Literarture: Calabash Lit Fest gives play to Words and Music

Calabash 2016 begins on June 3, at Jakes Resort in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, and ends on June 5. This year's guests include Marlon James, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Kei Miller, Robert McCrum, Eleanor Catton, Paul Beatty, Geoff Dyer, Vladimir Lucien, Pam Mordecai, and Tishani Doshi, among others. Batson-Savage writes:

While the Calabash International Literary Festival remains at its core a literary festival, since its inception, it has had a roaring affair with music which bears fruit in many ways and often skanks its influence onto the way the programme. Over the years the festival has also delivered some memorable musical moments and with Protoje headlining Friday night’s Midnight Ravers, it is gearing up for another.

With three critically celebrated albums under his belt, Protoje is now firmly entrenched among the current Reggae elite, so much so that he now has his own protege, Sevana, who will also be performing at Midnight Ravers. Cala-Clash makes its return on Saturday night with DJs Bambino  Sparks at the controls.

- from Susumba

Literary: Jammin' Books at Miami Book Fair

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Read Jamaica, a book promotions outfit based in Kingston, Jamaica will be bringing literary vibes from ‘yaad’ to the 2015 Miami Book Fair, South FLorida Caribbean Newsreports.

In addition to showcasing and promoting Jamaican books at the eagerly anticipated Miami Book Fair, Read Jamaica will also be collaborating with the Consulate General of Jamaica to Miami to present a Book Party on Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 6:00pm.

The Book Party  line-up includes Florida-based Jamaican authors Geoffrey Philp, David Muir (Pieces of Jamaica) and Judith Falloon-Reid, who recently released her latest novel The Silent Stones. These three will be joined by the Jamiacan-based authors Tanya Batson-Savage (Pumpkin Belly and Other Stories) and Kellie Magnus (the Little Lion Series). The evening will also feature the US soft-launch of iPublishJa, a publishing consultancy specializing in digital books.

According to the organizers, the book party will present a mixture of readings, discussion about the state of Jamaican literature as well as the opportunity to mix, mingle and be introduced to some great Jamaican books.

Read Jamaica is the brainchild of three of the most dynamic women in the contemporary Jamaican publishing scene: Tanya Batson-Savage of Blue Moon Publishing and Blouse and Skirt Books, Kellie Magnus of Jack Mandora and Latoya West-Blackwood of iPublish Jamaica.

“This is an wonderful moment in history for Jamaican books in particular and Caribbean books in general,” Tanya Batson-Savage says. “Read Jamaica wants this to be more than a moment. Our aim is to take Jamaican books, by authors at home and abroad to world. Through Read Jamaica we want to tell the world, not only about the writers they are already aware of, but authors they should be paying attention to.”

The Book Party will take place at the Miami Dade College, North Campus, Building A, 11389 NW27th Avenue during the 2015 Miami Book Fair.

Literary Arts: "Tree of Life" Brings renewal for writers

The inaugural Lignum Vitae Writing Awards were launched with an appropriately sprightly ceremony at the St Andrew parish Library (Tom Redcam), a place of which many of the event's speakers (including Investment & Commerce Minister Sharon FfolkesAbrahams) had fond memories at best.

But the Library's Main reading Room came alive with the announcement that the Jamaica Writers Society (JaWS, if you would) will be resucitating the dormant National Literary Awards, namely the Una Marson Award and Vic Reid Award for Adult Literature and the Jean D'Costa Award for Children's Literature (D'Costa being the author of the beloved Jamaican children's clasic "Sprat Morrison" among others).

The renewal is made possible thanks to the Cultural Fund of the Jamaica Copyright licensing Authority, or JAMCOPY, the official rights agency for literary works in Jamaica, which gave 1.5 million to the effort. The Marson prize carries a purse of J$500,000, whilst the Vic reid and D'Costa awards carry a purse of J$250,000 each. JaWS President Tanya Batson-Savage stated that it was the intention to expand the award categories, to take in poetry and other forms, as the presentation progresses bienially. That would have been encouraging news to the poets present, including Jamaica Poet Laureate, Prof mervyn Morris who, a it turns out, was due to launch a book project of his own, a biography of dialect champion and cultural icon Miss Lou, later that same day.

The audience, writers and otherwise also heard a timely reminder on the importance of the literary arts from guest speaker, Dr Velma Pollard, herself an award-winning poet, novelist and essayist, as well as selectiond from the works of the three writers for whom the Awards are named.

Entry is open to all Jamaican writers and the deadline for submissions is June 30, 2015, and for full details, contactthe jamaica Writers Society (JaWS) at sdbeharie@gmail.com, or on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/jamaicanwriterssociety

The awards will be presented in October 2015