YA winning writers tour schools

Lisa Allen-Agostini in mid-discussion with students at Arima Central Secondary School.
Lisa Allen-Agostini in mid-discussion with students at Arima Central Secondary School.

TRINIDADIAN writers Lisa Allen-Agostini and Kevin Jared Hosein round off 2018 – a year of achievement for both fiction writers – by touring 14 secondary schools.

They are among the triad of 2017 winners of the CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature whose books were published in 2018. Allen-Agostini (Home Home) and Hosein (The Beast of Kukuyo) read from their books and fielded questions from classes of eager students in schools across Trinidad in the month-long, first leg of the 2018-2019 CODE Author Tour.

The third 2017 CODE Burt Award winner was US-based Puerto-Rican Viviana Prado-Nunez (The Art of White Roses), who has been touring with Kevin Jared Hosein in Jamaica to promote the award and winning books there.

Now in its second year, the author tour actively engages 12-18-year-old-readers by bringing them directly into contact with YA writers. “We hope the access to new Caribbean Young Adult writing will motivate students and inspire literature teachers to explore new writing from the growing pool of CODE Burt Award winning texts, with three new ones added each year,” says Marina Salandy-Brown, Bocas Lit Fest founder.

Kevin Jared Hosein talks to students about how he started writing.

Sponsored by the Canadian literary development agency CODE and managed by the Bocas Lit Fest, the programme is curated with input from the Ministry of Education through school selection and teacher engagement. According to Salandy-Brown, “The teachers’ enthusiasm and feedback have been so encouraging we’re already looking forward to the 2019 leg. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the writers, young readers and teachers.”

A key feature of the CODE Burt Award is a publishing deal that sees 2,500 copies of each winning title printed and distributed to schools and libraries throughout the region every year. At present, over 200 students across seven schools in Trinidad are set to study two of the three 2018 titles as part of their syllabus. However, many more students can now access these titles through CODE’s donations to school libraries and English Literature departments.

One lucky student receives copies of the 2017 CODE Burt Award winning titles during the student quiz activity.

Allen-Agostini, whose book was picked up earlier this year by the prestigious Penguin Random House publishers, stated, “As an author I am always excited to do readings, especially with younger readers. Reaching so many people with this tour has been a real gift. And the fact that they have access to the books through their libraries makes the visits even better.”

Hosein, also 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner, reveals, "I began writing in Form One and though I finished my first manuscript when I was in Form Four I never thought being a writer in Trinidad was something feasible. The Caribbean books I was exposed to at that time were not of that time, and none of them were my genres of choice. When I think about the tour, I remember that period of my life and reflect on how it would've benefited someone like me.”

The Bocas Lit Fest oversees the submission and adjudication process of the CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature which is a readership initiative funded by the Literary Prizes Foundation in Canada and recognises excellence in writing by Caribbean writers for 12-18 year olds.

For more info: www.bocaslitfest.com/2019/awards/code-burt-award/

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