Three T&T writers are among the six finalists selected from 60 regional submissions of published books and unpublished manuscripts for CODE’s Burt Award for Caribbean Literature, the only award of its kind in the region.
Up to CAD$22,000 in prize money will be awarded to up to three winners, who will be announced on April 29, at an award ceremony during the 2016 NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
The annual Burt Award for Caribbean Literature recognises outstanding work from young Caribbean adults.
The award, administered by the Bocas Lit Fest and adjudicated by writers and educators with expertise in Caribbean literature, will see the publication, by regional publishers, of the unpublished winning manuscripts, and CODE will also purchase and distribute up to 6,000 copies of the winning titles through donations to schools, libraries and community organisations across the Caribbean.
CODE executive director Scott Walter said: “This is the award’s third year in the Caribbean, and it only gets more exciting as time goes on. We were thrilled by the number of submissions received this year, many of them unpublished manuscripts by emerging authors, which suggests there is a great deal of untapped writing talent in the Caribbean.”
To date, 15,000 award-winning books have been distributed to readers in 11 Caribbean countries. And CODE further supports Caribbean writing and publishing through workshops for writers and editors and through reading promotion initiatives, such as sponsoring events that connect winning authors directly with young readers.
Marina Salandy-Brown, founder and director of the Bocas Lit Fest, CODE’s Caribbean partner, said in a press release, “Our desire to tell and hear stories is never quenched and it starts with the young. The Burt Award is fuelling a revolution in the literary arts and publishing in our region in the important area of young adult literature, and the Bocas Lit Fest is pleased to be playing its part in this important development.”
The Burt Award for Caribbean Literature was established by the Canadian charitable organisation CODE, in partnership with the Bocas Lit Fest. For 55 years—working with the Literary Prizes Foundation—CODE has been advancing literacy and learning through a global leader initiative that includes programmes in the Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Canada.