Newsday sponsors Bocas Lit Fest prize

For the first time in TT, there will be an annual literary award determined through online voting. The Bocas Lit Fest, NALIS and Newsday today launched the People’s Choice T&T Book of the Year, at the National Library in Port of Spain.

The winning writer will receive $5,000, courtesy Newsday and a subscription to Newsday's online paper, N-Touch.

The People’s Choice prize aims to raise public awareness of the growing number of books by local writers released in TT, and the prize puts the spotlight on the most popular reads, and through this prize, the public can debate and discuss about local books.

Speaking at the launch, Newsday’s Editor-in-Chief Judy Raymond said the company was pleased to sponsor the People’s Choice prize because in its almost quarter-century of existence Newsday has always been regarded as the “people’s paper – all the people, many of whom, from all parts of the country and all walks of life, read and write. Our involvement with this prize isn’t just a matter of sponsorship; it includes encouraging our readers to read and vote for local books.”

“Literature – and in that I include not only fiction and poetry but also non-fiction," she said, "can provide not only an escape from but also a guide to modern life, an education in how things used to be and how they might and should be. We need it more than ever, and so Newsday is not only happy but positively grateful for the chance to be associated with the new People’s Choice Prize for the Best T&T Book of the Year.”