Thousands of copies of three newest winning titles to be distributed to Caribbean youth
PORT-OF-SPAIN – The second year of winners of a unique literary award that provides thousands of youth across the Caribbean region each year with access to exciting new titles were announced on May 1st.
The 2015 award ceremony for CODE’s Burt Award for Caribbean Literature, recognizing outstanding literary works for young adults written by Caribbean authors, was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, as part of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
Imam Baksh received the first prize of $10,000 CAD for his first novel, Children of the Spider, Diana McCaulay, from Jamaica, won the second prize of $7,000 CAD for The Dolphin Catchers, while the third prize of $5,000 CAD went to Lynn Joseph of Trinidad and Tobago for Dancing in the Rain. The finalists were selected by a jury administered by The Bocas Lit Fest and made up of writers, literacy experts and academics from the Caribbean and Canada.
All three winning novels are still at the manuscript stage. As part of the Award, CODE will help link the winning authors to Caribbean publishers so their works can be published in the near future.
The Award’s book purchase and distribution program will ensure that a minimum of 2,500 copies of each of the three winning titles will be put into the hands of young people through schools, libraries and community organizations across the Caribbean.
In its inaugural year, the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature donated 7,500 copies of the first set of three winning titles to hundreds of locations across 11 Caribbean countries, including schools, libraries and children’s homes.
Read more about the three winners here.
