Tag Archives: Bocas Lit Fest

Carib Lit Plus (Mid to Late March 2023)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here – credit and link back if you use).

Books and Other Reading Material

‘It’s important to point out that because I’m a shameless self-promoter who’s also fairly friendly that sometimes many people that I don’t know reach out to me because they like my work and offer to assist me with random things. (That’s tip number four — network, network, network) That’s also how I got funding for my very first audiobook, The Secrets of Catspraddle Village, an anthology of award-winning short stories. A Bookstafriend sent me a link about a seminar for an audiobook class which the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) was hosting. I signed up because I thought “eh, why not?”. What I thought would just be an informative seminar turned out to be an even bigger blessing. Every single person who attended was given studio time to help them record their audiobooks. (Shout out to the NCF for supporting Bajan culture, btw!) BUT please note that (a) I already had material written which was deemed good enough for my application to the writing retreat (b) Catspraddle Village was already compiled since I had planned to release the anthology this year. I say that to say this: (tip five) you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready. In both of those instances, I was (unknowingly) prepared.’ – Callie Browning guest post: Callie Browning has “done everything wrong” and That’s All Right: The Bajan Author on the Secrets to Her Success

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I (Joanne C. Hillhouse) opened Twitter today to see my face …which was quite jarring as, though I had been interviewed by Jacqueline Bishop for Jamaica Observer’s #InConversation series in Sharon Leach’s Bookends column, that had been some months ago and I had not realized it was scheduled to be published this Sunday, March 26th 2023. I also had not realized, as I now do per a Facebook comment by Leach, that this is the last entry in the series (which is an annual series for Woman’s History Month). So, while I initially thought she meant last ever, it makes more sense that she means last for this year – in which case, I’ve never been so happy to bring up the rear.

I’ll track down the entire interview and post to Wadadli Pen’s Reading Room and Gallery 48 – where you can also find Bookends #InConversation with Trinidad and Tobago’s Barbara Jenkins – and the Media Page on my Jhohadli blog. (Source – Jacqueline Bishop on Twitter)

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March 25th is the International Day of Remembrance of the victims of slavery and in particular the trans Atlantic slave trade. In memory, here are links to some past Wadadli Pen posts about chattel slavery in the Caribbean and Antigua and Barbuda in particular:

More People You should know – about Eliza Moore, who used the Emancipation act in the British West Indies and the fact that she was born in Antigua, part of the BWI, to secure her release from enslavement in St. Croix, which was still a slave state.

The Beginnings of Education for Black People in the British West Indies – Historical Notes (Antigua and Barbuda) – about how two free Black sisters, whose family were paradoxically slave owners and ameliorists (not abolitionists), and the free and enslaved Black people who built the country’s first school.

About Court or Klaas – about Antigua and Barbuda’s first national hero, leader of the failed 1736 rebellion who was subsequently broken on the wheel and his head hung on a pike at Otto’s pasture as a deterrant.

The Full has never been told – key dates between 1674 and 1835 and reference texts.

(Source – A. McKenzie on Twitter)

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This post from A Writer’s Path and this recent posting on my Jhohadli blog both stress how pre-ordering can boost the success of forthcoming books. So let’s talk about some forthcoming books I’ve recently engaged or am involved with. Starting with Carol Mitchell’s debut novel What Start Bad A Morning. This is not Carol’s first book – in fact, she is a well-established independent author and publisher (including of two of my books). But this is her first full length adult contemporary novel with a traditional international press, Central Avenue Publishing. I read an advance review copy of What Start Bad A Morning for the purpose of blurbing and, as I do with books I like and/or have something to say about, I reviewed it for my Blogger on Books series.

The official publishing date is September 19th 2023 but it is already available for pre-order. Also available for pre-order is To be a Cheetah which, I’ve mentioned before is a collaboration with Antiguan and Barbudan artist Zavian Archibald.

This officially drops on July 4th 2023 – an easy date to remember right, especially as it’s with US publisher Sunbird Books. The third book I wanted to mention, meanwhile, is an abridged anthology of a previoiusly released (with US and UK publishers) anthology; the aa is with German publisher, Unrast. New Daughers of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby came out in 2019, 25 years after the similiarly seminal Daughters of Africa, aslo edited by Busby. Neue Töchter Afrikas – also edited by Busby who selected 30 of the 200 authors from the original anthology, including yours truly (my story “Evening Ritural”) for this German edition – officially launches June 20th 2023 in Cologne (wish I could be there) but it will be available for pre-order from April 25th 2023.

Pictured above, left to right, I am signing a copy of New Daughters at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2019; that’s Margaret in the middle, a recent social media image, also with the book, and at right, the cover of the German translation. I’m excited about this because while it’s not the first time a creative work of mine has been translated, nor the first book in translation (see Perdida! Una Aventura en el Mar Caribe) but it is my first German translation and I am happy to see this amazing collection continue to penetrate new markets years after its release.

I’ll end by circling back to my fourth picture book, eighth book overall, To be a Cheetah. Best of Books bookstore will be hosting a launch in Antigua and Barbuda and I am looking forward to that. But to the theme of this entry, you can also pre-order from them if in Antigua and Barbuda, or even the Caribbean (I just signed copies of one of my books bought at Best of Books by someone placing the order from St. Kitts). Between this and all of the online options for purchasing, I do hope you will consider ordering now – it’s a small thing you can do for an author you love or a book you’re anticipating to help boost it in the marketplace. (Source – me)

Assistance

The Wadadli Youth Pen Prize has worked to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda since 2004, as a legal non-profit since 2021. From its inception, Wadadli Pen’s work has been voluntary, and, at this writing, it remains so. If you want to work with us (either as a volunteer or an intern – the latter ideal for college students seeking experience and mentorship), see this page for details. To contribute to the 2023 Wadadli Pen Challenge season, or to Wadadli Pen generally, see here.

(Source – in-house)

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Antiguan artist and art teacher, Rhonda Williams, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She’s relocated to the US and needs assistance covering the costs for treatment. Here’s her go fund me. (Source – Intersect Antigua on Twitter)

RIPs

“From helping found the Environmental Awareness Group and the Antigua Yacht Club, to her invaluable work with the national museum, the incredible legacy of Lisa Nicholson will continue to reverberate for many years to come.” (Daily Observer by Newsco)

Nicholson died March 20th 2023 at age 88. With her husband Desmond, she was not just active but pioneering in Antigua and Barbuda’s yachting sector – and its byproducts, such as Antigua Sailing Week and the Classic Yacht Regatta, research and restoration in their local English Harbour community and the island generally – including the works of the Dockyard and Museum, and environmental preservation – via the EAG.

“And she was an active member of many community organisations including the Expression Choir, Friends of Holberton Hospital, Sunnyside School, and the St Paul’s Crisis Intervention Group.” (Observer by Newsco)

The Expression Choir sang for the longtime community activist shortly before her death as she had done (as a member of the choir) for many others over the years. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

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Montserrat is mourning the loss of its literary lion Howard Fergus.

Fergus died on March 23rd. He wrote poetry and non-fiction primarily if not exclusively about Montserrat. His publications include Montserrat: History of a Caribbean Colony, Volcano Verses, The Arrow Poems and Sunday Soup, Obama and Other Poems, and Road from Long Ground: The Twilight Years. (Source – House of Nehesi Publishers on Twitter)

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Our previous Carib Lit Plus shared the news of the passing of Dominican literary giant Alwyn Bully. We wanted to excerpt a couple of the tributes to enhance knowledge of his contribution to the arts. This one is from historian and writer also from Dominica Lennox Honeychurch (excerpt): “Alwin Bully was born in Roseau in on 23 November,1948 and was educated at the Convent Preparatory School, the Dominica Grammar School, the St. Mary’s Academy and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. He returned to teach at his old Alma Mater, eventually serving as its headmaster. During this time, he was deeply involved in promoting all aspects of the arts in Dominica including drama, painting, dance, folk traditions, creative writing and carnival. In 1965 he represented Dominica at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in Britain along with members of the Kairi and Dominica Dance troupes. In 1978, with the encouragement of then Minister of Education, H. L. Christian, he established the ‘cultural desk’ in the Ministry of Community Development which became the Cultural Division. In 1987 he left Dominica to work at the regional office of UNESCO in Jamaica, applying his creative skills to the wider Caribbean. Alwin Bully designed the national flag in early 1978 in preparation for the gaining of independence from Britain later that year and the Cabinet made certain small alterations to the original design. The flag was legally established by Act No. 18 of 1978, The National Emblems of Dominica Act, signed by the Governor, Sir Louis Cools-Lartigue on 31 October 1978, Gazetted 1 November 1978 and effective 3 November 1978.”

This one is from St. Lucian researcher and poet John Robert Lee (whose email blasts I reference often in this series): “Alwin was a close friend from our years at Cave Hill from 1969. We acted together and taught theatre workshops in many islands. He was one of those seminal figures of my youth who remained a formative influence. Our friends were the generation of artists, writers, theatre persons throughout the Caribbean with whom we formed lasting friendships. Both our own age group and older friends like Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, Rex Nettleford, Lorna Goodison and many others. We were children of those dynamic 70’s when so much was happening in our Caribbean in the arts and culture, popular music, politics, literature, ideas etc etc. He was the star, the leader among us. Now in our mid seventies, our generation is slowly but surely moving on….” (Source – JR Lee email)

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Jennifer Rahim, an award winning Trinidadian and Tobagonian writer of poetry, fiction, and literary criticism, has died. She is the author of Mothers are Not the Only Linguists: and Other Poems for which she was named writer of the year by the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago (1992), Songster and Other Stories (2007), Casa de las Americas prize winning Approaching Sabbaths (2009), Redemption Rain: Poems (2011), Ground Level: Poems (2014), Bocas prize winning Curfew Chronicles: A Fiction (2017), and Sanctuaries of Invention (2021). Paper-Based Bookstore in tribute to her said, “Her backlist remains sought-after by students, critics, as well as everyday lovers of literature. She was a thoughtful & tremendously intelligent correspondent, whose updates on new writing we always looked forward to receiving. We recommend her bibliography without hesitation.” ETA: Jennifer has a book, Goodbye Bay, forthcoming July 2023 with Peepal Tree Press.

Book synopsis: It is 1963, one year after Independence, and Trinidadians are beginning to wonder what they can expect. But for Anna Bridgemohan, the year is one of crisis. Her mother has just died, bringing to the fore issues about Anna’s parentage, and she has broken up with her boyfriend. Since they both work at the central post office in Port of Spain, she decides to take up a temporary post in the small coastal village of Macaima, remote and declining cocoa country whose simpler rhythms, she thinks, will give her space and time to reflect, away from the pressures of the city and the intense political discussions at work. But neither space nor time is granted; the life of Macaima passes through the post office, and there is no way Anna can hold herself aloof from the stories that the villagers bring. Long before the year is up, Anna has been immersed in an intense seasoning in Macaima that will change her for ever. (Source – Paper-Based Books on Twitter)

Events

The theme of this year’s US Virgin Islands Literary Festival & Book Fair, a virtual and in-person live event, set for April 13th – 16th 2023, is “Carrying: Recognition and Repair” – also the theme for volume 37 of The Caribbean Writer, currently being prepped for publication. The headliner will be Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake, with Augustown author Kei Miller, A Million Aunties author Alecia McKenzie, Now Lila Knows author Elizabeth Nunez, and Fear of Black Consciousness author Lewis Gordon among the supporting cast of writers. Planned workshops cover topics like “Using Virgin Islands History to Write Fiction” by Tiphanie Yanique, “Teaching Caribbean/Virgin Islands Literature in Virgin Islands Classroom” by Velma Pollard, writing plot, building character, weaving setting, writing about political controversy, writing poetry, and writing for children and publishing. The popular Book Bacchanal reception will be held at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts. The festival also has a Children’s Corner and among the authors in this genre expected to hang there, real or remotely, are Denene Milner, Tohira Durand, Michael Fleming. The Festival will also pay tribute to unsung Virgin Islanders like Valerie Combie, Vincent Cooper, and Joan Medlicott. Announcement of prizes for pieces published in The Caribbean Writer will be announced during the festival. For more information visit: http://www.usvilitfest.com or email usvilitfest@gmail.com (Source – JR Lee)

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Soothe, a neo-soul-ish talent showcase and lime in Antigua and Barbuda was back to live events at Sugar Ridge on March 11th 2023 for the first time since the pandemic (a time during which they ran the online Sessions by Soothe series). The Resurgence, as it was called, included award winning pannist and Culture director Khan Cordice, soca queen Claudette Peters, among other singers – Arlen Seaton, Christian Ivy, etc., groups like the Serenade jazz ensemble, spoken word artist Kadeem Joseph, and singer Laikan (covered twice recently in CREATIVE SPACE), among others; a reported 16 performers. And Soothe (started in 2014 by Gemma Hazelwood and Taslim Gordon) with its line-up and stylized ambience delivered the vibes to its stylish audience.

Images from Soothe on Facebook. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

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St. Anthony’s Secondary School ‘Make It Art Fest’ competition and family fun day has been announced for April 1st 2023. Categories include painting, drawing, and face painting. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

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HAMA Films, the independent film company (producer Mitzi Allen, and co-producer/director husband Howard Allen) that brought Antigua and Barbuda it’s first full length feature film with The Sweetest Mango back in 2001 premiered its fifth film, Deep Blue first in Barbuda, March 11th, and on March 25th, in Antigua. There was an advanced screening in Montserrat late in 2022 during the Alliougana Festival of the Word.

Early reviews of the premiere event and the film itself on social media have been positive. Example, this one from Colin John Jenkins, prominent architect known for his commentary on various things including life in Antigua and films, “

Movie Review: Deep Blue

Last night was a really nice outing man. Familiar faces, both ladies and gents dressed up and such, and the venue was aptly set for the first showing of Deep Blue.

Without giving away too much, the plot focuses on the familiar story of development in a small island state, corruption, village politics, and environmental issues. Very timely, if I don’t say so myself.

It was really cool seeing people I know stepping up like this and the cinematography was enjoyable as the punch lines.

We do have great access to actors here and I hope the film industry and these kinda events continue to grow.

Maybe I might even do a 15-minute short film after this inspiration right here.

Kudos to everyone involved! I enjoyed it.

(Source – various on Facebook)

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In Jamaica, there’s the ArtWalk Festival. What’s that? It’s a free public arts event, the last Sunday of the month, that showcases artistic and cultural talent (dancers, musicians, visual artists, poets, writers) in Jamaica. Partially funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, it is a Kingston Creative project started in 2018 and held in Downtown Kingston. March’s theme is Literature and Storytelling and poet and activist Stacey-ann Chin was the announced special guest for the March 24th meet-up and this is the March 26th festival line-up:

(Source – Twitter)

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The Bocas Lit Fest will be back live for the first time since the pandemic April 28th to 30th 2023 in Trinidad and Tobago. Booked authors announced include authors who’ve dropped acclaimed texts in the intervening years including Celia Sorhaindo (Guabancex, 2020, and Radical Normalisation, 2022), Sharma Taylor (What a Mother’s Love don’t Teach You, 2022), Cherie Jones (How the One-Armed Sister sweeps Her House, 2021), Alake Pilgrim (Zo and The Forest of Secrets, 2022), and Ayamna Lloyd Banwo (When We were Birds, 2022) among others. See also the kids’ programme. (Source – N/A)

Accolades

Jamaican writer Marcia Douglas has been announced as the 2023 winner of the Whiting Award for Fiction.

Read more about Marcia here. Here are all the current winners. (Source – Whiting Foundation on Twitter)

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Recognising the winners of Priest Kailash of Antigua and Barbuda’s annual African Heritage/Black History essay competiion and the programme itself. Winners were announced during an awards ceremony at Cortsland Hotel and received laptops and tablets. These are 12-year-old Gloria Sampson, Raffael Davis, and Tezjah Smith. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

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Sandra Pouchet Paquet of Trinidad and Tobago is this year’s recipient of the Bocas Swanzy Award for distinguished service to Caribbean Letters: “in recognition of her pioneering contributions to the fields of academia, literature, and cultural studies.” The award is for editors, broadcasters, publishers, critics, and others working behind the scenes in service to Caribbean literature. Pouchet Paquet is remembered as a pioneering scholar in the field of Caribbean literary studies – “her book The Novels of George Lamming (Heinemann, 1980) remains a seminal text” – and many of us, Caribbean writers, also remember her Caribbean Writers Summer Institute out of the University of Miami in the early to mid-1990s. I (Joanne C. Hillhouse) attended in 1995, the programme’s penultimate year; it was my first international workshop and reading – and it was life changing. Credit to Pouchet Paquet, the programme’s director, for, as Bocas said, “shap(ing) the careers of a generation of authors”. Pouchet Paquet is also the founder of Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal. She will receive her award on April 29th 2023. (Source – Bocas email)

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Jamaican writer Colin Channer is one of Poets & Writers announced recipients of the 2023 Writers for Writers award. A committee made up of present and past members of the P & W board of directors made the decision. The committee’s chair, literary agent Eric Simonoff, commented: “We are thrilled to celebrate these three [Channer, Reyna Grande, and Celeste Ng] outstanding authors and one extraordinary editor [Jennifer Hershey], who have each shown a deep commitment to broadening the literary conversation. Through their dedication to writers and writing and their insistence on the importance of representation, they have enriched the publishing landscape immeasurably—to the benefit of us all.” The awards will be presented on March 27th 2023. Channer is best known for his fiery first novel Waiting in Vain and for being a co-founder of the Calabash International Literary Festival. (Source – Christian Campbell on Twitter)

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Jamaican Ishion Hutchinson is to receive the Susannah Hunnewell Prize, which honors a writer for an outstanding piece of prose or poetry published by The Paris Review in the previous calendar year. The prize was established in 2023 in memory of Hunnewell, who worked with the magazine for over 30 years up to her three-year stint as editor, the role she held at the time of her death in 2019. Hutchinson is the prize’s first winner for an essay entitled “Women Sweeping”, published in the Spring 2022 issue (no. 239). (Source – JR Lee email)

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One of if not the Caribbean’s most coveted literary prizes, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, has announced its 2023 long list. In poetry, the celebrated writers are Michael Fraser (The Day-Breakers), Anthony Joseph (Sonnets for Albert), and Pamela Mordecai (de book of Joseph); in fiction Marlon James (Moon Witch, Spider King), Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (When We were Birds), and Jasmine Sealy (The Island of Forgetting); and, in non-fiction, Ira Mathur (Love the Dark Days), Patricia Joan Saunders (Buyers Beward: Insurgency and Consumption in Caribbean Popular Culture), and Godfrey Smith (Diary of a Recovering Politician). Fraser is Canadian with Caribbean roots, Joseph and Banwo are UK-based Trinis, Mordecai a Canada-based Jamaican, James a US based Jamaican, Sealy a British born Barbadian Canadian, Mathur an Indian born Trinidadian, Saunders lives in the US (I am unsure of the specific island connection but she is part of the Caribbean diaspora) and Smith is a Belizean.

The winners of the genre and main prizes will be announced during the Bocas lit fest which returns to live for the first time during the pandemic, April 28th – 30th. This is the 13th year of the prize; past main prize winners are Derek Walcott (White Egrets), Earl Lovelace (Is Just a Movie), Monique Roffey (Archipelago), Robert Antoni (Like Flies to Watless Boys), Vladimir Lucien (Sounding Ground), Olive Senior (The Pain Tree), Kei Miller (Augustown), Jennifer Rahim (Curfew Chronicles), Kevin Adonis Browne (High Mas), Richard Georges (Epiphaneia), Canisia Lubrin (The Dyzgraphxst), Celeste Mohammed (Pleasantview). If you’re in to stats, that’s six writers from Trinidad and Tobago, three from St.Lucia, two from Jamaica, and one from the British Virgin Islands; and six books of fiction, four books of poetry, and two non-fiction books. (Source – JR Lee email)

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Guadeloupean writer Maryse Condé, 89, is on the International Booker Prize long list. I mention her age as its been revealed that she is the oldest writer ever to make the list. Her longlisted book is The Book According to The New World, translated by her husband Richard Philcox. Per this article, “[they] are the first husband-and-wife team ever nominated for the prize. Condé, who has a degenerative neurological disorder that makes it difficult to see, dictated The Gospel According to the New World to Philcox, who then translated it into English.” Condé was previously shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2015. (Source – Facebook)

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Grenadian filmmaker Teddy Frederick’s documentary film New Land: The Kalinago Dream has picked up awards at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival and the Rome International Movie Awards.

It has received honourable mention at the Munich New Wave Short Film Festival, and is an official selection at the Amsterdam International Awards, the Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival, and the Nouveaux Regards Film Festival. These selections place it in contention for more accolades. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

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The Derek Walcott Prize was awarded in 2022 to Saddiq Dzukogi’s Your Crib, My Qibla. The prize, named for St. Lucia’s late Nobel Laureate, is awarded in a partnership between Arrowsmith Press, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Walcott Festival. (Source – JR Lee email)

Arts and Culture

Tropical Fete led off this year’s art and culture column series CREATIVE SPACE. It’s annual report, just in to my inbox,highlights its top three accomplishments of the past year as its cultural enrichment programmes in the areas of music and dance; the mas in Time’s Square and at the Brooklyn Public Library experiences; and providing college scholarships to two students. Twenty 23 goals include finding a location from which to operate 24 /7, game app development, and continued exploration of art and culture in relation to mental and physical health in a research setting. Read the full report.

(Source – Tropical Fete email)

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Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority has announced a new festival: Antigua and Barbuda Art Week April 16 – 22. The line-up of activities notably omits literary arts despite the number of published books by Antiguans and Barbudans, and past community-organized literary art showcases like the Antigua and Barbudan International Literary Festival, Wadadli Stories Book Fair, and the Wadadli Pen organized Word Up!. That line-up, as published on visitantiguabarbuda.com, is a schools art competition just posted in Opportunities Too; an art week exhibition at the Boom at Gun Powder House and the V C Bird International Airport with artists like Heather Doram and Mark Brown and fashion designers like Argent and Nicoya Henry announced; art walks and studio tours (with stops at galleries like Zemis, Guava de Artist, Fig Tree, Edison Arts, the Hunts, Rhythm of Blue, Papa Zouk, Ana’s on the Beach, Copper and Lumber, Abracadabra, and Art Cafe in Barbuda); movies under the stars (not sure which movies are to be featured but the time and venue are April 19 and a place named “garrot blacks” – a name that perhaps needs some unpacking especially when you add its gorilla motif); an artist showcase on April 21st spotlighting performing artists in the musical and spoken word space (no names announced at the link); and on April 22nd, a sip and paint activity led by Gerron Farquharson at Greencastle Ranch. Here’s a posted promo video spotlighting Doram in her studio.

(Source – Daily Observer by Newsco.)

Opportunities

March 25th 2023 is the date for the previously reported Celeste Mohammed short story writing workshop. It is being held via zoom and costs US$100.

Get started here. (Source – Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival email)

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The Caribbean Media Awards is open for submissions and will remain so until April 12th 2023. Details of the various categories, across various media platforms and topics, are listed and linked in the Opportunities Too database. The awards are being held this year in partnership with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, with the addition of a category focussed on a healthy Caribbean. Per an emailed press release, “As the effort continues to promote healthy food policies, the region’s lead advocacy body in this area, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) will be recognising print journalists who are covering this area, and doing so well.” The prize will include a trophy as well as a US$500 bursary for the award winner to produce additional material under the theme. Example of topics that would be a good fit for this theme include school food environments, healthy food fiscal policies, and efforts to strengthen regional food labelling. Entries must have been published between January 1st and December 31st 2023, and can be submitted through April 12th 2023. Again full award details here. (Source – personal inbox)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, and The Jungle Outside). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

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Filed under A & B Lit News Plus, A & B WRITINGS, Caribbean Plus Lit News, Links We Love, Literary Gallery, The Business

Carib Lit Plus (Mid to Late April 2022)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here).

Accolades

Lisa Allen-Agostini, a Trinbagonian writer based in Trinidad and published by Myriad Press in the UK, is on the just-announced short list for the coveted Women’s Prize for Fiction for her book The Bread the Devil Knead.

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Funso Aiyejina and Merle Hodge are winners of the 2022 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters. Born in Nigeria and resident in Trinidad and Tobago since 1989, Funso Aiyejina is a celebrated poet, short story writer, playwright, and scholar — a former Dean of Humanities and Education, and current professor emeritus at UWI, St. Augustine. Aiyejina won the 2000 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Africa region for his short fiction collection The Legend of the Rockhills and Other Stories. As a scholar, he is especially well known for his work on Earl Lovelace, including a biography and film. He is a founding member and former deputy festival director of the Bocas Lit Fest. Hodge, meanwhile, is lauded as one of the first Black Caribbean women to publish a major work of fiction — her classic 1970 novel Crick Crack, Monkey. She is a beloved fiction writer, literary critic, social and cultural activist, and retired lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at UWI, St Augustine. The Bocas Henry Swanzy Award recognises their crucial parallel work as teachers and mentors of younger authors, and their dedication to nurturing a generation of writers grounded in Caribbean literary tradition and language, exploring the region’s social complexities. The 2022 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award will be formally presented to Funso Aiyejina and Merle Hodge in a virtual event on 30 April, part of the 2022 NGC Bocas Lit Fest. (Source – JR Lee email)

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Commonwealth Writers has announced the longlist of its annual short story prize, 26 in all.

As far as the Caribbean is concerned there are a number of former long and short listed writers – Jamaican Diana McCaulay (‘Bridge over the Yallahs River’), Bahamian Alexia Tolas (‘No Man’s Land’), Barbados-resident Jamaican Sharma Taylor (‘Have Mercy’). The other Caribbean writers on the list are Cecil Browne (‘A Hat for Lemer’) listed as being of both the United Kingdom and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and J. S. Gomes (‘Omolara’) listed as being of both the UK and Trinidad and Tobago. Congrats to them and all writers on the list. Regional winners will be announced on May 23rd and the overall winner on June 21st 2022. (Source – Commonwealth Writers on Instagram)

Misc.

A couple of British Royals (Edward and Sophie – son and daughter in law of Queen Elizabeth II, respectively) did a fly-through of some Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Barbuda. Sharing for two reasons – 1, because we celebrate our artists, always, here at Wadadli Pen, and a number of our artists formed part of the cultural showcase organized for the royal visit. According to this Daily Observer article, a Government House event included youth collective Honey Bee Theatre, fashion designer Shem Henry, Princess Margaret School steelband, writer Brenda Lee Browne (author of London Rocks and other books) and TV and film producer Mitzi Allen of HaMa Productions (The Sweetest Mango and other films and programmes) ; 2, as a sign of the times, the visit was controversial. Two writers captured some of the controversy. Poet Dotsie Isaac Gellizeau wondered – in a poem (‘The Royals are coming’) critical of the visit shared on Observer Radio and in the Daily Observer newspaper – wondered “what’s it all about/what is the point of this so called royal visit…/what does it mean to you or me?” Meanwhile, playwright and novelist Dorbrene O’Marde, in his capacity as head of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission wrote a letter which has been picked up by the international media. It is copied below.

(Source – various including Daily Observer, Facebook, and …it’s just what’s in the air)

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The report of the first round (which ran in 2020) of the CATAPULT Caribbean arts grant has been posted. Read about the partners, beneficiaries, lessons learned, and artists boosted.

“Residencies are literary gold in the timeline of any Caribbean writer. It’s just as true that to access these transformative, alchemical spaces of peer support, financially conducive/sponsored settings, and time to work, the Caribbean writer has always found it overwhelmingly necessary to leave her home.” – recipient of the CATAPULT stay at home residency Shivanee Ramlochan of Trinidad and Tobago, quoted in the report, which you can read here. (Source – Kingston CREATIVE on facebook)

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A reminder that April 29th is the deadline to nominate a writer for the Royal Society of Literature International Writers. To be eligible, recommended writers must not be resident in nor citizens of the UK; and must have published two substantial works of outstanding literary merit (English or English-language translations of works first published in another language). Complete the recommendation form here. (Source – RSL email)

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Summer Edward, founder of the Caribbean children’s lit zine Anansesem, has joined the staff of Kirkus Reviews as the magazine’s newest young readers’ editor. This was actually announced last October. Edward edits picture book and middle-grade book reviews for Kirkus. (Source – email)

Events

After a two-year hiatus, one of Antigua and Barbuda’s biggest events, Sailing Week, returns in 2022. And with it the Reggae in the Park concert on May 3rd.

The reported headliner is former soca monarch for Antigua and Barbuda Tian Winter. But reportedly there will be a venue change – Reggae in the Park will not be at Shirley Heights Lookout; new venue to be announced. (Source – Facebook)

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As previously reported, the Bocas Lit Fest, based in Trinidad and Tobago, takes place April 28th to May 1st 2022. I’m back to share with you the festival guide and programme.

ETA:

Tune in on any of the following platforms:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bocaslitfest
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/bocaslitfest
Website: https://www.bocaslitfest.com

All Festival events are free and open to the online public. Tickets or registration are NOT required, and you don’t need a YouTube or Facebook account to view events on these platforms.

Event recordings will be available on YouTube and Facebook pages for a limited time post-Festival.

And don’t forget that you can order any of the books on the programme from the Festival’s booksellers, Paper Based Bookshop and Metropolitan Book Suppliers!

(Source – Bocas email)

***

CariCon 2022 has published its schedule. It includes sessions on copyright and literary contracts, pitching, self-publishing, marketing, social media marketing, book to screen literary adaptations, and getting your books in to libraries. There will be a workshop led by Donna Aza Weir-Soley (Caribbean erotic poetry) and a session titled ‘The Making of a Storyteller’ with Amina Blackwood-Meeks. The various speakers are listed here. The Caribbean Literary Conference is a commercial event and exhibitors are being invited to register. The event is out of the US and it’s not clear to me if it’s online or on site or both, but it’s during Caribbean American Heritage Month, and will be held June 3rd – 5th 2022. (Source – CariCon Facebook)

RIP

To Jamaican poet Ralph Thompson.

Thompson first published in 1987 ‘Florida’ in London Magazine. He subsequently published more than 20 poems in British, US, and Caribbean journals, including The Caribbean Writer and Mississippi Review. His work is represented in The Heinemann Book of Caribbean Poetry (1992), A World of Poetry for CXC (1994), several Observer Arts Magazine anthologies, The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse (2005), and Writers Who Paint / Painters Who Write (2007). He has published two collections of poetry (The Denting of a Wave and Moving On) and a verse novel (View from Mount Diablo). Thompson was also a businessman and educator. Born in 1928, he died in January 2022. (Source – JR Lee email)

Publications

Speak OUT! is a collection, on the Commonwealth Writers ADDA platform, curated by guest editors Brenda Lee-Browne (of the UK and Antigua-Barbuda), Beatrice Lamwaka, Rifat Munim and Peter Sipeli, from a call for submissions related to Freedom of Expression and its wider subthemes of gender, LGBTQIA+, race/ethnicity, and politics among others. The collection will comprise four issues, each featuring an introduction and six or seven works of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, selected and edited by all four editors. This first selectionwas made from the 1130 entries received. Read Issue 1 NOW curated and introduced by Peter Sipeli. It includes Lloyd D’Aguilar of Jamaica (‘Things must change’), Nnadi Samuel and Priscilla Keshiro  of Nigeria (‘Chaos Theory & Non-Binary Worship’ & ‘Dubem’), Andy Winter of Singapore (‘Archipelago’), Meera Ganapathi of India (‘Birds at the Border’), Christina Coates of South Africa (‘Fish nor Fowl’), and Lisa J Latouche of Dominica (‘Atiya Firewood’).

image by Indian artist Rohini Mani/illustration for ‘Dubem’.

***

Thought I would share the tri-annual Antigua and Barbuda Culture department magazine (the January – March 2021 and 2022 editions) here.

cover image: King Swallow (RIP).

Thoughts re 2021 issue: it’s a largely well-produced, glossy, magazine-style cultural digest. There are some minor formatting issues that could (and should) be fixed with tighter proofing but in general a good production covering arts history, arts education, arts business, and artists themselves. It’s the kind of publication that’s been needed for some time, with obvious room for improvement. Especially enjoyed Alvin Livingstone’s insights to teaching visual arts, the interviews with Abi McCoy and Zahra Airall, and beautiful art work by Kendra Davis. As for the somewhat loaded question in the artist Q and A’s “is it the government’s responsibility to ensure that the industry thrives’, I like that though McCoy and Airall had an opposite sides approach – McCoy more artist led with the government playing a supporting role and Airall with the government taking more of a leadership role, both answers rather than being in contradiction with each other land on the point that the arts is not just for “exposure” and should not be treated as such and that the artist needs to continue creating and the government needs to be doing a lot more a lot, more consistently (see my CREATIVE SPACE column #7 of 2022, on pan) to ensure it continues to thrive. Read the entire issue.

The 2022 issue – the other issue in my possession – continues the focus on art history (specifically the first part of a history of pan) and arts issues and art profiles and Q and A’s, getting to know others in my community, are always interesting: e.g. learning more about dancer Susan Shaw, writer Kimolisa Mings, and cover artist Gormie.

As steeped as I am in our culture, there is always discovery and I appreciate that. I would appreciate if the things the artists call for (captured in the interviews especially) are taken to heart. Example playwright Jamian Benta (one of those discoveries-for-me I mentioned), calling for a professional space for the staging of local theatrical productions in this issue. Read the whole issue.

(Source – Department of Culture – Antigua and Barbuda)

Visual Art

Jamaican writer and artist Jacqueline Bishop has been stirring conversation in the art world with her History at the Dinner Table series of ceramic plates. As seen, the art juxtaposes dark images from the enslavement of Africans during Colonialism with colourful flowers against china plates, the epitome of fine dining. Referencing the precious plates once displayed in cabinets largely untouched in Caribbean homes and commenting on a still unreconciled past, the plates, displayed in magogany cabinets, have been acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge University). The US based artist’s statement reads: “My work focuses on making visible the invisible, in making tangible the ephemeral, in speaking aloud the unspoken, and in voicing voicelessness.” It’s fair to say that this series of plates continues that work. (Source – Jacqueline Bishop social media)

This series is also mentioned in my CREATIVE SPACE column #8 of 2022.

Opportunities

The window of opportunity to nominate a writer to become a Royal Society of Literature International Writer is closing. The submission deadline is April 29th 2022. This is the second year of the RSL International Writers and one of the inaugural RSL International Writers last year was our own Jamaica Kincaid. I have tried to take the time to make nominations this year and last and invite you to do the same. By entering your recommendations, you can possibly win 1 of 5 Digital Events Passes, giving you a year’s access to all RSL events online. Submit nominations online. Your nominees must not be resident in nor citizens of the UK and must have published two substantial works of outstanding literary merit translated or originally published in English. (Source -RSL email)

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Did you know Antigua and Barbuda has a robotics club for children?

Well, now you know and the Splash junior Robotics Club seems from the images on its facebook page to be just what it sounds like: a programme designed to guide children through designing, building, and programming robots.

Here’s the programme pre-registration form. (Source – Facebook)

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Wadadli Pen’s own Joanne C. Hillhouse’s Jhohadli Writing Project 2022 Workshop Schedule.

(Source – Me)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

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Carib Lit Plus (Early to Mid April 2022)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here).

Publications News

Joy James, founder and former owner of Art At The Ridge, a former Wadadli Pen patron, will soon be publishing her third children’s non-fiction book, Another 101 Black Inventors and their Inventions. This is the third in a series of books after 101 Black Inventors and their Inventions and Brilliant Black Inventors. Joy, who has returned to the UK after her time as a gallery owner in Antigua and Barbuda, says that the idea for her books started when her children were younger and she was looking for books with Black role models to help inspire them and expand their minds. “I knew this information was out there somewhere, but I couldn’t find anything in an organised format or in the form of a children’s book.” Her first book targetted upper primary and lower secondary, and her second book ages 5 and younger. This new one will target 9 to 12 year olds.

“I hope that everyone young and old will enjoy reading about the many Black inventors in our world and their wonderful contributions that help to improve our lives. I hope that they will be heartened by this. Our world has certainly benefitted from these amazing inventions!” Joy is currently running a creative campaign for her book on Kickstarter where early copies are offered as rewards. 

Misc.

Shout out to young Antiguan and Barbudan chess combatants who scored victories in their first rated hybrid tournament. I don’t fully know what that means but past Wadadli Pen winner (and my current mentee/intern) Andre Warner – who has previously played internationally, scoring Antigua and Barbuda’s first win at that level – explains in this Daily Observer article.

(Source – Andre Warner)

Opportunities

Antigua and Barbuda: Where Love and Lust Collide is the theme of a campaign being promoted by the Tourism Ministry. It’s a romance campaign writing competition open to citizens – you’ll need to upload your passport bio page as proof of citizenship when submitting. The word limit is 1200 words, prose or poem, and the work should have been previously unpublished. No previous publications. Other details here. (Source – Tourism email)

Accolades

Demari Samuel (left, above) has won the Optimist Club of St. John’s Oratorical contest, back after a two-year break due to COVID-19. The sixteen-year-old St. Joseph’s Academy student was one of six young people who took part in the contest. His competition came from his own school, along with the Clare Hall Secondary and the Antigua Girl’s High School. The fifth former is expected to take part in a Caribbean District contest on April 30th. He will compete with other students for scholarship money which can be used to assist with college financing. Wadadli Pen patron The Best of Books contributed book prizes to the top three. (Source – email)

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This One Sky Day (also known as Popisho) by Jamaican-British author Leone Ross catapults to another long list, the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize, which is awarded to a book of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry which best evokes the spirit of a place. Ross, in celebrating her latest accolade, reflected, “I am nominated for writing Popisho, a fictional Caribbean-esque archipelago. Popisho: I can see it right now. A home I made in my head. I could go back tomorrow. And I never knew this was a skill I had.” She also celebrated the number of “women and global majority” writers on the list. The short list will be announced on April 20th and the winner on May 4th 2022. (Source – Leone Ross’ Facebook)

Events

Antiguan and Barbudan artist Mark Brown is exhibiting at Kafé de l’Arawak in Guadeloupe, April 6th to 29th 2022. “It’s been a very long time since I had the opportunity to do a solo show and I’m so happy to be able to do my first post-Covid exhibition in Guadeloupe, because I always felt like family there.” (Brown)

The exhibition, Mark’s first solo show in the French West Indies, is in partnership with United Karibbean Artists. (Source – Mark Brown via facebook)

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Antigua Artisans Travelling Market is a pop-up market, the Easter edition of which lands at St. Anthony’s Secondary School in Langfords. Regular vendor artisans listed here. (Source – Facebook)

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There are two major Caribbean literary festivals this month. One I already covered, so I’ll start with the one I’ll be posting for the first time (I think).

At this point, it is the biggest, most consistent of the big Caribbean literary festivals – home to several major literary prizes including the coveted Bocas best book by a Caribbean writer, at home and abroad, prize. I’ve already told you that the finalists for this year’s prize are poet Jason Allen-Paisant (Thinking with Trees), novelist Celeste Mohammed (Pleasantview), and essayist Kei Miller (Things I have Withheld). The announcement of the winner will be one of the highlights of Bocas. Here’s the rest of the programme. We can once again participate online. That in mind, I think I’m most looking forward to The Difference a Word Makes with T&T writers Akhim Alexis, Simone Leid, and Hadassah Williams on April 29th; Backchat 2022: Embracing Power, Making Change: Celebrating Caribbean LGBTQI+ Stories with Kei Miller, Shani Mootoo, Rosamond S. King, Rajiv Mohabir, Andre Bagoo, Deneka Thomas, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Shivanee Ramlochan, Angelique Nixon, and Willum Watts, with musical performances by Xoe Sazzle and Moon the Artist, and a presentation by artist Arnaldo James, hosted by Phillipé Alexander on April 29th; A World made of Stories during which Ayanna Lloyd Banwo launches her debut novel When We were Birds on April 30th; the April 30th Winners Row event featuring the Bocas winners and winners of the Bocas Henry Swanzy and emerging writers prizes; and Fierce as an Island on May 1st, featuring Olive Senior, Pamela Mordecai, and Canisia Lubrin. (Source – JR Lee email)

The other event, and much sooner, is, of course, the US VI lit fest. You can register for the events here. There doesn’t seem to be an online breakdown of the events but it is a mix of in person and online, featuring The 1619 Project’s Nicole Hannah-Jones, academics Natasha Lightfoot, Hadiya Sewer (in person) – ETA: you can view that here; and (virtually) Ingrid Bough, Clelia O. Rodriguez, Rozeena Maart, Lewis R. Gordon, Marva McClean, and authors and poets Alecia McKenzie, Andre Bagoo, Richard Georges, Cadwell Turnbull, Biko McMillan, Tobias S. Buckell, Tiphanie Yanique, and Joanne C. Hillhouse. Additionally, musician and illustrator Errol ‘Ajani’ Williams and child writer Bae Shantee Sewer. (Source – see Carib Lit Plus (Mid to Late March 2022))

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

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Carib Lit Plus (Early to Mid March 2022)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here).

Opportunities

Events

Bocas Lit Fest has announced that season 7 of its virtual conversation series Bios and Bookmarks returns on March 10th 2022. (Source – Bocas Lit Fest instagram)

***

The VI Lit Fest begins online on Friday April 8 th. The line up includes featured speaker Nikole Hannah Jones, who will present on Saturday, April 9th. She will be in conversation with local and regional scholars at the Fest’s Bush Tea Morning Social in the University of the Virgin Islands’ Great Hall beginning at 7:30 a.m. (her presentation starts at 9). Hannah Jones is the woman behind The 1619 Project. (Source – Alscess Lewis Brown on Facebook)

Books

On the heels of being named to the Women’s Prize long list, the paperback edition of Jamaican-British writer Leone Ross’ One Sky Day drops this March. (Source – author’s instagram)

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We love seeing our books out and about. This round-up of recent sightings includes books by Floree Williams Whyte (The Wonderful World of Yohan, Dance on the Moon) and Koren Norton being gifted to the Public Library, Barbara Arrindell’s Turtle Beach being read by mental health advocate Chaneil Imhoff at a local school for World Book Day UK (March 3rd 2022), and a share of The Jungle Outside by Joanne C. Hillhouse shared in a Public Library promo and Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure in a social media video promo from Paper Based Bookshop in Trinidad and Tobago. Floree, Barbara, and Joanne are members of Team Wadadli Pen in addition to being authors, and Koren is a former patron. All their books are listed in our Antiguan and Barbudan Writings data base. (Source – Twitter, Facebook)

Accolades

Three Antiguan and Barbudan teachers have been awarded as the top producers in the royal drawing school art certification training course completed in December 2021 – winner Mark Brown, art lecturer at the Antigua State College, and runner-up Shanahan Gillon, art teacher at Pares Secondary, and Carol Gordon-Goodwin, art teacher Princess Margaret Secondary School. The three month course was financed by the Halo Foundation with certification by the Ministry of Education at the G Art Studio in Picadilly. The 23 participants will display their pieces at Government House in April. Brown will travel to London with the Halo Foundation to auction his piece at the Wings of Charity gala – with funds going to assist the most vulnerable in society as well as initiatives for youth. Gillon received cash and Gordon a trophy. (Source – Facebook)

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Two Caribbean writers are among the 16 books longlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction. This One Sky Day by British-Jamaican author Leone Ross and The Bread the Devil Knead by Trinidad and Tobago’s Lisa Allen-Agostini. Here’s the announcement.

This 16 is whittled down from 175 submissions and there will be an additional whittling for a short list of six to be announced on April 27th 2022. (Source – YouTube)

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The Monarch King Short Shirt (Sir Mclean Emmanuel), Antigua and Barbuda’s, and one of the Caribbean’s, best calypsonians, was feted as he marked his 80th birthday on February 28th. Events included a church service and a live broadcast on the ABS TV morning show on location at Shorty’s Beach Bar, the land lease for which was finally handed over to him, after many decades of operation and disputes over his right to operate there, by the country’s prime minister. There is also talk, first raised by former calypso king Progress during the church service, and endorsed by the PM, to add Short Shirt to Antigua and Barbuda’s growing list of national heroes. My favourite part of this week of observance is probably that Dr. James Knight’s documentary, released nearly a decade ago, is now online – the first time I’ve seen it since attending the premiere at the Deluxe Cinema. I have an even deeper appreciation for its narrative structure this time around.

This week’s CREATIVE SPACE is also about Short Shirt. You can read it here. (Source – Daily Observer newspaper)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

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