewarded for his effort.” (letter from a mother)
etc.
Hillhouse said during the 2020 awards announcement, done virtually due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, “We continue the work and hopefully continue to boost the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda because that’s what Wadadli Pen is all about. Our mandate is to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda. It’s not about me; it’s not about any of the members behind the scenes. It’s about these young people and encouraging them to write. Because I think we realize even now in these sort of times that we’re in that finding ways to get out all the anxiety and confusion and even the restlessness that we all feel, writing and creating generally is a part of that and of course building your language skills and improving your critical thinking skills and your ability to think creatively and also realizing that your story and your voice matters. All of these are the reasons why we write, all of these are the reasons why we encourage the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize.” And here’s how to contribute and how to submit to Wadadli Pen.
CHALLENGE STATISTICS
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary, 2014, as a token of appreciation for their support of and hard work on behalf of Wadadli Pen over the years, these gifts, sponsored by Photogenesis, were presented to long time partners the Best of Books, D. Gisele Isaac, Alstyne Allen, and Brenda Lee Browne.
The difficulties of doing so aside, there has been an effort, from the beginning, to track the numbers and try to quantify the value and impact of Wadadli Pen’s work.
2013 winner Asha Graham with Barbara Arrindell, manager of long time Wadadli Pen patron Best of Books, patron and partner through the years, and, as of 2016, core team member.
Total Number of (eligible) submissions over the years (to 2021): 758
Average number of annual submissions over the years (to 2021): 54
Best year: 2017 – 96 eligible submissions
Rosalie Richards first entered Wadadli Pen with her story ‘The Creation’ in 2006, placing second runner up; in 2012, she submitted ‘Smitten’ and won several prizes including the overall prize. The picture on the left is at the 2006 awards ceremony held at the Museum; the picture on the right is 2012 at the Best of Books and Richards has in her hands her ABI Insurance sponsored plaque and the original Best of Books sponsored annual Challenge trophy with the names of all the overall winners 2004 to 2015.
Year: 2004
Number of submissions: 45
Trivia: Fiction only; two main categories – overall winner plus a top three and best writer under 12
Winners
Winner Gemma George collecting the computer she won from Comnett owner Gerard Shoul in 2004.
Year: 2005
Number of submissions: 63
Trivia: Prize added for school with the most submissions – Buckley’s Primary was the winner
Winners
Wadadli Pen has had the most remarkable prizes over the years – some of the cuddly variety – like these giant teddies in 2005. Pictured are then Culture Director Heather Doram and 2005 winner Sandrena Martin.
Year: 2006
Number of submissions: 23
Trivia: This year marked the introduction of the Best of Books sponsored Challenge plaque; and winners this year also received t-shirts emblazoned with the Wadadli Pen logo, sponsored by Sharon Embroidery
Winners
2006 was also the year of the Word Up! literary showcase featuring new writers and veterans, like the late Grand Dame of Antigua-Barbuda poetry Mary Geo Quinn who died in 2019.
Year: 2010
Number of submissions: 23
Trivia: First year of the Wadadli Pen art Challenge (won by, left below at the awards ceremony, Shem Alexander, who would again be an art prize winner in 2014 in addition to being a working artist with his unique turpentine bark paintings and Antiguan folklore and African-inspired themes like the piece pictured right below). This year also saw the addition of other genres besides fiction (i.e. poetry and creative non fiction); first themed Challenge (Black and Beautiful); changed age categories to 12 and younger, 13 to 17, 18 to 35 and upped the overall age limit to 35 to the Wadadli Pen Challenge. For the first (and to date only) time there was no overall literary winner, only age category winners
Winners
Year: 2011
Number of submissions: 40
Trivia: For the second ever Wadadli Pen art challenge, artists and budding artists were invited to register to create illustrations related to winning stories (the stories were written for the children’s market)
Winners
First time participant Orique Gordon won the 12 and younger category in 2011.
Year: 2012
Number of submissions: 57
Trivia: Additional one time themed sub-categories Origins and Liberate Love; for the first time, there was an announced short list ahead of the actual awards; and the prize for the school with the most submissions returned and has been there since – prize went to the Antigua Wesleyan Junior Academy; also Wadadli Pen’s first year of documented reader reviews
Winners
Jordee Josiah collecting her prize from guest speaker Mali Olatunji during the 2012 awards ceremony.
Reader reviews (2012):
“Read and thought the poet was much older. She is quite a talent!” (facebook, re winning poem Smitten by Rosalie Richards)
“I loved the story! Vega is a very talented writer. Congratulations to Vega!”
“Wow! So impressed!”
“Very nice story. Vega is very talented.” (Anansesem readers, re Vega Armstrong’s ‘Legend of the Sea Lords’)
“This was epic!”
“…very interesting and entertaining…”
“I really do love this story. The voice that comes through is sweet, sincere and very special. I hope Akeile continues to write!”
“I too was impressed by Akeile’s story. She masters the simplicity and brevity that children’s authors aim for. All aspiring children’s authors can stand to learn a lot from reading children’s writing.”
“This story is so incredibly lovely, and the illustration accompanies it perfectly. I look forward to reading more by Akeile Benjamin in the future!” (Anansesem readers, re Akeile Benjamin’s ‘Adventures of Mr. Coconut’)
Year: 2013
Number of submissions: 55
Trivia: Anansi themed art prize, and introduction of adult and junior category of art winners
Winners
(2013 awards ceremony)
Reader reviews (2013):
“Congratulations on a very timely story Mr. George, one need not be a rocket scientist ‘to get it’. I hope it gets read by more than just the ‘usual suspects’…………………….”
“Wonderful piece”
“Really good read. Your craftsmanship is amazing…I’ love to see more
(Wadadli Pen comments section, re ‘Ceramic Blues’ by Daryl George)
Year: 2014
Number of submissions: 79
Trivia: Introduction of the Lead by Example Teachers Prize; for visual artists there was a cover design Challenge in which artists had to design covers for short listed stories
Winners
12 and younger finalist Zion Ebony Williams, who would later go on to be a category winner, collects her prizes from D. Gisele Isaac, a founding partner and, on this occasion, guest presenter at the 2014 ceremony.
Reader reviews (2014): “Very good piece. It’s good to see a young person coming up through the ranks who is talented and using that talent at such a young age. I guess they’re right when they say AGE is just a number….. Lovely story.” (Wadadli Pen comments, re Asha Graham’s winning 2014 story ‘Lajabless’)
Year: 2015
Number of submissions: 31
Trivia: Flash Fiction Challenge only – winner take all; no age limit
Winners
Margaret Irish, right, collecting certificates from a representative of sponsor, Flow, 2015. Winner in 2014 of the Lead by Example Teachers Prize, Margaret was the winner of the Flash prize. She would go on to volunteer with Wadadli Pen becoming a member of the core team in 2016.
Reader review (2015): ” Keep up the good work in bringing our budding talent to the fore. I enjoyed them all.” (from the Wadadli Pen comments section)
Year: 2016
Number of (eligible) submissions: 49
Winners
(Douglas Allen, brother of Alstyne Allen, for whom the Challenge plaque is named, and founding Wadadli Pen partner, hoists the plaque for the first time with 2016 winner Daryl George)
Reader Review (2016): “So good” (on facebook, in response to Chammaiah Ambrose’s winning entry ‘Guilty’)
Year: 2017
Number of (eligible) submissions: 96
Trivia: The Challenge Awards was held as part of the one-time Wadadli Book Fair; the awards were hosted by intern Michaela Harris, a former finalist
Winners
Winners in the 18 to 35 age category – Lucia Murray, 2nd, left, and Fayola Jardine, 3rd, right, with winner (and overall Wadadli Pen 2017 Challenge winner) Kaeiron Saunders in the middle. Photo by Linisa George/Art. Culture. Antigua.
Reader reviews (2017): “An excellent short story” …“I got really caught up in it…excellent” …“Congratulations Zion, well done👏👏👏” (facebook comments in response to Zion Ebony William’s story ‘Those Who Don’t Hear Will Feel’)
Year: 2018
Number of submissions: approximately* 59-68 entries (unable to verify final count but all eligible stories were read and judged)
Trivia: Winner Kyle Christian recalled in his thank you’s being encouraged to continue writing by the coordinator at one of the awards ceremony years earlier and how, despite being discouraged that year, he did just that. One of his prizes was a spot in coordinator Hillhouse’s Jhohadli Writing Project adult writing workshops
Winners
2018 winners photo call.
Reader Reviews (2018): “Perfectly written. Loved it.” – (past Wadadli Pen finalist and published author and attorney Rilys Adams commenting, on facebook, on Kyle Christian’s winning story ‘Creak’)
“Captivated and waiting in anticipation of more… words.” (on facebook, on Kyle Christian’s winning story ‘Creak’)
Year: 2020
Number of submissions: 57
Trivia: Read Wadadli Pen Diary – 2020 Season Reflections . Extra bit of trivia – Wadadli Pen recorded its first main prize tie and first main prize win by a writer under 12.
Winners
Reader Reviews (2020):
“I read both winning entries and thoroughly enjoyed both but I especially loved the one that was written by the young lady because I got to share it with my granddaughter and great niece.” (on facebook, in response to the tied winning entries Bright Future for Tomorrow by Andre P. Warner and Tom, the Ninja Crab by Cheyanne Darroux)
“Great poem, I hope he continues to keep up the poetry writing even with the demands of medicine. Excellent and evocative.” (here on WordPress, in response to Oh, Beach that I Once Loved by Sethson Burton, 3rd placed, 18 to 35)
“Wonderful!” (here on WordPress, in response to The Fabled Truth by Aria-Rose Browne, 2nd placed, 13 to 17)
Some of the winning art pieces through the years – left to right, 2014 cover art by Alvin Livingstone, 2013 anansi challenge winning art by Garvin Benjamin, and 2011 winning illustration by Hudle Jennings.
Year: 2021
Number of submissions: 72
Trivia: Approximately half of the entries are from one school, St. Anthony’s Secondary School, winner of the prize for the school with the most submissions. Be sure to check out the 2021 Patrons who make this possible.
12 and younger honourable mention Eunike Caesar, 9, reading her story ‘The Blackboard’ during the Wadadli Pen 2021 virtual awards. Click the image to go to the Wadadli Pen YouTube channel to view the Playlist.
Reader Reviews (2021):
“Beautiful story!” (here on WordPress in response to ‘The Juxtaposed Reprieve’ by Sheniqua Greaves)
You can read the winning stories through the years and see more of the winning art here.
MORE TRIVIA Most times individuals made it to the winners’ circle (2004-2021):
Daryl George – seven prizes, including one main prize and two age category wins, over four Wadadli Pen Challenge years: hon. mention, 18-35 – 2012, 2nd placed and winning writing for two different stories, 18-35, and 2nd placed overall – 2013, hon. mention, 18-35 – 2014, winner, 18-35, and overall winner – 2016
Asha Graham who collected five prizes, including two main prize and two age category wins, over two Wadadli Pen Challenge years: third placed for one story and winner for another, 13 to 17, and winner overall – 2013, winner, 13 to 17, and winner overall – 2014
Andre Warner who collected four prizes, including one main prize and one age category win, over three Wadadli Pen Challenge years: 18 to 35 and main prize winner – 2020, honourable mention 2018, 2021
& three finalists who have collected four prizes, including one age category win, over three Wadadli Pen Challenge years:
Zion Ebony Williams -honourable mention, 12 and younger – 2014, 2nd runner up, 12 and younger – 2016, 1st, 12 and younger, and 3rd overall – 2017
Verdanci Benta -winner, 12 and younger and third overall – 2004, honourable mention – 2005, 2006
Chatrisse Beazer -honourable mention, 12 and younger – 2005, 2006, and winner, 13 to 17, and 3rd overall – 2011
Three time prize winners, including one category win, are –
Chammaiah Ambrose -3rd placed, 12 and younger – 2013, 2nd placed, 12 and younger – 2014, winner, 12 and younger – 2016
Vega Armstrong – honourable mention, 12 and younger – 2012, 2nd placed, 12 and younger – 2013, overall winner, 12 and younger – 2014
Liscia Lawarence – honourable mention – 2004, 3rd placed – 2005, honourable mention, 18 to 35 – 2014
Number of appearances by named schools^ in the winners’ circle (2004 to 2021) i.e. number of times a student from the named school has been a finalist in alphabetical order (for art, lit):
Students at Trinity Academy pictured with Joy Lawrence during a visit to promote writing and the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize, 2013.
American University of Antigua (1)
Antigua Girls High School (14) – also prize winner as the secondary school with the most submissions in 2013
Antigua Grammar School (4)
Antigua State College (19)
Antigua Wesleyan Junior Academy (3) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2012
Baptist Academy (5)
Buckley’s Primary School (1) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2005
Christ the King High School (8) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2016
Clare Hall Secondary School (2)
Foundation Mixed/Ms. Davis School (1)
Glanville’s Secondary School (1)
Golden Grove Primary School (2)
Irene B. Williams School (4)
Island Academy (4) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2017
Mary E. Piggott School (2)
Minoah Magnet Academy (2)
Ottos Comprehensive School (1)
Princess Margaret Secondary School (1)
St. Andrew’s Primary School (3) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2018
St. Anthony’s Secondary School (6) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2021
St. John’s Catholic Primary School (6) – also the primary school with the most submissions in 2013
St. Nicholas Primary School (3)
Sunnydale (1) – also prize winner as the school with the most submissions in 2020
Sunnyside Tutorial (5)
T. N. Kirnon (1) – also the primary school with the most submissions in 2014
reps for St. John’s Primary, winner of the 2013 prize for primary school with the most submissions. The prize was US$500 worth of books towards a school library, sponsored by Hands across the Sea.
Overall Student Winners (for art, lit), meanwhile, have come from (2004 – 2021):
Antigua State College (6)
Antigua Girls High School (1)
Golden Grove Primary (1)
Trivia (2004-2021):
Asha Graham, who took the main prize in both 2013 and 2014, read from her 2014 winning piece ‘LaJabless’ at the launch of coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse’s Burt award winning teen/young adult novel Musical Youth in 2014.
Youngest/Oldest-
Youngest Overall Winner – Eclipsing Asha Graham (2013) who had just turned 16 when she collected the first of back to back Wadadli Pen Challenge main prizes (and was actually 15 when she submitted), Cheyanne Darroux (2020) was at 11, the first main prize winner under 12.
Oldest Overall Winner – Margaret Irish (2015) and Kevin Liddie (2021) were main prize winners in years when the prize opened up to all ages.
entry by Freya Platts-Costeloe to the visual arts category of Wadadli Pen 2011.
Youngest Finalist (meaning the youngest person to receive a prize in any age category) – This is a three way tie between Freya Platts-Costeloe, a visual arts finalist in 2011, Chammaiah Ambrose, third placed in the 12 and younger category, for her story ‘How Tigers Got Stripes’ in 2013, and Zion Ebony Williams, an honourable mention with her story ‘The Night I went to Cricket’ in 2014; all three were eight years old at the time of recognition.
Recordings and Publications:
Poet Dotsie Isaac Gellizeau is seen in this Laura Hall photo participating in a joint Wadadli Pen-Museum fundraiser (Word Up!) in 2006. Gellizeau has also served as a judge (2011) and as a special guest at the awards ceremony (2015).
2004 – 2006 Winning stories were published by then partner – Young Explorer
2004 Winning stories were recorded by ABS Radio (as read by the writers)
2005 Winning stories were recorded by HAMA (as performed by the Optimist Club of St. John’s Youth Drama Club) – recordings were distributed for broadcast on radio – 
– now uploaded to you tube
2011 Select winning pieces through the years featured in a Special Wadadli Pen Issue of Anansesem: the online Caribbean Children’s Literary Journal called the Best of Wadadli Pen
2012 Akeile Benjamin’s ‘The Adventures of Mr. Coconut‘ and Vega Armstrong’s ‘Legend of the Sea Lords‘ published in Anansesem
2014 ‘The Night I went to Cricket’ by Zion Ebony Williams, ‘Legend of the Sea Lords’ by Vega Armstrong, and ‘Smitten’ by Rosalie Richards published in a special Antigua and Barbuda issue of Tongues of the Ocean
December 2019 – Rosie Pickering’s 2018 poem ‘Damarae’ published in Interviewing the Caribbean (Caribbean Childhood: Traumas and Triumphs Pt. 1), edited by Opal Palmer Adisa and published by the UWI Press
June 2020 – winning entries ‘Worlds Collide’ by D’Chaiya Emmanuel and ‘Tom, the Ninja Crab’ by Cheyanne Darroux read on ZDK Radio
Variously over the years winning stories have also been published in Antigua and Barbuda’s main daily, the Daily Observer
All winning entries can be read here on Wadadli Pen
Founder and coordinator of Wadadli Pen with winner Daryl George holding the Challenge plaque, 2016.
Recognition – for nominations made by Wadadli Pen# or received in connection with achievements under Wadadli Pen:
2005 Wadadli Pen finalists Sandrena Martin, Rilys Adams, Liscia Lawrence, and Sarah Ann Li received literary certificates from the Optimist Club of St. John’s for their contribution to the literary arts
From left Rilys, Sarah Ann Li, and Sandrena accepting their Optimist awards, 2011, for excellence in the literary arts. Rilys was a finalist, Sarah Ann won the youth category, and Sandrena was the overall winner.
2015 Asha Graham who won Wadadli Pen back to back in 2013 and 2014 was awarded the Literary prize during the National Youth Awards for her achievements
2018 Kyle Christian who won Wadadli Pen in 2018 also won the Literary Prize at the National Youth Award
#Wadadli Pen coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse has made nominations for lit arts and various other categories of the National Youth Awards over the years and has seen many of those nominees go on to win prizes – this list only covers awards received by Wadadli Pen participants for lit arts
Best of Books manager Barbara Arrindell with 2013 top junior writers Vega Armstrong, left, and Chammaiah Ambrose, right. Vega was an honourable mention in 2012; Vega was second and Chammaiah third, 12 and younger, in 2013; Vega won the category in 2014 and Chammaiah was again her runner up. Chammaiah would win the category in 2016. Chammaiah, like other past finalists (Orique Gordon, Asha Graham, Michaela Harris, Verdanci Benta and more) have participated in writing workshops led by Joanne C. Hillhouse, such as the Jhohadli Summer Youth Writing Project in 2013.
Development:
2005, 2013 Wadadli Pen writing workshop
2005 workshop at the then Cushion Club meeting place, the senior centre in lower Gambles.
(additionally Wadadli Pen finalists have participated in other workshops organized and/or facilitated by Joanne C. Hillhouse including her 2013’s Jhohadli Summer Youth Writing Project ,
Asha and Michaela, two Wadadli Pen finalists, participating in the 2013 Jhohadli Summer Youth Writing Project
judge Brenda Lee Browne’s Just Write Writers Retreat which for several years has offered a spot to the winner, and the 2014 CODE sponsored workshop for teen/YA fiction; the 2011 junior art winner has also participated in the Edison Liburd art camp as a part of her prize)
Freya Platts-Costeloe, front and centre, was the Wadadli Pen junior 2011 art winner; she’s pictured here with other participants in the Edison Arts Camp – a scholarship to which was part of her prize.
Other notable developments:
2006 Word Up! Showcase and fundraiser held in partnership with the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda – Wadadli Pen finalists Rilys Adams and Sandrena Martin given the opportunity to participate in this showcase alongside seasoned Antiguan and Barbudan writers
This is a cut from the press coverage of Word Up! Read the full article: Word up
2007-2009 Wadadli Pen was on hiatus. It would return from hiatus with a new Challenge and Word Up! 2010 part of a week of activities organized for Black History Month (in collaboration with community partners)
2010 Launched this website; there was a previous site (2005 – until the project/financing ended in 2007) built as part of the OECS Cultural Network Project sponsored by Alliance Francaise – Wadadli Pen did not have the independent funding to keep the website going beyond the project’s run but this WordPress blog has filled the gap and become a literary arts resource (with its resources page and opportunities pages, among other things), a Caribbean (Carib Plus Lit Series, Caribbean Writers Online, Literary Festivals of the Caribbean, plus) and Antiguan and Barbudan resource (with data bases of all books published ever by Antiguans and Barbudans, with genre sub-lists for non-fiction, fiction, poetry, children’s lit, anthologies, plays/screenplays, A & B Writing in Journals, A & B Artistes Discussing Art, other people Writing Antigua Barbuda, Antiguan and Barbudan songwriters and song lyrics, professional writing services (on island), Literary Arts in Antigua and Barbuda, Antiguans and Barbudans Awarded, the Antiguan and Barbudan Media: an Abridged Record, even an A & B Arts Wish List, plus), and beyond (with a Reading Room and Gallery series, Blogger on Books – which can now be found on Hillhouse’s personal blog, and more) – platforms like the Anansesem online bookstore and the blogger who dubbed it “a huge archive of anything literary that is Antigua and Barbuda…” have attested to Wadadli Pen’s value as a resource
2010 The Best of Books sought and received approval to begin using the name for a new open mic series, the monthly Wadadli Pen Open Mic which is independent of Wadadli Pen and hosted by Glen Toussaint, a writer in his own right, who would also later serve as a Wadadli Pen judge and, as a Best of Books employee, host of several Wadadli Pen Challenge awards ceremonies
2014 Wadadli Pen celebrated 10 years of existence
2015 Wadadli Pen teamed up with the Cushion Club Reading Club for Kids to launch a Summer Reading Challenge
Olsfred James, a Best of Books pick in 2015, seen here collecting his prize from Dotsie Isaac Gellizeau has since published two collections as part of the arts collective Spilling Ink, which would in 2016 win the literary award at the National Youth Awards.
2016 Wadadli Pen founder and coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse, having put together a plan for the future of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize as a year-round development programme with a strong foundation, began the process of moving it from a project and labour of love to a non-profit that she hopes will endure as an arts development institution well in to the future. She pulled a core team (effectively a Wadadli Pen advisory and action board) together. This core team consists of past and current Wadadli Pen annual Challenge partners Floree Whyte (who has worked with the programme as a judge since 2102) and Barbara Arrindell (who, as manager of the Best of Books, has effectively supported the programme from the beginning, 2004, and more actively beyond being a patron since Best of Books started hosting the awards ceremony in 2011), and past Wadadli Pen winners Devra Thomas (who won in 2011) and Margaret Irish (who won the Teachers’ Prize in 2014 and the main/flash fiction prize in 2015)
2019 the Challenge was on hiatus but the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize had a Book of the Year initiative with winning author Vivian Luke (F.A.K.E.) being asked to pick a school to receive a prize of books (valued just under EC$1000) sponsored by our patrons. The selected school was the Foundation Mixed School
The work continues.
MEDIA
In addition to local coverage of annual Challenge activities (much thanks to the local media), Wadadli Pen has picked up some regional and even international notice as well. Samples…
2011 Wadadli Pen winner, subsequent volunteer, as referenced in the quote below, and, as of 2016, core team member Devra Thomas with Best of Books owner EM Grimes-Graeme and the Challenge plaque.
“It is possibly the best testimony to the value of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize that one of its past winners is now a member of the organising team…” Lisa Allen-Agostini writing in Caribbean Beat in 2012 in a piece headlined Budding Pens: the Wadadli Pen Writing Competition
Article by Wadadli Pen founder Joanne C. Hillhouse in Bookbird: a Journal of International Children’s Literature – headlined Wadadli Pen and Young Writers in the Caribbean
This mention “Wadadli Youth Pen Prize (Antigua and Barbuda) and the Allen Prize for Young Writers (T&T) both incorporate workshop sessions into their organisational structure, resulting in rich dividends for fledgling youth scribes” by Shivanee Ramlochan in the Trinidad Guardian
Social Media (samples)
(video by Floree Whyte)
“I have had occasion to see work from this group, some from young people under 15, and was very impressed…” Diane Browne, Jamaican children’s author, writing on her blog
Guest post by Wadadli Pen founder Joanne C. Hillhouse on the blog of Summer Edward, founder of Anansesem – headlined Nurturing Another Generation of Antiguan and Barbudan writers
2004 winners (standing) and patrons (seated); then Culture Director and artist Heather Doram, seated, centre.
A feature in the 2016-2017 edition of Simply Antigua and Barbuda – which referenced the history and purpose of the project, and also pointed to the work we’ve been doing here on the website to build a data base of books by Antiguans and Barbudans
June 2010 – Wadadli Pen Scribbling Success Stories (read article). EXCERPT: “Maybe it’s the pure pleasure I experience reading the creative efforts of our young writers through the years; the way their storytelling prods at relevant social issues and reveals, in some instances, a literary maturity I didn’t necessarily have at their age.”
PARTNERS
(i.e. people who worked in some volunteer capacity with the WYPP)
Joanne C. Hillhouse (founder, coordinator, 2004 – ongoing)
Young Explorer (volunteer, partner publication, 2004 – 2006)
D. Gisele Isaac (volunteer, judge, 2004 – 2006, 2010)
Alstyne Allen, RIP (volunteer via Young Explorer, 2004 – 2006) – Challenge plaque now named for her
Charmaine Thomas (volunteer, 2006)
Mark Brown (art challenge coordinator and judge, 2010)
Renee Philip (art judge, 2010 – 2011)
Brenda Lee Browne (judge, 2010 – 2014)
Barbara Arrindell (partner as manager of The Best of Books, 2011 – ongoing; member of the Wadadli Pen core team, 2016 – ongoing)
Dotsie Isaac Gellizeau (judge, 2011)
Claytine Nisbett (volunteer, 2012)
Devra Thomas (Wadadli Pen 2011 winner, volunteer since 2012, member of the Wadadli Pen core team, 2016 – ongoing)
Floree (Williams) Whyte (judge, 2012 – 2018, member of the Wadadli Pen core team, 2016 – ongoing)
Linisa George (judge, 2013 – 2015)
Joy Lawrence (volunteer, 2014)
Carol Ottley-Mitchell (judge, 2014 – 2015)
Lia Nicholson (Wadadli Pen 2004 finalist-media ambassador, 2014)
Latisha Walker-Jacobs (2011 and 2013 Wadadli Pen finalist-media ambassador, 2014)
Joy James (art judge, 2014)
Angelica O’Donoghue (2006 winner and 2014 Wadadli Pen finalist-media ambassador, 2014)
Danielle Boodoo-Fortune (judge, 2014 – 2015)
Monica Matthew (judge, 2015)
Glen Toussaint (judge, 2016 – 2017)
Cedric Holder (judge, 2016)
Margaret Irish (Wadadli Pen winner teachers prize, 2014, and flash prize, 2015 – volunteer, 2016 – 2017; member of the Wadadli Pen core team, 2016 – ongoing)
Michaela Harris (Wadadli Pen finalist, 2012 and 2013,; intern/volunteer 2017)
Sharifa George (judge, 2017)
PATRONS The way Wadadli Pen patronage has been set up so far, 2004-present (as of 2019), has been as a gift (cash, prize) to the Challenge winner. It’s impractical to list all 86+ patrons through the years here but you can find the full breakdown of prizes and patrons by searching ‘who won what in (insert year here)’ for a year by year breakdown. Deepest thanks to them all. If you, too, would like to become a patron, contact wadadlipen@gmail.com
Christopher Gittens who tied for third place in the 12 and younger category in 2014 is pictured collecting his prizes from D. Gisele Isaac.
CHALLENGES Overall, the number of submissions could be higher but there still needs to be more awareness of the programme among teachers – more interaction with the schools which requires more time (which requires more money) – as this is a voluntary project, time has to be stolen (and depending on other obligations this is not always possible). There needs to be a budget to cover promotion and marketing; readings and presentations; the annual Challenge activity and other projects the founder would like to undertake (such as in-school workshops year round, and publication and production of film shorts based on the winning stories). The programme has no consistent independent financing; prizes are solicited annually (cap in hand) – a different approach is needed and for that the project ideally needs to be established as a legal non-profit so that it can set up an account, put a permanent team in place, and raise funds and run development activities year round. Proactive steps toward formalizing the Wadadli Pen foundation have been taken. Most significantly, a vision and plan has been drawn up, and a team – an advisory and action board – is in place as of 2016. As at 2019, we have begun consulting with a lawyer who has offered pro bono assistance to facilitate this process. We will work together to overcome the stated challenges and grow. If you can help, contact us at wadadlipen@gmail.com
The art created for Gittens’ story by Emile Hill – one of the 2014 art prize winners.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
WADADLI PEN Finalists have gone on to achieve in the literary arts and other areas (N.B. Wadadli Pen does not take credit for their accomplishments; merely joins in celebrating them for continuing to strive and continuing to create)…
Mjolnir Messiah – a finalist in 2014 was Antigua and Barbuda’s CSEC top student. – 2021
Andre J. P. Warner – winner of Rebel Women Lit’s Caribbean Readers Awards best short fiction prize for his 2020 Wadadli Pen winning story ‘A Bright Future for Tomorrow‘ – 2021
Lucia Murray – the 2017 finalist has since become Intersect Antigua’s resident artist – 2020
Michaela Harris 
in 2019, two years after she became Wadadli Pen’s first intern in 2017, won the CFCCU 60th anniversary scholarship – congrats to Michaela who’s gone on to finish her degree – in 2018, Michaela started her own NGO Her Shine Theory “to support, guide and empower young women to define what authentically being their best self means“.
Rilys Adams, now an attorney, who released a spoken word CD Laid Bare (2009), continues to self-publish several ebooks per year as seen in Antiguan and Barbudan Writings; she was a nominee for best novel in the first Rebel Women Lit’s Caribbean Readers Awards in 2020/1 and a semi-finalist (x2) for the romance book industry’s Swoonies, also in 2021. In 2020, she won a Ripped Bodice Award for Excellence in Romantic Fiction for her novel Go Deep.
Shem Alexander is an emerging visual artist (whose work has been described as “innovative an unique” – the Antiguan) who has participated in several national art shows and is also spotlighted in the Simply Antigua and Barbuda edition cited above; he graduated Midwestern State University in 2020 with the president’s medal for excellence and had an exhibition, Weight of Water, at Midwestern’s Juanita Harvey Art Gallery. He was also part of the senior art exhibition
Vega Armstrong, as of 2015, at only 14, ventured into music, initially doing covers but then spreading her wings as not only a singer but a songwriter with 2016’s The River Effect
Terrikia Benjamin won other literary prizes such as the Antigua Public Library Short Story Competition (2010), the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association essay competition (2012), and was the top CSEC student from a Government School in 2014, and 2016 Island Scholar
Ashley Clendenen continued to study art and has exhibited as a student in both Antigua and Barbados; she showed in a 2015 Orange Day Artivism event organized by the Directorate of Gender Affairs, Antigua.
Shakeema Edwards has excelled in other writing competitions (the Independence Literary Arts competition and others) including the Dancing Nude in the Moonlight next chapter contest with her winning poem and prose now included in the 10th anniversary edition of that book released in 2014; she has also published in Tongues of the Ocean; and, having graduated university continues on a career path in the field of writing and publishing in the US
Lia Nicholson, a Yale graduate, who said during a Wadadli Pen promotional interview in 2014 that she used her winning Wadadli Pen entry as her college entry essay, is as of 2015 a board member with the Environmental Awareness Group and was one of the speakers at the first ever TEDx event in the OECS, speaking on, what else, climate change ; in 2016, she was named as one of only 60 Queen’s Young Leaders from across the Commonwealth
Verdanci Benta was a winner in the Independence literary competition, 13 to 18 age category in 2006; according to google, she is (as of 2019) a council team member of JCI Nottingham (and hopefully still writing)
Angelica O’Donoghue founded Antigua Chronicle, an online newspaper; Angelica is a 2014-15 National Youth Award winner; and was named Woman of the Week in St. Lucian Voice
Kohylah Piper continued writing via her poetry blog, The Deafening Selah, started in 2015
Tiffany Smith won a National Youth Award for Culture and the Performing Arts in 2012; she was a 2015 recipient of the Mill Reef Fund Education Grant which helped her earn a first class honours degree from UWI in psychology and english with a concentration in creative writing
Damani Tabor became an Antiguan and Barbudan senator and vocal political operative in 2014
Devra Thomas has since published in Tongues of the Ocean
Zion Ebony Williams placed among the top 5 students in the country after the national assessments required as primary school students move to secondary school (formerly the Common Entrance Exams)
Zoe Lewis, pictured with Joanne C. Hillhouse, was an honourable mention in the 12 and younger category in 2014.
RIP to Zuri Holder 
– regrettably in 2021 he was in a fatal car accident; we at Wadadli Pen mourn the loss of our family. His family through the Cushion Club – which has had a long relationship with Wadadli Pen – established a youth award (for the 12 and younger winners) in his name. Gazelle Goodwin was the first name added to the plaque in 2021.
Wadadli Pen has benefited greatly from the support of various businesses, writers, and other individuals; people who understand the value of philanthropy (giving back). Each has had a hand in youth and art development in Antigua and Barbuda. From founder-coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse “To anyone who has supported us in anyway, we say thanks for your past and hopefully future support as we, knock on wood, continue to experiment and grow. And we encourage everyone to support the businesses and people that support the arts.”
Some of the 2014 winners with their prizes.
Click on the links throughout this post and/or use the drop down menu to the right to access particulars about each year (the names of the winners and the patrons who helped us reward their efforts).
Margaret Irish, 2014 winner of the Lead by Example Teachers’ Prize, collecting from D. Gisele Isaac. Irish went on to win the winner takes all flash fiction prize in 2015.
Didn’t find what you were looking for? Want to correct an error? Want to find out how you, too, can support the work of Wadadli Pen? Contact Wadadli Pen at wadadlipen@gmail.com
Be sure to subscribe to or follow the site to keep up with updates.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your support.
Michaela Harris, shortlisted in 2012, a 2013 finalist, and 2017 Wadadli Pen intern – the growth of her and other young Antiguans and Barbudans is why this project exists.
p.s. photographers include Colin James (2004), Laura Hall (Word Up! 2006) – Gemma Hazelwood also took pictures of this event which can be found elsewhere on this site, Angelica O’Donoghue for AntiguaChronicle.net (2013), Zahra Airall (2010), Glen Toussaint and Barbara Arrindell of the Best of Books bookstore (2011 – ongoing), Linisa George (2017), Joanne C. Hillhouse, and several proud parents (various years). Thanks to anyone who has contributed to this project.
*Re approximate value/approximately – Wadadli Pen does its best to keep track of the numbers but due to some growing pains 2016 forward, the final figures were not verified between 2017-2018, and so the closest possible approximation has been given.
^Please note that we direct mail schools on our mailing list when the competition is launched; if you have never received one of these launch emails from us and would like to, please let us know at wadadlipen@gmail.com We will not spam you with irrelevant information.
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