What did you love? (Top Wadadli Pen Blog Posts of 2021)

Top here is defined as most individual views. This year, four lists – one for pages on the blog (not including the home page), one for posts on the blog, one for new posts on the blog, and one for posts to the YouTube channel. The time period is the year to this point. The deep dive re engagement (likes, shares, comments etc.) that I typically do when preparing the Best of posts won’t be as meticulousness because I don’t have the time. I don’t want to make this too long, so rather than individual top 10s, I’m doing a top 20 overall which roughly breaks down to five per list. But! as taking the homepage away leaves only four pages, I’m going to round off with a new blog or vlog post that I think deserves more views. No, this isn’t the last post for the year…probably. But I guess I had time today.Here we go.

My Boost

Carib Lit Plus Mid to Late December 2021

I’m going with the latest from the Wadadli Pen art and culture bulletin as a way to remind you that I post two of these a month -on the front end and the back end, trying to round up as much arts news as I have time to research and write about. It is a service to the Caribbean arts community by keeping us aware of and connected to what’s going on with each other. I’m not the only one doing this, obviously, but it’s still amazing how much we don’t know. So, as much as we can, now you know. Use the search feature to find former editions of Carib Lit Plus.

Top New Posts

Revisiting Rupert ‘Littleman’ Pelle’s Contribution to Calypso in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Need for Recordkeeping

The award winning calypso songwriter gave an interview to Culture a week before his death in December 2020. I was glad I found this and had to share it. The title is commentary on the need for more cultural documentation more consistently.

Sub-theme ‘2020’ – Winner, and Main Prize – Honourable Mention (Wadadli Pen 2021) – Jason Gilead

It would appear that this honourable mention, ‘The Great Old Woodslave’, is the popularity winner of the 2021 season of the Wadadli Pen Challenge. Ironically, it’s written by someone who declares themselves not a writer and entered on a fluke with no intention or expectation of being picked.

Wadadli Pen 2021 – The Short List

The last preview to the Wadadli Pen challenge prize giving; it makes sense that people were checking in to see if they were still in the running.

Wadadli Pen Challenge – Who Won What in 2021?

And naturally on the heels of the short list, the winners.

Wadadli Pen 2021 Challenge – The Long List

Self-explanatory.

Takeaway: It’s good to see the interest in the Challenge, and it makes sense; but be sure to check out other content.

Top Posts

Revisiting Rupert ‘Littleman’ Pelle’s Contribution to Calypso in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Need for Recordkeeping

The award winning calypso songwriter gave an interview to Culture a week before his death in December 2020. I was glad I found this and had to share it. The title is commentary on the need for more cultural documentation more consistently.

Antiguan and Barbudan Cultural Icon – Paul King Obstinate Richards

Speaking of record keeping, I’ve tried to do some of that here on the blog and this tribute to one of the Big Three of Antiguan Calypso (The Undefeated) is an example of it. This actually is not a new one; this is almost 10 years old (and I’m going to have to resist the urge to fix the links to videos that have since been removed because I simply don’t have the time).

Nobody go run Me (Lyrics)

This is a classic by the Monarch King Short Shirt one-third of the Big Three and an entry from a few years ago into the site’s lyrics project. I remain committed to this project but transcribing these songs is time consuming. If you think you’re intern material and this is the kind of project you might be into, email wadadlipen@gmail.com

Antiguan and Barbudan Writings

This is perhaps the most important project, second only to our efforts to nurture new writers via the Challenge and related workshop activities, keeping this data base of writings from and by Antiguans and Barbudans. We have a canon; it is much more substantial than I realized when I started keeping this record and it continues to grow. Any blog intern will probably have to assist with maintaining this as well; if that’s you, email wadadlipen@wadadlipen

Antiguan and Barbudan Cultural Icon – Oscar Mason Remembered

I like that I was right place right time to take this picture (and gain an appreciation for the musicianship of the whole Mason clan and the pioneering legacy of Oscar Mason). Shout out to Auntie Esther Henry who back in the 90s and early aughts organized concerts and other activities to celebrate our culture such as this Oscar Mason tribute concert, and then ‘harrassed’ the media to show up. I was the media. I showed up. And I don’t regret it.

Takeaway: The oldies are still the goodies. Check out some of our newer posts from time to time though, too, okay?

Top Pages

Wadadli Pen 2021

This is the how to submit page which includes the guidelines etc. for challenge submissions; so that makes sense. Also, good that people are checking it and trying to get their submissions right. Makes it easier for processing.

About Wadadli Pen

This is perhaps the most important page on the site; it’s the project history, present, and future. It’s a record of what we’ve done and are doing, and what some of our past finalists have gone on to do.

R & D

This is a new page which gathers the various site resources and data bases in to one place.

Team Wadadli Pen

This is one of the newer pages – set up around when we got our legal non-profit status. They’ve been mentioned before in posts but I decided to set up a page as a way of introducing everyone to the team in a more permanent way.

Tops from the Wadadli Pen YouTube page

GMAB June 2nd 2021

Interview with the winning author on ABS TV’s Good Morning Antigua Barbuda. Kevin Liddie explains, he was also reluctant to enter, as he was going through a difficult patch, but he did have a pre-exising interest in writing that has been re-ignited.

Father and Daughter win with Wadadli Pen

We did the Challenge awards announcement by zoom (far from perfect but much improved from 2020 which was also a virtual year and a simple announcement but badly produced). We were fortunate to have the winners on the zoom and to hear from them during the ceremony.

Wadadli Pen Awards – The First Winner of the Zuri Holder Achievement Award Announced

Zuri Holder was one of my children, not biologically but in that I’ve been knowing him since he was a wee one through my years volunteering with the Cushion Club, I remember his graduation from secondary school when his father invited me to say some words just a few years ago, and, of course, his times as a Wadadli Pen finalist just a few years before that. I never imagined having to be at his funeral but that’s how 2021 started. Right around my birth date, as it happened. His father set up this award in his memory, though, of course, we would rather have him here with us. He lives on in our hearts, in our memories, and in this prize. This is the announcement of the first person whose name was etched unto the plaque.

Judge explains Why We chose It

Because I perceive Wadadli Pen as an arts development project, I love when we take the opportunity to give feedback on the winning submissions. If only we could do it for all. This year the logistics of doing it even for the winning pieces was too much for me, so I asked one of our judges to explain why we chose the winning piece as an example of what works and why.

World Book and Copyright Day Chat with Barbadian Author Cherie Jones

The Barbados Embassy sent me this one and I was happy to share it. I haven’t read her book, How the One-Armed Sister sweeps Her House, yet, but she is having a year. The kind of year writers like me dream of – go forth and conquer, sis.

Takeaway: the Wadadli Pen YouTube channel could be more dynamic but I would need more time. If this is an area you would be interested in volunteering with – i.e. creating Wadadli Pen YouTube content and boosting the channel and all of Wadadli Pen across social media – email wadadlipen@gmail.com In fact, volunteering generally whereever help is needed.

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. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Dame Yvonne Maginley (a short note)

Copied from my facebook page where Antiguan and Barbudan playwriters and screenwriters was the Wadadli Pen Blog Post of the Week:

I had hoped to write something more but time is not on my side so I’ll just say here that for all her Tourism related accolades, the recently deceased Dame Yvonne Maginley, had a hand in the development of the arts in Antigua and Barbuda as well. … touching on her contribution to theatre and the folk music tradition, the Antigua Community Players has been at the forefront of this performing arts tradition since 1952. Their play Priscilla’s Wedding, written by the players, is always listed as a benchmark in the development of local theatre. Dame Yvonne Maginley took on the role of musical director in 1957, guiding the Players’ development into a choral group renowned for performance of international musicals and Antiguan and Barbudan folk music productions, and composing many folk/national songs over the years. For more on the Community Players and Antiguan and Barbudan playwrights follow the link. Thanks to the Dame who was laid to rest this past week (Rest in Peace to her), it is Your Wadadli Pen Blog Post of the Week. 

Also the Community Players entry on the playwrights and screenwriters page has been updated. (Edit: And, FYI, a publication of Maginley’s is also recorded at Antiguan and Barbudan Writings and Antiguan and Barbudan Non-Fiction Writings.).

Dame Yvonne Maginley died on January 27th 2019. She had been knighted in 2003 and, also, received a lifetime achievement award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization, after serving as Tourism Director General for many years (and, before that, executive director of the Eastern Caribbean Tourism Association). Maginley who received broadcasting training at the BBC and was programme officer at ABS (making her also a media contributor – as you know, I’ve been tracking the development of media in Antigua and Barbuda) on her return, and tourism training at the University of Surrey, also served as Governor General’s Deputy of Antigua and Barbuda; chair of the first children’s carnival, Queens committee chair for many years, and secretary of the Carnival Steering Committee – all this in the early years of the national festival; helmed the National Public Library re-building project; taught music; and, of course, all her work with the Community Players. (source: guest editorial by Sir Dr. Rodney Williams in the Daily Observer 12th February 2019)

As with all content (words, images, other) 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, and Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure). All Rights Reserved. You can also subscribe to and/or follow the site to keep up with future updates. You’re also invited to follow me on my author blog http://jhohadli.wordpress.com Thanks. And remember while linking and sharing the links, referencing and excerpting, with credit, are okay, lifting whole content (articles,  images, other) from the site without asking is not cool. Respect copyright.

Wadadli Pen – Media

Media partners are critical to our efforts to promote each Wadadli Pen Challenge season. So I’ll be shouting out those who’ve been helping us get the word out this season. With a big thank you bow on top.

Notably, thanks to Art. Culture. Antigua for more reasons than one. To the Daily Observer which has been running our notice announcing the 2018 Challenge almost (if not) daily. And thanks to Antiguanice.com which continues to maintain a page for Wadadli Pen year round, and update it with our press releases and notices each Challenge season. Most recently:

Press Release – The Wadadli Youth Pen Prize has, since it first launched its annual Challenge for young writers in Antigua and Barbuda in 2004, depended on its friends – those individuals and businesses that step up to contribute to youth and arts development. This year, one of the first is Art. Culture. Antigua – the arts media online platform – which, shortly after the February 28th submission deadline, contacted us “to once again come on board and contribute to the Wadadli Pen prize packages”.  They first stepped forward with a cash contribution in 2017; and step up again, unasked, in 2018. Read full release at Antiguanice.com

And previously the Notice announcing the Challenge:

Write a story or poem, 600 words or fewer and submit by February 28th, 2018 to: wadadlipen@gmail.com. Open to Antiguan & Barbudans ages 35 and under.
Read the full notice at Antiguanice.com

Thanks to Daily Observer and Antiguanice.com and (these are the ones we’re aware of, but of course) any other media that has been helping us spread the word. We couldn’t do it without you.

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, and Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

The Antigua and Barbuda Media: an Abridged Record

ETA: Major clean-up of this post on December 14th 2018. Last updated April 2023.

Primary source: Antigua’s Media: Now and Then by Milton Benjamin (published in Volume 13 Number 1, Spring 2007 of the CLR James Journal: A Review of Caribbean Ideas, a publication of the Caribbean Philosophical Association) and (secondary source) Talking with Whom? A Report on the State of the Media in the Caribbean by Aggrey Brown and Roderick Sanatan published 1987 (noting then, grave concern re foreign content, media professionalism, and press freedom). Additional help from internet resources like John A. Lent’s book Third World Mass Media and the Search for Modernity: The Case of Commonwealth Caribbean 1717-1976, Wikipedia (only what could be verified), the World Press Freedom Report, Freedom House, the Daily Observer, the Observer Court of Appeals docs, Petra The Spectator, and Censorship: a World Encyclopedia (2002, Derek Jones). These are arranged not as they appear in the respective publications but in an attempt to capture as much as is possible the chronology. Bolds and italics are mine. – JCH, site admin and Wadadli Pen founder; plus trained [via CARIMAC at UWI (Mona)] media practitioner, author, and freelance provider of writing, editing, and (written communication and literary) training services.

“a tradition that dates back at least to the first third of the 19th century when newspapers were a salient force in advocating political change in Antigua. Back then, the written word in the form of newspapers and pamphlets were the primary means that activists used to galvanize public opinion to their cause.”

“The Antigua Free Press, the first newspaper was introduced into Antigua by Benjamin Mekom (Benjamin Franklin’s nephew).”

One of the earliest newspaper editors and publishers was Henry Loving “born a slave probably in 1790 but was manumitted at the age of nine (9)…” – “Along with Nathaniel Hill he had founded The Weekly Register in 1814 to press their cause and argued in it that they (free coloreds) were Englishmen and should not be treated in an inferior manner.” In Natasha Lightfoot’s Troubling Freedom: Antigua and the Aftermath and British Emancipation, the Weekly Register is reported to have faced attacks after their criticism of the judgment against an executed enslaved man John Kirwan after the 1831 Sunday market riots. Loving was physically assaulted (the assaulter was dealt with, with the horsewhip he returned on another occasion to use on Loving, by a ‘mob’ of free and enslaved Black people, prompting him to flee to the countryside). The Register’s editors had reportedly already raised ire pressing for more advantages for free coloureds. He would continue to do so, including traveling to London to present his case to parliament, ultimately winning legal protections for the class to which he belonged, allowing them to maintain their social privileges in a post-Emancipation Antigua and Barbuda. – “Shortly after winning complete civil rights for the free colored (1832), Loving pressed for the same treatment to be extended to slaves but not all of the free colored were ready to back that project…In fact, two members of the Loving inspired Committee of Correspondence, David Cranston and Peter Walter, were so incensed with Loving for his position with regard to the slaves that they wrote to the planter’s newspaper, The Herald Gazette disassociating themselves from the Committee and from support of the abolition of slavery. The Herald Gazette had been instituted in 1831 especially to rail against the Loving and Hill Weekly Register. Because of the abolition controversy, the Weekly Register lost so many subscribers that Loving was compelled to give up its editorship in 1833 (to G. Hart, another free coloured). The Weekly Register continued to be published until 1839 when Loving ceased its publication.” Loving, per Lightfoot, would go on to serve in many public capacties in the region – “including police chief, private secretary to the governor in Antigua, acting colonial secretary in Montserrat, stipendiary magistrate in Barbados, and registrar and colonial secretary in Montserrat before his death in 1850.”

“It is noteworthy that there always seemed to have been at least one nonwhite newspaper editor during the post emancipation period…(Hart) also published the Antigua Almanac and Register 1843…the Antigua Observer was founded in 1843 and was being edited by A. B. Hill [ETA: Per Gregory Frohnsdorff writing in the Antigua and Barbuda Review of Books Volume 6 Number 1 Summer 2013, American Frederick Stiles Jewett served as editor of the subscriber funded Antigua Observer between 1845 and 1851. “During Jewett’s affiliation with the paper, the Observer was issued as a four-page publication on Thursday evenings.” It was a mix of literary offerings, advertisements, editorial material, letters, and local and foreign news. Its rival newspapers during his tenure were The Antigua Herald and Gazette and The Antigua Weekly Register. Jewett reportedly ruffled feathers and even survived a libel suit in 1846. He resigned his post in 1850 but “The Antigua Observer continued without Jewett, lasting into the early 20th century” p. 67 C. C. Mascall seems to have succeeded Jewett as editor.]…The Antigua Times was established in 1851 by an American named Fred S. Jewett [ETA: The A & B mentions this subscriber-driven publication as well, started in mid-April 1851 as the Antigua Weekly Times,  “published in Ratcliffe Street, in the City of St. John, every Friday by Frederick S. Jewett” p 68. The paper was a self-described advocate of colonial interests and reportedly very successful. But by the time Jewett, who had also endured financially staggering libel suits and reduced subscription payments, left the island in 1853, the island itself and the paper had fallen on hard economic times]…It was purchased by Paul Horsford…in 1872…After Paul Horsford died in 1878, The Times was taken over by Messrs Macmillan and J. H. Hill, but it then closed down. The gap was filled by the Antigua Standard in 1874; and from the early 1890s until about 1908, was owned and edited by Joseph Theodore Thibou…by the 1890s, the Observer was owned and edited by still another former free coloured, Daniel W. Scarvillle….By 1909 The Antigua Standard had been sold to Allan Husband Nurse, a Barbadian who renamed it the Antigua Sun…The Sun closed in 1922…” – The Standard was edited by Joseph Theodore Thibou.

1931 – “Joseph A. N. Brown used his own money to inaugurate The Magnet newspaper…and hired Harold Wilson to be its editor.”

1940 – The Progress newspaper “editor Edward Mathurin, a printer…” – advocated (sometimes unsuccessfully for) improvements in working conditions on sugar estates e.g. reduced work day and equal pay for women in the sugar estates, end to whipping on sugar estates, and end to share cropping.

“The Antigua Star newspaper made its debut as the mouthpiece of the sugar and estates barons, who were, in effect, the ruling class in Antigua and Barbuda up to that time in the early 1940s. Mostly white and of European descent…”

“… radio (came) in the 1940s. Antigua and Barbuda was not to be left behind, though the number of sets was limited to individuals who could afford to purchase a set that could bring in stations that broadcast in the shortwave bands. These included the British Broadcasting Service and the Voice of America. These were the main outlets from which people got their information about what was happening in the world beyond them. Sometimes the cable services would post printed news items in specific locations so that interested individuals could go and find out what was going on in the region and beyond. But through it all, the local newspaper was the main focus of political debate.”

1944 – The Workers’ Voice “(A publication of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union) with Musgrave Edwards as its editor” started publication – “organizations that were engaged in politics accepted that to get their message out to a wide and increasingly sophisticated audience, they needed some kind of publication.” – other early editors included Rolston Williams, Novelle Richards (1948), George Walter (1958), and Milton Benjamin (1960); and McChesney George (A View from the Ampitheatre by Onlooker) was a contributor.

“Only with advocacy journalism as practiced in The Magnet, The Progress, and The Workers’ Voice…was the horrendous treatment of the underclasses begun to be addressed…”

“In 1956, Antigua got yet another political newspaper. Rohan [Rowan] Henry, a distinguished lawyer, put together a political party which he called the Antigua National Party (ANP). He launched a newspaper, The Anvil, to propagate the views of the ANP; the editor was Musgrave Edwards.”

An Antigua Year Book was published in 1964 (reportedly part of a series of such books published by Advocate Publication (Barbados) around this time. It covered History – Tourist Attractions – Guide to Antigua’s Hotels – Economy – Currency and Banking – Trade and Commerce – Income Tax – Estimates of Revenue and Expeniture – Local Government – Antigua Labour Party – Legislative Council – Population – Postal rates – Governors and Administrators- Weights and Measures – Department heads – Port – Phone numbers – Who’s Who – Antigua Trade Directory – other references – ads from companies still around – Harpers, Dew’s, Kenneth A Gomez and Sons, Antigua Distillery, Admirals Inn, Shoul’s Chief Store, Mitchell A Michael and Sons, Blue Waters, and LIAT.

“ABS TV…began telecasting in 1965 as ZAL-TV. ZAL-TV was owned by a private company then, and served Antigua on Channel 10…The station was run by an expatriate management and staff, and was affiliated with another television station in Bermuda…in the mid-1970s, because of severe financial problems, the television station was eventually bought by the Government of Antigua, and re-named ABS-TV.”

Me, just back from University of the West Indies in 1995 and reporting on ABS TV – this was The Year in Review year-end broadcast.

“The Outlet newspaper (founded 1968, edited by Leonard Tim Hector), (became) one of the most influential newspapers ever published in Antigua and Barbuda (associated with the Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement)…The Outlet exposed many instances of corruption…” – In its heyday Outlet claimed a circulation of around 5,000 copies, thus being the most widely read newspaper on Antigua. As of the early 1970s, Outlet and Standard (which appeared on irregular basis) were the sole opposition newspapers in the country…Due to its criticisms, Outlet was often targeted (the offices were raided in the 1980s and the publication faced off against the government in court more than once, and in 1998 its building was attacked by arsonists)… Hector died in 2002 and publication continued for a handful of years after his death.

“Not to be outdone, the fledgling Antigua Workers Union (which started in 1968) brought out its own organ to disseminate its views in the form of The Trumpet newspaper, stenciled sheets of paper, with a lawyer’s clerk, Theodore Dunning, as its initial editor.”

Late 1960s, Rowan Henry’s next publishing venture was The Antigua Times (coinciding with his new Antigua People’s Party) – Bridget George Harris was the editor. [an article in the Daily Observer by Newsco – “J Rowan Henry – What’s in a Name” by Barbara Arrindell – said “In 1968, he bought the established but foreign-owned Antigua Star newspaper. Although Henry contributed articles, he welcomed all ideas and gave the Walter-led Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) open access to the paper, even though he made it clear that he did not agree with their political philosophy…Henry formed the Antigua People’s Party…J Rowan Henry was one of the founders of the Antigua Printing and Publishing (APP) Company which was established in 1971. APP produced yet another of his newspapers, the Antigua Times. Bridgette Harris was the editor of that newspaper. That same year, the government of the day amended the Newspaper Registration Act and Rowan Henry filed a case against the Attorney General, stating that the amendments deprived citizens of their constitutional right to freedom of expression. The Newspaper Registration (Amendment) Act No. 8 of 1971 stated that no person should publish or cause to publish a newspaper in Antigua unless a license was first obtained from the Cabinet…the case made its way through the local court system and ended up at the Privy Council. On the morning of June 25 1975, approximately one month after the Privy Council decision was handed down, J Rowan Henry QC was dead. His wife Gwendolyn had been hacked to death minutes before him.” (Source: R Henry)

“Immediately after the Antigua elections of 1971, the new (PLM) Walter government deported Dorcas White, editor of the Antigua Workers’ Voice. Very little reason was given for the sudden interest by the government in her lack of a work permit, but a number of Antiguans assumed that she was deported because of the editorials she wrote in The Voice and broadcast over ZDK radio…Another occasion when the Antigua government (based on the year, this would have been the ALP/Bird government as the PLM/Walter government only held power from 1971-1976, and the ALP/Bird government before and after up until 2004 when the UPP/Spencer government took the reins for 10 years before returning them to the ALP in 2014, which up to 2023 remains  under the leadership of Gaston Browne) used the denial of a work-permit renewal to suppress a journalist occurred in 1968. Television commentator Bobby Margetson was forced to leave the island for political broadcasts that he made (according to the book the ‘offence’ was committed on ZAL-TV, later the state TV ABS).”

In an article on Peter Gordon, Petra The Spectator writes of the broadcaster (providing a window to the broadcast media landscape), “He recalls his favourite pastime growing up as watching the various news presenters and mimicking them. He had no idea at the time how big a part the media would play in his future life as this was not a career goal at the time. One of his favourite presenters was Ephraim John and he held great admiration for Dame Yvonne Maginley and Mickey Matthews, early pioneers of the Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS) who would later influence his love for media. … it was a friend of his who informed him that a new radio station, ZDK, was coming on stream and that he should speak with Ivor Bird about securing a job there. Within four months of the station becoming operational, Gordon began working at ZDK in March 1971 and thus, a successful career in media began. Initially, he started out as a sales representative, however, after filling in for newscasters Julian Rogers and Judy Owens on occasion when they would have to travel, he was eventually thrust into the news environment. He recounts that the work days were long and hard beginning from around four in the morning to eight in the evening when they would air the final news broadcast. Apart from his time at ZDK, he would also go on to work in television and print media as well which included writing for the Antigua Times. He built close relationships with other personalities as well as influenced the careers of some. He recalls the close relationship he shared with the late Louie [Louis] Daniel who introduced him to the Commonwealth Journalism Association through which he was able to gain a scholarship to complete a course in Law for the Journalist at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.”

“Cable Television, a privately-owned company, began operation in Antigua in the latter half of 1983.” (non-local, primarily American content)

(in the 1980s and early 1990s) the surviving papers were The Worker’s Voice, the Outlet, and the Nation’s Voice (out of the Government Information Unit) – Local radio in the 1980s was dominated by ABS Radio (government-owned and run + a  battleground for media access by the then Opposition, a situation that would invert itself when the Opposition became the Government, and back again) and  ZDK (privately owned, by Ivor Bird, son of Prime Minister V. C. Bird Sr. of the ruling Antigua Labour Party) – beyond that there were Caribbean Relay Station, gospel station Caribbean Radio Lighthouse (plus regional stations like GEM which was then popular among teens).

“The government, the ruling party, and the Bird family also control four newspapers, including Antigua Today, an expensively produced weekly established in 1993 as an election vehicle for Lester Bird.” – Freedom House

“…The Daily Observer was founded in 1993 … As (co-founder) Winston Derrick disclosed…because he and (brother) Fergie (Samuel Derrick) had a desire to publish, and Winston owned a computer, both he and his brother started the Observer newspaper by fax.” This ultimately became the popular Daily Observer newspaper (which had for many years through the 1990s and 2000s a Monday to Saturday print schedule, and also, briefly, an afternoon edition; it is as of 2018 online only).

“In 1997, (American businessman) Allan Stanford established The Antigua Sun newspaper and subsequently followed it with the sister publication the Sun Weekend, each in color.” (Both are now defunct and Mr. Stanford is a federal prisoner in the US)

“In June 2005, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer sought new legislation to curb slander and harassment on the radio, but the opposition claimed this was an effort to restrict free speech.” (Source)

“Observer Radio burst on the scene in the year 2001.” – “Journalism in Antigua and Barbuda has not been the same since then. That decision freed up the radio airwaves once and for all.”

“Prior to the coming of Observer Radio the airwaves in Antigua were dominated by the Government broadcast services in radio and television (i.e. ABS, GIS), and by the private radio and television services (i.e. Cable TV, the lone cable TV service and Grenville Radio/ZDK) owned by the Bird family, the family which dominated politics in Antigua and Barbuda for almost half a century…”

When Observer Radio first started broadcasting “the editor and publisher were arrested for operating a radio station without a license” (note: the paper, like the Outlet, and subsequently the radio station has also been sued multiple times by government and/or government ministers, and in 2002 Barbadian Broadcaster and trainer Julius Gittens, here to train the team at the fledgling radio station, was invited to leave the country by the government).

“On September 1 1996, the appellant, without the requisite license, commenced broadcasting over a telecommunications media in Antigua called Observer Radio. On the second day of the broadcast, the police arrived with a search warrant…and seized various pieces of broadcasting equipment.” – per Observer court of Appeals docs – a business license and a telecommunications license had been sought; the former granted while the latter dragged for more than a year. Observer won Privy Council appeal related to this case in 2000.

“It’s a truism that Observer Radio would not exist but for the fact that the Observer Group had to go through a lengthy and expensive court process to get a license to broadcast, because their original application for a license to set up a radio station was denied them by the government …It was the Privy Council in London, Antigua and Barbuda’s court of last resort that compelled the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to grant the license to the Observer Group.”

“The Observer Group also maintains a sister radio station (Hitz FM) …(which unlike the Observer Radio talk format) plays mainly popular music…”

“…the first flagrantly political radio station, Crusader Radio, opened up its channels in the year 2004. Crusader began broadcasting explicitly on behalf of the United Progressive Party (UPP), the opposition party.”  The ALP also has Pointe FM (opened in the late 2010s).

The opening up of the airwaves, traceable to the Observer Radio case, a faultline in Antiguan and Barbudan media, is credited with expanding the talk radio format and shaking up the political landscape. A number of music stations can also be found on the radio dial.

On the subject of press freedom, Independent watchdog group Freedom House gives Antigua and Barbuda (up to 2017) a 34/100 rating, dubbing it “partly free”. And in a November 3rd Daily Observer article, the editor writes, “Antigua and Barbuda is indeed a peaceful place, but it is not immune to the anti-media wave that is flooding the world…”, citing name calling, threats of physical violence, online trolling, financial pressure, and property damage as some of the hurdles faced by some of its media workers.

Several other publications – newspapers to magazines – have come and gone. Among them the Sentinel in the late 1980s/early 90s (?) – started by Vere Bird Jr., News Pages Antigua in the 2000s edited by Timothy Payne, Carib Arena (also in the 2000s – before abruptly vanishing, business unsettled), Woman’s Place magazine 1990s (scheduled to be published twice yearly; issue Number 2 was published in October 1990 – not sure how many issues there were) edited by Isolene Blackwood Meeks, Business Focus Antigua (part of an Eastern Caribbean brand, a publication of Advertising and Marketing Services out of St. Lucia) and Essential magazine edited by D. Gisele Isaac (and published by a group of local media workers operating as Homegrown Publications – which also produced special publications e.g. for Independence) in the 2000s, and online publications like the Antigua and Barbuda News Source i.e. sourceAB.com (a project of a group of local media workers and one of if not the first exclusively online local news media) in the late 1990s/early 2000s. In 2018, both The Daily Observer and Caribbean Times, the only remaining dailies up to that time (as of 2019 ALP had a new daily), both ceased publishing print editions – Observer continued as an exclusively online edition and both this online edition and the radio station are run by staff-led Newsco. The Observer saga is, at this writing, a still evolving situation with echoes of the past – i.e. butting heads with government (amidst allegations that obstacles were being thrown up,  hindering press freedom). The radio station went off air in December 2018.  It was back on air in less than a week (they were briefly off air again in April – we can’t continue to track in this space so let’s just say, the saga continues). There are several purely online publications (with new ones popping up semi-regularly) – among the longest running ones are Antigua Chronicle (which seems to have ceased publication) and Antigua Newsroom. The publisher-ship and editor-ship of the several online publications, as well as authorship of their articles, is not always clear as these are either not included in a masthead (or about us, or contact us) or not easy to find – which is problematic vis-à-vis credibility. There are also several annual tourism publications. Radio is much more populated with the likes of RedHot, Vybz, Nice FM, and others – all also online – lots of music but post-the launch of Observer Radio lots more talk (including political mouthpieces Pointe FM and Crusader Radio) than ever before. Local TV is still primarily ABS (and more recently ALP TV Pointe FM available through cable company FLOW TV), there’s been marginally more local (film and TV) content (via independent producers such as HAMA – see here for more on film content) but also an explosion of foreign content thanks to cable offerings from Flow TV and CTV; and, of course, there’s the endless internet (touristic, entertainment, news, and otherwise) landscape – which has yielded some new content but much more passive consumption (it’s worth noting though that via social media including instagram, tik tok, and YouTube, there’s a lot of content that’s not being tracked). There remains a need for more non-partisan, independent, grounded, well-sourced, verifiable research, documentation, and accessibility (to said research and documentation) of all areas of life in Antigua and Barbuda (as we try to do with literary arts here on this site).

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!, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, Musical Youth, With Grace, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah, ). All Rights Reserved. Seriously, a lot of time, energy, love and frustration goes in to researching and creating content for this site; please don’t just take it up just so without even a please, thank you or an ah-fu-she-subben (credit). If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Wadadli Pen 2016 Awards – Media Links

I have to admit I’m underwhelmed by media coverage of the outcome of this year’s Wadadli Pen Challenge. I mean, I get it; I worked in media for many years so I knew when I pushed to get the press release announcing the winners out ahead of the Monday news cycle after the Saturday awards, that chances were 25/25 that we’d be ignored all together or pushed to later in the news week – maybe Friday in terms of print media since that seems to be the day for our arts dump. That still left a 50 percent chance of some coverage, right? A standalone picture even. But a few weeks on I have to accept that no, that does not mean that. I’m disappointed for the patrons and especially for the kids. Me, I’m used to the arts (scratch that: the literary arts) being low priority.

So I want to say especial thanks to:

Antigua Chronicle for running the release announcing the winners

Antigua Nice for running this release I sent out announcing the resumption of the Cushion Club and giving mention to Wadadli Pen (Cushion Club as a patron and the Club’s plans to have the junior winners share their stories at a club session)

Antigua Chronicle ran that one as well

I haven’t found any other coverage (thank God for social media, right? as I’ve been able to share the information, anyway). But maybe my Google-fu is weak and there are links I’m missing. If you’re aware of any, please share. This is one instance in which I’d love to be wrong.

 

Antiguans and Barbudans Awarded

Here, Wadadli Pen will be celebrating award wins (including sometimes award nominations and long and shortlisting, and  accolades received) by Antiguan and Barbudan writers. It came about because I’d bump in to laudatory accomplishments (beyond publishing) but couldn’t figure out where to put them. The Antiguan and Barbuda Writings pages are bibliographies, and neither the Reviews page nor the journal publications page were right. So, here we go. Please note, this page is a work-in-progress. As with the other named sections, it will be updated somewhere between when I find updates and when I find the time to post them. I’m not ranking the awards at this point (some are local, some regional, some international, some prestigious, some not so much…I’m just adding them as I can). Primary focus will be on awards related to literary arts. No omissions or errors (and there are plenty, no doubt) are intentional. As always if you have information that will help me flesh out the content, let me know. Conversely, if you wish to be removed, no problem, just let me know that too.

Wadadli Youth Pen Prize Challenge wins are not listed here but if you want to see the winners of that in-house prize through the years, go here.

2022 –

Kimolisa Mings claimed an EC$1000 cheque for submitting the winning piece to the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s ‘Love and Wanderlust’ romance writing campaign with “Rule No. 3”.

Bert Kirchner, Howard Allen, Dr. Alvin Edwards (contributions to film development), and Joanne C. Hillhouse (commitment to literacy) receive awards from the Antigua and Barbuda Film Academy/Motion Picture Association of Antigua and Barbuda.

Gayle Gonsalves’ My Stories have no Endings named an Independent Press Award distinguished favourite & Next Generation Indie Book Award grand prize, second place, fiction, and winner, multicultural fiction.

Motion (Wendy Brathwaite) is a Canadian Screen Awards nominee for writing the episode ‘Eyes Up’ of season 3 of the TV series Coroner. Brathwaite was also selected in 2022 for the CBC-BIPOC TV & Film, CFC Showrunner Catalyst.

Tawhinda Tanya Evanson’s Book of Wings named to the Canada Reads long list.

2021 – 

Akillah’s Escape, a feature film written by Wendy Motion Brathwaite, who is Canadian of Antiguan-Barbudan descent, received eight nominations and five awards at the Canadian Screen Awards, including one for original screenplay (also cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, and casting).

Motion shared the screenwriting award with Charles Officer, who is also the film’s director.

Elaine Jacobs, born in Antigua, though living most of her life in the US Virgin Islands was named in December 2021 as the winner of the Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize for new or emerging writers from The Caribbean Writer. She won for the story ‘Going without Shoes’.

Tawhinda Tanya Evanson’s Book of Wings was named a Quill & Quire Book of the Year.

Jamaica Kincaid named 2021 Langston Hughes Festival honoree –

Kincaid was named one of 12 inaugural Royal Society of Literature honorees of the RSL International Writers Programme. The RSL International Writers programme was announced as part of RSL 200, a five-year festival launched in 2020 with a series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK. The programme is a new award recognising the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders to bring people together. RSL International Writers celebrates the many ways in which literature can shape a future world.

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s short story “Freedom Cup – The Games are Coming” was one of 30 stories long listed for the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean

– Canada-based Antiguan and Barbudan writer Gayle Gonsalves was a National Indie Excellence Finalist in Canada in the multi-cultural category for her novel My Stories have No Endings. She also placed second in the Women’s Fiction category of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association and CIIPA Education and Literacy Foundation’s awards. She was named a distinguished favourite in the NYC Big Book Award.

Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction (2020) – Rilzy Adams, Go Deep. Adams has also been nominated for other books and other industry awards – Swoonies, Black Girls Who Write (Go Deep nominated for Best Black Erotica), and Rebel Women Lit readers choice among them (making it on to short lists in some cases).

Wadadli Pen 2020 winner Andre J. P. Warner’s winning story Bright Future for Tomorrow was awarded best short fiction in the first Rebel Women Lit Caribbean Readers Awards. Wadadli Pen founder and coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse was a RWL CRA honoree . There were several other nominees from the Wadadli Pen family and from Antigua and Barbuda; full list of nominees can be found here.

2020 –

The Hammers of Towan: a Nineteenth Century Cornish Family by Sue Appleby shortlisted for the Cornish Publishers’ Award – the Holyer An Gof in the non-fiction category.

Musical Youth, in addition to receiving a starred review, named a Kirkus Reviews top 100 indie book of the year; also a top teen/young adult and top romance novel.

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s short story “Vincent” was one of 21 stories long listed for the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots was longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the story “Shedding”

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots won the 2020 Bocas Prize for his poetry collection Epiphaneia

The Directorate of Gender Affairs held its first ever Women of Wadadli Awards – a number of artists were recipients – Heather Doram (visual artist) for Culture, Noreen Phillips for Fashion, Wadadli Pen founder and coordinator and author Joanne C. Hillhouse for Literature, Colleen Simpson (author of A Likkle Bit a Dis & a Likkle Bit a Dat) for Culinary Arts, dramatist, photographer, writer, and educator Zahra Airall for Fine Arts, Wadadli Pen partner and patron and a writer and dramatist in her own right Barbara Arrindell as a Change Maker, Marion Byron for Music, Mickel Brann for Media/Journalism, and Mako Williams, who is also a visual artist, for Science and Technology. Details in this WoW article in Observer

New Daughters of Africa edited by Margaret Busby nominated for an NAACP Image award in the literature category for fiction – it includes the short story “Evening Ritual” by Joanne C. Hillhouse

2019 –

Richard Georges wins a fellowship to the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study – Georges is Trinidad born and lives in the BVI but he also has Antiguan roots

Winners of Flow Mobile Film Competition (Antigua and Barbuda) –

The top three winners in category 12-16 years
1st Sontee’ Beazer – “Independence”
2nd Jontae Cornelius -“What Independence Day Means to Me”
3rd Kaleb Kidane Hatton – “What does Independence mean to me”.

The top three winners from the category 17- 30 years old
1st Moses Wiltshire – “My Independence”
2nd Bernella Vidal – “What Independence Means To Me”
3rd Dalisha Spencer – “Independence”

The top three winners in the 31+ category
1st Romeo “Kulcha D” Reid – “Kulcha D Independence”
2nd Laune Isaac – “Reflections On Independence
3rd Colin John-Jenkins -“What Independence means to me”

The Antigua and Barbuda contingent at the Caribbean Secondary Schools’ Drama Festival won several awards: Best Production, Best Original Screenplay, The Aston Cooke Award for directing (Zahra Airall), Most Innovative Set Design, Best Sound Effects, Best Lighting Design, Best Actress (Khadelia Williams), and Best Overall Contingent (for their cooperation, interaction, conduct, and willingness to participate in activities throughout the festival).

Producer Mitzi Allen, and actresses Heather Doram and Julie Hewlett are three of four women in film award recipients at the Motion Picture Association of Antigua-Barbuda’s International Film Festival

Wadadli Pen 2018 winner Kyle Christian becomes a National Youth Awards winner in the literary arts category.

The PEN America Literary Awards Longlist – The Circuit: A Tennis Odyssey by Rowan Ricardo Phillips longlisted for the PEN/ESPN AWARD FOR LITERARY SPORTS WRITING ($5,000) To honor a nonfiction book on the subject of sports published in 2018

Rowan Ricard Philips receives the Nicolás Guillén Outstanding Book Award for 2015’s Heaven

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots was longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize for his poetry collection Giant

2018 – 

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots was highly commended for the Forward Prize for his poetry collection Giant

Joanne C Hillhouse selected for the Commonwealth Writers fiction writing workshop

2017 –

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots was short listed for the Forward Prize for best first collection for his poetry collection Make Us All Islands

Ashley Bryan – Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor for writing and illustration, Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan

Althea Romeo Mark awarded the Arts and Science Poetry Prize for poems published in POEZY 21:Antologia Festivaluluiinternational Noptile De Poezie De Curtea De Arges, Curtea De Arges, Romania

Alexis Andrews wins the Donald Gosling Award for best television or film contribution at the Maritime Media Awards for Vanishing Sail –

Joanne C. Hillhouse nominated for the Astrid Lindgren prize

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s children’s picture book With Grace selected for the USVI Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge

Jamaica Kincaid is announced as winner of the Dan David Prize for being “one of the most important and influential writers today”. This prize is administered by Tel Aviv University

Spilling Ink receives the Antigua and Barbuda National Youth Awards literary arts award

2016 –

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots won the Marvin E Williams prize from The Caribbean Writer for ‘X’ and was shortlisted for the Small Axe Poetry prize for “Darkening/Freeport”

Ashley Bryan – short-listed for the Kirkus Prize and received a Newberry Honor

Anisfield-Wolf book award + Griffin Poetry Prize for Heaven by Rowan Ricardo Philips

Joanne C. Hillhouse selected for the CaribLit editing workshop in Guyana

Joy Lawrence awarded Antigua and Barbuda’s OH – Officer of the Most Precious Order of Princely Heritage – during the Independence Day Ceremonial Parade

Tammi Browne-Bannister wins the Marguerite Cobb-McKay Prize from The Caribbean Writer

Chrys-ann Ambrose receives an Indie Author Legacy Award (non-fiction) for her book Operation Game-Plan. Held for the first time in 2016, the award was designed to specifically celebrate non-fiction literacy geared towards the promotion of social awareness, education and personal transformation

Zahra Airall wins Antigua and Barbuda’s National Youth Award in the literary arts category

2015 –

Richard Georges who was born in Trinidad and resides in the BVI but has Antiguan roots was shortlisted for the Wasifiri New Writing Prize – Poetry for ‘Bush Tea’

Rowan Ricardo Phillips is a Guggenheim Fellow

Angelica O’Donoghue wins National Youth Award Young Journalist Award and Asha Graham wins the NYA Literary Arts Award

Zahra Airall and the team from Antigua Girls High School win awards for costuming, lighting, acting, originality, writing, directing, and overall execution at the Antigua and Barbuda Secondary Schools Drama Festival

Antigua and Barbuda win at the Caribbean Secondary Schools Drama Festival – Best Supporting Actress (Onalie Lares), Most Promising Actress (Queenela Williams), Most Outstanding Performer (Jianna Minott)

Lady of Parham, a David Edgecombe play set in Antigua and Barbuda, is short listed for the Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Awards for Best Drama

Alexis Andrews wins the People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival

Alexis Andrews’ film Vanishing Sails wins the Caribbean Spirit Award for Best Overall Feature at Canada’s Caribbean Tales awards

Joanne C. Hillhouse receives the Caribbean Writer Flash Fiction Prize for the story “When we Danced”

Dorbrene O’Marde long-listed for the Bocas Prize for the Short Shirt biography Nobody Go Run Me

2014 –

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s Commonwealth Short Story submission “Amelia at Devil’s Bridge” was selected for publication in Pepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean – consisting entirely of brand-new stories by authors living in the region, gathered from among the very best entries to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize from islands throughout the Caribbean

Jamaica Kincaid receives the Before Columbus Foundation Book Award for See Now Then 

Melissa Gomez and Cinque Productions’ film Silent Music wins Best Documentary feature at the Maine Deaf Film Festival

Althea Prince is named by the Harbourfront Centre as a Canadian Literary Pioneer

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s fairytale “With Grace” earns honourable mention in the Desi Writers Lounge fiction contest – The story goes on to be published as a children’s picture book released in December 2016.

Leonard Tim Hector Memorial Award to Joanne C. Hillhouse for contribution to journalism, literary arts, and youth development in Antigua and Barbuda

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s manuscript Musical Youth is first runner-up/second placed for the Burt Award for teen/young adult Caribbean fiction at the Bocas Lit Fest in Trinidad – the book is released later in the year under the regional Caribbean Reads imprint

2013 –

Rowan Ricardo Philips is a Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award winner for poetry + NAACP Image Award finalist for Outstanding Literary Work, Poetry + PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry winner + Whiting Award winner, for The Ground

Melissa Gomez’s film Silent Music wins the Audience Choice Award at the Toronto Deaf Film and Arts Festival

Tanya Evanson is Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word & the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award

Glen Toussaint and Linisa George are National Youth Award winners for literary arts 

Brenda Lee Browne named as a finalist for the Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize administered by the Bocas Literary Festival

PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award & Whiting Writers’ Award to Rowan Ricardo Philips for The Ground

“Amelia at Devil’s Bridge” by Joanne C. Hillhouse is short listed for the Small Axe fiction prize.

Dorbrene receives Calypso Composer prize from the Wadadli Calypso Association

2012 –

Linisa George is selected as Antigua and Barbuda’s representative to the Poetry Parnassus festival in London, an Olympics adjacent event which included a representative from each participating country; her selection (Brown Girl in the Ring) was subsequently published in a collection called The World Record

Althea Prince is shortlisted as one of Canadian Immigrants Top 25 Immigrants

Ashley Bryan is awarded the Coretta Scott-King Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Roundtable

Caribbean Canadian Literary Award for Outstanding Contribution to Caribbean Canadian Literature – from A Different Booklist, Toronto, to Althea Prince

Linisa George – National Youth Award for literary arts; the group she co-founded with Zahra Airall, Thomasine Greenaway, and Greschen Edwards (Women of Antigua) also claims a prize for Activism

Melissa Gomez’s Silent Music wins Best Documentary at the Caribbean Tales film festival

Joanne C. Hillhouse’s short story “Genevieve” short listed for the Small Axe fiction prize

Mary Geo Quinn receives a Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Award for Education and Development of the Literary Arts

Rowan Ricardo Phillips is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist for poetry, for The Ground

Joanne C. Hillhouse selected for Texas A & M’s Callaloo Writers Conference at Brown University

2011 –

Tameka Jarvis-George wins the National Youth Awards lit arts award

Reggae Film Festival Awards – Tameka Jarvis-George receives a JFA Honour Award as director of short film Dinner at the Jamaica International Reggae Film Festival.

Iyaba Ibo Mandingo wins Yale University’s Martin Luther King Birthday Invitational Slam (his seventh such win; he is also a repeat winner of the Connecticut Grand Slam championship)

Kimolisa Mings wins Independence Literary Awards – poetry and overall (Antigua and Barbuda)

Shakeema Edwards (a Wadadli Pen alum) third placed (adult story category) Independence Literary Awards (Antigua and Barbuda)

Ryerson University Faculty Award-the Kay Livingstone Award-to Althea Prince

Brenda Lee Browne is awarded National Youth Award (Antigua and Barbuda) Lifetime Achievement Award

Joanne C. Hillhouse receives the David Hough Literary Prize from The Caribbean Writer

Joanne C. Hillhouse receives a certificate of recognition from JCI West Indies as one of Ten Outstanding Young Persons in the region.

2010 –

Ashley Bryan – Golden Kite Award for nonfiction, Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song

Redemption of Paradise by Dr. Noel Howell wins three prizes at the Jamaica Reggae Film Festival – including Best Caribbean Film and Best Actress (Macka Diamond of Jamaica)

Hazra Medica is named a Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest finalist for “Ode to a Night in Ale”

Education, Leadership, and Community Service Award – the Antigua Girls’ High School Alumni Association of North America, New York, USA – to Althea Prince

Dorbrene O’Marde receives the Friend of the Arts Sunshine Award

Zahra Airall and Linisa George win National Youth Awards (Antigua and Barbuda) for their promotion of the literary and theatrical arts

Rev. Denise Smith-Lewis wins poetry and story prize; and Shakeema Edwards wins the story prize in the 12 and 17 age category (also a runner-up, poetry and spoken word) in the Antigua and Barbuda Independence Literary Arts Competition

2009 –

Elizabeth Abbott’s Sugar: A Bittersweet History is short listed for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

Althea Romeo-Mark is awarded the Marguerite Cobb McKay prize by The Caribbean Writer for the short story ‘Bitterleaf’ which had been published in 2008, Volume 22

Ashley Bryan receives the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award  for contribution to American children’s literature and the Wilder medal

Rev. Denise Smith-Lewis wins poetry prize in the Antigua and Barbuda Independence Literary Arts Competition

Mary Geo Quinn wins Independence Literary Arts Competition Award for adult fiction

2008 –

Ashley Bryan receives the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his book Let it Shine

Hazra Medica’s short story “The Banana Stains” is Highly Commended in the Commonwealth Short Story competition

Ashley Bryan is named a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library alongside Salman Rushdie, Nora Ephron, and Edward Albee

Floree Williams (now Whyte) receives the (Antigua and Barbuda) National Youth Award for achievement in the literary arts; Zahra Airall also receives an NYA in this year

Howard and Mitzi Allen receives National Youth Awards as Pioneers in Filmmaking

V-Monologues literary prize to Shakeema Edwards from Women of Antigua; who that year also wins the Dancing Nude in the Moonlight Next Chapter contest sponsored by the Best of Books

Joanne C. Hillhouse received the Michael and Marilee Fairbanks International Fellowship to participate in the Breadloaf Writers Conference in Vermont

2007 –

National Awards – Officer of the Most Precious Order of Princely Heritage, OH – Dr. Bille Dyer & Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation, KCN – Keithlyn Smith 

Althea Prince receives the Antigua and Barbuda International Literary Festival Award for Excellence in the Literary Arts

2006 –

Ashley Bryan – U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award (the highest recognition for creators of children’s books)

Carolyn Providence is nominated for the Best Spoken Word album at the National Underground Spoken Word and Poetry Awards.

Vivian Michael and teen novelist Akilah Jardine receive (Antigua and Barbuda) National Youth Awards for achievement in the literary arts; Joanne C. Hillhouse is named honourable mention.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda’s Jubilee Award for Outstanding Contributions and Achievements in the Field of Arts and Culture to Althea Prince

The Marguerite Cobb McKay Literary Prize from The Caribbean Writer  to Edgar O. Lake

2005 –

Ashley Bryan – the Atlanta Literary Festival was named for him and he also received the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion from the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival

The Marguerite Cobb McKay Literary Prize from The Caribbean Writer & The Leonard Tim Hector Annual Lecture Memorial Award from the Leonard Tim Hector Memorial Committee to Edgar O. Lake

2004 –

Ashley Bryan receives the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his book Beautiful Blackbird

Joanne C. Hillhouse, Joy Lawrence, Sylvanus Barnes, and others received a UNESCO Honour Award for contribution to literacy and the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda

2002 –

Motion won the 2002 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation National Poetry Face-Off competition.

Mary Geo Quinn Highly Commended for her short story “Joe”, an entry for the Commonwealth short story prize

2001 –

East Midland Arts New Writers Award to Brenda Lee Browne

2000 –

Jamaica Kincaid receives the Prix Femina étranger for My Brother

Arnold Prince receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Rhode Island

Mary Geo Quinn receives the King of Redonda literary award for her memoir Recollections (the competition was open to eastern Caribbean writers across all genres; “Dusted off Dreams” by Karil Sampson, also of Antigua and Barbuda, was among the honourable mentions, and “Antigua Snippets” by JoJo Tobit was among others singled out for praise) 

1999 –

Lannan Literary Award for fiction to Jamaica Kincaid

1998 –

Ashley Bryan receives an Illustrator honour from the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Ashley Bryan’s ABC of American Poetry

1997 –

Jamaica Kincaid’s The Autobiography of My Mother is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction (USA), the PEN Faulkner Award , and Boston Book Review Fisk Fiction Prize; also a National Book Award nominee for My Brother

PEN American Writers Fund Award to Edgar O. Lake

Jamaica Kincaid receives the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for The Autobiography of My Mother

1995 –

Joanne C. Hillhouse selected for the Caribbean Fiction Writers Summer Institute at University of Miami

Althea Romeo Mark’s story “Easter Sunday” wins the Stauffacher English Short Story Competition/Switzerland

1992 –

Joanne C. Hillhouse second placed in the Rick James Ensemble One Act Play Competition with the play “Barman’s Blues”; Zahra Airall wins a prize in that same competition as the Youngest person to enter

Ashley Bryan receives an Illustrator honour award from the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for All Night, All Day: a Child’s First Book of African American Spirituals

Jamaica Kincaid claims the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award

1991 –

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre “CHOICE AWARD” for children’s book: How The East-Pond Got Its Flowers – Althea Prince

1988 –

Ashley Bryan receives an Illustrator honour award from the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for What a Morning! The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals

1987 –

Ashley Bryan receives an Author honor from the Coretta Scott King Awards for his book Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales

1986 –

Mary Geo Quinn receives an Eastern Caribbean Authors of Excellence Award

Ashley Bryan – Coretta Scott King Honor for writing and illustration, Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales

1985 –

Jamaica Kincaid receives the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Fiction

1984 –

Jamaica Kincaid receives the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award for fiction

Shortlisted for the PEN Faulkner Award for At the Bottom of the River – Jamaica Kincaid

1983 –

Ashley Bryan wins an Illustrator honor from the Coretta Scott King Awards for I’m Going to Sing: Black American Spirituals

Jamaica Kincaid’s At the Bottom of the River wins the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and is nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award

1981 –

Ashley Bryan – Coretta Scott King Award for illustration, Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum

1979 –

Alexander Sideris Fine Arts Award to Mali Olatunji for his image ‘Solitude in Fall’ which can be seen in The Art of Mali Olatunji by Mali Olatunji and Paget Henry

1974 –

Althea Romeo Mark’s poem “Old No-Teeth Mama” wins the poetry award at Cuyahoga Community Writers Conference

1969 –

Quill & Scroll Award, Fort Benjamin Harrison Journalism Award, Indiana to Edgar O. Lake

1934 –

Roy H. S. Dublin’s Tomorrow’s Blossoms, first published in 1934 to commemorate the tercentenary year of the colonization of Antigua and the centenary year of emancipation, is awarded the King’s Medal

Date unknown, unsure, unconfirmed –

Althea Romeo Mark wins a scholarship to the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference

PEN Award for his journalistic work to Leonard Tim Hector

***

As with all content on Wadadli Pen, except otherwise noted, this is written by Antiguan and Barbudan writer Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight 10th Anniversary Edition and Other Writings, With Grace, The Jungle Outside, and Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure; also a freelance writer, editor, writing coach and workshop facilitator). All Rights Reserved. If you like the content here follow or recommend the blog, also, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. Thank you.

DYA Workshop: Hopes and Highlights

I’m posting here about the Media Workshop I was commissioned by the Department of Youth Affairs to conduct instead of posting it at my Jhohadli blog because as a youth specific event, it seemed a good fit for the Wadadli Pen blog.

It was an all-absorbing two weeks (July 14^th to 25^th) – by which I mean I got very little else done during that time, writing included. In fact, the only writing I remember doing was the writing that came out of my field trip with the kids from the writing workshop I was facilitating. In the end, though I’d like to think that we got a lot done during those long days.

The focus of the workshop was feature writing; and the goal given to each participant, to produce an article by the end of the second week, was achieved by almost all – and what was produced was quite thought provoking. The best of them consistent with our mantra for the two weeks: “this is not talk as yuh like but back up yuh chat.”

Each day we began by reading and discussing a feature article, pulling it apart: how it approached its subject, how it used language, the attitude of the writer to the subject, how the story made them feel, how the writer achieved that, what sources were used, were they effective, how was language used, was that effective, and so on. We also discussed themes and the articles covered a wide range of them – touching on girls/women/human rights and patriarchy; on female representation in parliament; on the brutality meted out to the indigenous people of the new world – this actually wasn’t a very well written one (but that too was a learning opportunity); articles on environmental activism; the marine environment; subtle forms of censorship including self-censorship; diversity (or the lack thereof) in popular culture products – books, TV, film; bullying and cyber bullying in particular – this one caught on as a number of them ended up writing on this very topic. Sidebar: won’t break any confidences but we really need to pay attention to what our kids are going through; it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there and confident as their posturing is, they’re really just trying to feel their way through it. Writing their experiences is one very profound way of bringing clarity and/or catharsis, and I applaud the DYA for the initiative and hope they find the funding to make it continuous.

The weeks were punctuated by a couple of field trips, one a city walkabout, one exploration of the former sugar plantation cum open air historical museum that is Betty’s Hope– in the former case, the challenge was to observe and practice descriptive writing and in the latter case they were expected to journal the experience – and from that we did a pretty successful group writing exercise when we returned to base.

One said of the field trips, in the written reviews at the end of our two weeks :“I learned how to describe things through this experience.”

This same person added that they also enjoyed the “Morning discussions – I was able to open-up and state my views and [be] heard.”

Another approach to edutainment was video screenings of films, music videos, and mini-docs – followed by discussion and critiques. These provided opportunities for comparative analysis of different tones and styles, even or especially when there are common themes. One of the 20 or so participants said on review at the end of the two weeks that his/her favourite activity was surprise, surprise “…the movies and the discussions because I learn better that way and it is fun and entertaining.”

I don’t know what I expected of the last day but it was wonderful. Most completed their articles as mentioned; others had articles in various stages of progress. Three were selected to present. That went very well – the three presented on women’s rights, women’s representation in parliament, and corporal punishment. I think in preparing the articles, they learned it’s easy to have an opinion, it’s much more challenging to articulate that opinion in a coherent and artful way, to back up yuh chat by putting in the research time and doing the appropriate sourcing (and crediting said sources), and just sitting down and doing the work – no shortcuts.

There were tears and procrastination, complaining and contradictory behavior – never let it be said that only old people are set in their ways; we challenged each other – prove it, I would say in the face of every conspiracy theory or wild statement and I’ve never heard “Miss” said with so many variations of whine before. So perhaps we were both a little surprised at the end to find that we had enjoyed our time together. “What did you learn from us?” one asked me at the end. “Patience,” I quipped. And that’s no joke (between lack of focus, resistance, and more I had to put it to use) but I learned more too. By finding ways to engage the reluctant learners especially, during the summer months, for six to seven hours per day, when they’d rather be outside (in theory, since even our outdoor games attracted some whining), I continue to learn (the hard way) how to teach what I love to those who may not love it as much and to those who love it maybe but need to realize that it’s more than just bursts of creativity but actual work. In this regard, as in so much else, I continue to be a work in progress.

But…

I was in line at the ATM when I got around to reading their evaluations of the two weeks. I’d done everything I could to assure them that their feedback would be anonymous and it was. So I’ll take it at face value that they had as good of a time as they said they did. I’m not surprised that highlights for them included the films and field trips, the friendships and the music, so much music (blame me for that, I love music and it is a form of storytelling that kids can relate to). But some of their comments did reassure me that for them it was also a productive two weeks filled with learning and, surprisingly, fun.

They wrote about gaining confidence, learning the basics of journalism and how to express themselves via the written word, how to edit what they’d written, and indeed how to back up yuh chat – “balancing my thoughts with facts”. One that jumped out at me was, “after being reluctant to come, I actually learned a lot. My writing skills have improved.” And, this person went on to say, he or she, I’m not sure which, had also learned a lot about him or herself. Sidebar: I also hope they learn to question more before swallowing everything wholesale…whether it’s the finer points of history or today’s conspiracy theories.

So, let’s see, let’s see, what else did I learn…that teens are contradictory, so conservative about some issues, so off hand about other things, and seeing no irony in it at all… treating journaling like a chore (why? Why? Why? Do you journal every day????) and then naming it as one of their favourite activities…go figure…what else, what else…oh that I am “a funny teacher” … which is a neat trick considering everything else that was going on in my life at the time.

Educational…fun were the two words repeated most often in their reviews, and you know what, that’s an okay mix.

Viewing the offshore islands from Seatons.

Potworks, empty during this sustained period of drought, a visual extension of our discussion on the environment.

“P.S. Ms. Hillhouse, I love your approach to criticism. You never just state what needs improvement but what was great already, thereby making you approachable.”

(Photos courtesy the Department of Youth Affairs)

As with all content (words, images, other) 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,  Fish Outta Water, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about WadadliPen and my books. You can also subscribe to and/or follow the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks. And remember while linking and sharing the links, referencing and excerpting, with credit, are okay, lifting whole content (articles,  images, other) from the site without asking is not cool. Respect copyright.

Tune in if you can…

Wadadli Pen delegates Latisha Walker-Jacobs, Angelica O’Donoghue, and Lia Nicholson – all past finalists – will be making the media rounds over the next few days as we launch our 10^th year and 2014 season of the Wadadli Pen Challenge.

Listen in if you can

UPDATE! Observer Radio on January 3rd – 7:15 a.m. – 91.1 FM (I’ll be doing this one)

Good Morning Antigua Barbuda  on January 3^rd – about 1/4 to 8 a.m. – ABS TV Channel 10 (Latisha and Lia)

Xpress Yourself on January 6^th – 12:00 midday – Crusader Radio 107.3 FM (Angelica and Latisha)

ZDK on January 7th – 10:40 a.m. – 97.1 FM (Latisha)

Our House with Auntie Debbie on January 8th – about 3:15 p.m. – Observer Radio 91.1 FM (Angelica)

For more on Wadadli Pen 2014, go here.

As with all content (words, images, other) 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, and Oh Gad!), founder and coordinator of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about WadadliPen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks. And remember while linking and sharing the links, referencing and excerpting, are okay, lifting content (words, images, other) from the site without asking is not cool. Respect copyright.

When the Dust Settles. Remembering Winston.

This one is by Marcella Andre, on the occasion of the passing of Antigua and Barbuda media mogul, her boss and friend, Winston Derrick of the Observer Media Group which transformed the Antigua and Barbuda media landscape by liberating the airwaves with a historic victory against the State for the right to broadcast, a costly battle that took them all the way to the Privy Council, ushering in a new media climate with ripples throughout not just media but the social and political landscape:

When the dust settles….as it will,
We will all ponder…as we are wont to do…
about life, about meaning, about love, about who we are in the grand scheme of things,
spiritual beings, experiencing a temporary physical journey,
we will talk about where we were and what we were doing when we got the news
“ah who ah call me at this hour?” said one colleague “Jacqui wake me up” said another.

We will talk about how we felt, and how we feel.
Through haggard and tired looking faces, we will all cry.
We will think of the conversations we had with him, about him, because of him
We will look at those around us and listen to their stories
We will crack jokes and repeat his famous phrases “look, jus cut he off!”   “George!!!”
We will think of the “family” we have gained because of the opportunity he afforded us
We will think of his raucous laughter, his straightforward stare
We will think of our lives and try to come to terms with the fact that …
We will no longer see him here.

In the moment, we will write poems quoting Shakespeare and the Bible

“What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,  to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” Hamlet

“what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him” Psalm 8:4

We will hug our family and friends a little harder and longer
We will have fleeting thoughts that “none of us come to stay”.
We will try…. not to think of the future, of how? … we will go ooooonnnnnnnnnnnnn
Of our own mortality….uh….no.. not yet…”we not goin down dat road” not yet…
We will think of the meaning of legacies and the power of ONE
OMG
All imagined or real hurts and affronts will immediately be laid aside as…
Say one, say two, Cuss you now and hug you later was synonymous with Winston.

But for now,
For now…
While we try to see our own faces and those of others
through the collected specs of a yet dusty reality
While we try to comfort others who may appear weaker…
during our own passing moments of strength
While we think of his wife and family, each one of them…Georgie…
While we consider our own private moments in his company
While we try to forge a brave front through the calls, the emotional fatigue,
the VOICES… of so many people, of a nation mourning and recalling,
While we consider with a wry shake of the head how some are always ready to bestow flowers…after the fact
While we embrace the pain of a loss that will echo often, unexpectedly, fondly,
throughout the remaining fabric of our individual lives,
While we gather, to do something, .anything …
make some coffee, make some tea, answer a phone, read a text , call a friend

For now .and for all times, we must remain grateful,

We must recall how he made us feel….
Special.
Each person in their own way.
While we embrace the unwelcomed pain… and sadness
We must embrace also the love, the warmth, the laughter, the joy he shared.
We must summon our own courage, our own truth, our own strength
We must be honest; we must be frank and brave.
We must recall how blessed we have all been to have been touched by Winston Derrick.

When the dust settles, we will all be wiser, stronger, and we will hummm along to a sweet tune as he often did.
The knowledge that ONLY LOVE is perfect will sustain us
For, what is man?

Go in peace… and with Love Winston.  May your ancestors welcome your return, may unity here, with us, reign as among the silent wishes of your heart.

Post Note

Post contest, winners have been making the media rounds; Devra Thomas, as overall and 18 to 35 winner, has been contacted by and will be featured in a pending publication by News Pages; and Orique Gordon, along with other winners in the 12 and under category, Zuri Holder and Keillia Mentor appeared with their parents on Auntie Debbie’s Our House on Observer Radio. Winning stories through the years will be featured in a special issue of online children’s journal, Anansesem.

But it’s the small moments that resonate…receiving the edits of the short listed pieces from the writers
(who readily embraced the redrafting process guided by Judge Brenda Lee Browne’s comments), preparing and delivering the prizes (it’s a bit like wrapping presents at Christmas), and feedback like this…

Orique sharing that he’s started work on another story, Zuri sharing that he just keeps staring at the cheque he received (not depositing or cashing it, just staring at it!), their faces as they read their stories on air (nerves and joy in one nice bundle), the pride in the parents’ voices…

And emails like these:

“We were thrilled to be a part of such a lovely event and Freya was blown over with all her ‘Winnings’. We have been to
register with Edison and I am (sure) she will benefit greatly from his expertise .”
– from the mom of eight year old Freya Platts-Costeloe
(second in the art contest…the Edison mentioned is Edison Liburd who donated two scholarships worth EC$300+ each to his art camp to the two art winners)

“Elated mother (what a mother’s day gift)”
– from Orique’s mom on learnng her son had made the finals.

“I am so grateful to write and receive encouragement…you inspire me to step out”
– from Devra after her win.

The truth is, they inspire me.