Congrats, Kendel

With this post, we shout out (somewhat belatedly) Caribbean author, St. Lucian Kendel Hyppolyte. His seventh collection, Word Planting, comes via Peepal Tree Press.

“He is quite simply amongst the very best of Caribbean poets who warrant an international reputation.  Kendel Hippolyte’s poetry moves easily, boldly between the worlds of public engagement and the intimacies of domesticity. What unites this movement are the distinctive sounds and rhythms of his voice, and whilst some poems have a named recipient, and some are addressed to himself, all engage the reader in an implicit dialogue.”

In addition to being an award winning poet, Kendel is also a celebrated playwright, director, and anthologist.

I like origins stories and a desire to share a quote from Kendel, from a recent interview, in which he discussed his origins as a writer, among other things, prompted this post. Here it is:

“I was a shy child and having to go and stand in front of a class and read something, especially something personal like that – horror! But disobeying the teacher was out of the question so i somehow reached the front of the class with my exercise book and i read the poem. (A very attentive audience, my memory tells me, but no doubt attentive for reasons other than the pleasure of poetry.) i finished reading … And the class burst into spontaneous applause! Not a bad introduction to the world of composing poetry and performing it.” Read the full interview here.

Oh and I’m not trying to hog his spotlight but the only picture I have of Kendel is this one from the Caribbean Congress of Writers event in Guadeloupe.

As with all content on Wadadli Pen, unless otherwise indicated, this is written by author and Wadadli Pen founder and coordinator Joanne C. Hillhouse. All rights reserved.

Just Some Links I wanted to Share

“D. Gisele Isaac is an Antiguan and Barbudan writer.” From an article on my blog entitled ‘D. Gisele Isaac – Daughter of the Antiguan & Barbudan Soil’

“Musical Youth is the first book that I have read by Joanne C. Hillhouse, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!” From author Danielle McClean’s review of Musical Youth

“(My boss) said she can definitely see the improvement in my writing.” From a recent review by a past participant in the Jhohadli Writing Project

Thanks for reading.

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 and With Grace). 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.

 

A & B Writer in New International Collection

Shout out to Antiguan and Barbudan writer, Tammi Browne-Bannister, included in the collection So Many Islands – announced earlier this year, published this month.

The collection also includes works by

Tracy Assing • Trinidad and Tobago
Heather Barker • Barbados
Angela Barry • Bermuda
Cecil Browne • St Vincent and the Grenadines
Sabah Carrim • Mauritius
Damon Chua • Singapore
Marita Davies • Kiribati
Fetuolemoana Elisara • Samoa
Kendel Hippolyte • St Lucia
Erato Ioannou • Cyprus
Emma Kate Lewis • Malta
Karlo Mila • Tonga
Jacob Ross • Grenada
Melanie Schwapp • Jamaica
Mere Taito • Rotuma, Fiji
Mikoyan Vekula • Niue
Afterword by Sia Figiel

The collection which includes a foreword by Marlon James is edited by Nicholas Laughlin and Nailah Folami Imoja.

Congrats to Tammi (see what else she’s been published in in our Antiguan and Barbudan Writings and Literary Journals pages) and to all the selected writers. Read about the collection here: so many islands info sheet Final (1)

Lost! Book Chat

November 30th 2017 was publication day for my latest book, the children’s picture book, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure  which tells the story of Dolphin, an Arctic seal who finds himself stranded in the Caribbean.

On December 1st 2017, the illustrator (Trinidad and Tobago artist and poet Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné), publisher (CaribbeanReads), and I (author Joanne C. Hillhouse) engaged in a promotional live facebook chat, which I’ve copied (with minor editing and a bit of jigsawing) below. Oh, there were emoticons but you’ll just have to picture (most of) those; I’ll keep the hashtags.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Since I first read Lost! and started illustrating, I’ve been wondering about the true story of Wadadli the seal. It’s fascinating! Joanne, did the idea for a book come to you immediately?

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Immediately, no. Actually Wadadli’s story was some years before I wrote this. I was as surprised as anyone that it had imprinted on me in any particular way. I do think because I was doing a lot of school visits at the time and because I read to children as a volunteer reader with the Cushion Club, I kind of wanted to experiment with writing a children’s story. And the children at one of the schools I visited and the kids of the Cushion Club were actually the first to hear this story.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …An image of the actual seal Wadadli that inspired this story (quite literally finding himself stranded in the waters off Antigua and having to be helped home). I think you did an amazing job re-interpreting him and creating all of the other creatures he meets along the way, plus the world of the story.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Yes, I think this was one of the first photos I saw in the early stages! It’s sometimes hard with animals, to give them human expressions, but luckily Wadadli had those gorgeous eyes to begin with.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Very soulful eyes, yes.

Joanne C. Hillhouse …I’m always curious about a visual artist’s process… how did you approach this project?

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné …I wanted to get a feel for all the characters’ personalities, especially Dolphin. I wanted to bring out those qualities of curiousity and playfulness that make him so endearing in the book. It was a joy to illustrate because the underwater setting made it the perfect fit for watercolours, my medium of choice.

Joanne C. Hillhouse …I always thought your aesthetic and style would be a good match for this story. #superfan

CaribbeanReads …I agree this definitely fit your style. As soon as I saw some of your earlier work I knew it would work well.

CaribbeanReads …How did this story come about Joanne?

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Wadadli, of course – the arctic seal who had made big news here and in environmental circles in the wider Caribbean after being stranded in waters off of Antigua. The need to have an actual children’s story for this children’s author label I carried erroneously (lol) for so long (since my first book The Boy from Willow Bend). The invitation the story extended for me to delve in to fantasy, which fascinates me. And the characters, the characters are always a draw, the main draw, when I’m writing – the main character’s challenge of making new friends when you’re in a strange place and feel like you’re sort of a weird one yourself (that’s actually what came first and everything kind of filled in around that). So that meeting scene between new friends is the first thing I remember clearly.

CaribbeanReads  …Why did you picture him as a daydreamer?

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …lol projection?

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …He’s clearly a lover of stories – see his bond with his nema – and stories are all about living a little bit in your head. Plus it helped define him as a little bit different from his friends and provide an instigating incident for his adventure.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …I say that after the fact; in real time, as I was writing him, because he was a daydreamer.

CaribbeanReads  …It definitely works

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Thanks.

CaribbeanReads  …How did that day dreaming influence your illustrations, Danielle.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Dolphin’s daydreaminess really helps define him, I think. It was the first thing that struck me when I started doing concept sketches of each of the characters. It set him apart from his friends…. aside from his nose of course. In the illustrations, I wanted his eyes to always be wide and filled with wonder.

CaribbeanReads  …You definitely got that right!

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …CaribbeanReads, as a publisher with an independent press, you have to be careful in your selections as your booklist is much shorter…what moved Lost! up the list in your mind? Why did you want to publish this book?

CaribbeanReads  …We fell in love with the story. The two main characters are so different and equally loveable. The words conjured up beautiful images.

CaribbeanReads  …We do have to be very careful about what we invest in but this was a no-Brainer. Children will love the story and the characters.

CaribbeanReads  …My only concern was finding an illustrator to do it justice. I think we all agree that was a success.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …yep, agreed.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Yay! Such an honour. I agree that children will love the story and the characters. It’s a bedtime favourite in my house already.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Danielle, have you illustrated any other books or was this a new type of project for you?

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …I’ve worked on a few illustration projects, but this was definitely one of my favourites as I got to do full watercolour, every single page! 😀 I’ve always wondered, Joanne, how do you choose illustrators? Do specific ones come to mind for a book, or is it a process of looking through several options?

Joanne C. Hillhouse  … Cool. It’s the publisher’s choice ultimately. But I was asked to make recommendations and you were at the top of my list …the only mark against you was that you weren’t Antiguan and I like to rope Antiguan artists in to my projects if I can…but I didn’t hold it against you (lol)…and clearly I didn’t know if you did book illustrations though I knew your art…and really it was your art …there was one underwater piece in particular that made me think heeeyyy …it was a woman sort of suspended and the suggestion of movement and at the same time stillness/solace…don’t remember the name…but really your entire oeuvre generally…, your style, your aesthetic, something about the delicacy and beauty and flow of your lines and the whimsy of your artistic voice (different in some ways from your poetic voice) that made me think you could see the world I imagined. I’m glad to know I was right.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Lost! was really a delight to work on. Thank you for inviting me to be such a big part of Dolphin’s story. 😊

Joanne C. Hillhouse …☺️

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Danielle, any particular challenges during the process?

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Working with a wee one-year-old assistant clinging to my legs! 😂 My little one, Rafael, was so fascinated by the illustrations. Other than that, not at all. CaribbeanReads was a pleasure to work with, and the story was so visual and lovely.

Joanne C. Hillhouse …😆😀

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …And thanks. I’m just glad  the story didn’t leave you uninspired. Lol.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Joanne, how do you switch so seamlessly from children’s fiction to poetry to blogging, etc? And you do each one so well. I’m in awe. #superfantoo

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …It’s not seamless at all, but it helps that I don’t think in terms of genres. I don’t like boundaries around art (and some of the snobbery that inspires it) either as a reader or a writer. I write from character and curiousity (the things I’m trying to understand, or in this case the what if…). I did learn, and this was the challenge, that editing something you’ve written for a young reader poses certain unique challenges – in terms of reading level, vocabulary, abstract v. non abstract thinking etc.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …That makes a lot of sense. I find that when I don’t think of myself as a ‘poet’ or ‘writer’, but just someone trying to explore an idea through poetry or painting, the work is so much stronger. I love that idea of writing from curiousity.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Yeah writing helps me process and make sense of the world. So if you see me being miserable, I’m probably blocked.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …Me too! It all feels like chaos when I’m blocked. 😂

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …For me, it feels like being cut off from myself. Hate that space.

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …Oh, you know what else I’m curious about, the process visually of distinguishing between the world of the Arctic and the world of the Caribbean…underwater.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …I had to show some restraint with the Arctic underwater world, not go too crazy with colour. Lots of cooler blue hues, less undersea life. When Dolphin got to the Caribbean Sea, I used lots of warmer tones, swirls, different kinds of application techniques.

Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné  …And CaribbeanReads was really great about giving feedback!

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …p.s. for anyone who doesn’t know Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné and I first met in 2008 when we were presenters at a panel Celebrating Caribbean Women writers in Barbados (early in both our writing journeys) – so thrilled to have had the opportunity to work on a project with her FINALLY – she is one of our distinctive modern poetic voices. Don’t sleep on her talent. It’s actually not fair that she’s just as talented with images as she is with words.

(So that’s pretty much it. We opened it up to anyone to ask questions but, short of that, had fun having that conversation among ourselves; I think you’ll agree there were some interesting insights.)

Joanne C. Hillhouse  …This was a rare treat. …Thanks for hanging Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné and CaribbeanReads … Joanne C. Hillhouse signing off from Antigua. Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure to the world. #bestseller #speakingitintoexistence

Congratulations, Moondancer

This just popped in to my social media newsfeed so I had to pause to big up Floree Williams Whyte who now has her own publishing imprint, Moondancer.

Floree Williams Whyte is part of the Wadadli Pen team: she’s been a judge since 2012 and, in 2016, became a part of the core advisory and action team as we move toward becoming a formal non-profit and solidifying the foundation we’ve been building since we launched in 2004. So, we had to take a moment to shout her out and big her up for this major milestone on her publishing journey.

Per Moondancer’s facebook page: Moondancer Books is a small press, publishing Caribbean based books. This ever expanding brand, owned by Floree Williams Whyte, encompasses anything that is creative, inspiring and literary.

She’s also announced on the page that this book is coming soon:

Per us: Floree is a talented writer who first hit the market with Pink Teacups and Blue Dresses, a book of sometimes quirky and always authentic vignettes of growing up, Antiguan. Her second book was Through the Window.

While Floree has self-published before (Through the Window), setting up an imprint is a different level (a level at which you’re a business woman with an independent publishing house). Kudos to her for taking that step.

And you can be sure we’ll be trying to grab her for a  guest post or Q & A about this new step here on Wadadli Pen soon.

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!, Fish Outta Water, Musical Youth, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight 10th Anniversary Edition and Other Writings, and With Grace; 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.

Press Release – With Grace, a Caribbean Faerie Tale, Lands Just in Time for Christmas

On Wednesday 21st December 2016, the Best of Books bookstore on St. Mary’s Street hosted the launch of the latest book by Antiguan and Barbudan writer Joanne C. Hillhouse. The book, With Grace, a Caribbean faerie tale, is the sixth book and second children’s picture book by the local writer.

“In With Grace, Joanne has shared a magical story set in familiar Caribbean places,” said Best of Books manager Barbara Arrindell. “I enjoyed reading it to myself and I can’t wait to read it to some of the little people in my life.”

The book, in summary, is the story of Grace who leads a carefree life in Grace’s Peak, looking down on the villagers, until a little girl comes in search of assistance, changing both of their lives forever.

Hillhouse said, at the launch, that she was happy to create a book in which young Caribbean children could see themselves reflected – see someone, a girl and a faerie/fairy who looks like so many of them – as this is rare in the fairytale sub-genre.

Among those who’ve submitted endorsements of the book are Alscess Lewis-Brown, editor of the Caribbean Writer, published by the University of the Virgin Islands, who’s written on the book jacket, “With Grace explores a Caribbean space richly woven with magic, mystery, and fantasy – an engaging fable not only for young readers but any reader poised for a new reading experience that twists and turns on a suggestion of allegory.”

With Grace is published by Little Bell Caribbean and Mario Picayo, publisher and children’s author in his own right, described the book on the jacket as “beautiful, well thought, and meaningful.”

At the launch, excerpts from With Grace were read by Tamare Banis and Anya Hull of the Cushion Club reading club for kids, with which Hillhouse served as a longtime volunteer, and by the author herself. She also fielded questions about the book and her writing career. Absent from the launch but celebrated for the quality of her illustrations in the book was Barbadian artist Cherise Harris.

While the kids were entertained at the launch with colouring sheets, adults had a chance to win as a door prize an earlier Hillhouse book, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight 10th Anniversary Edition and Other Writings. This prize was claimed by Agnes Meeker.

The formalities were followed by the purchasing and signing of With Grace, now available at the Best of Books and soon to be in other bookshops and markets – regionally and internationally.

The launch event was emceed by Best of Books supervisor Glen Toussaint.

For more pictures from the launch, go here.

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). 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.

2019 –

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

2017 –

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 –

Anisfield-Wolf book award + Griffin Poetry Prize for Heaven

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 –

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

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 –

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

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

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 –

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

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 awarded 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.

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 –

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

Vivian Michael and 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 –

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

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 –

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

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

1980 –

Ashley Bryan receives the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his book 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, 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.