3 writers for young adult prize

CODE and the Bocas Lit Fest have announced the finalists for the 6th Annual CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature which recognizes excellent, engaging and culturally-relevant books in English for youth aged 12-18, written by Caribbean authors.

The international jury, chaired by publisher Ian Randle and administered by The Bocas Lit Fest, has selected the top three from six shortlisted submissions of both published books and unpublished manuscripts. Two TT writers feature in the final line up, Tamika Gibson, the 2016 winner of the award, and Jeanelle Frontin.

The judges were impressed with Frontin’s story of The Unmarked Girl. They commented, “Yara is a compelling protagonist, making us all want the answer to her lifelong question of who and what she is. The author leaves her readers guessing but with a promise to reveal more in one or more forthcoming sequels.”

They found The Accidental Prize by Tamika Gibson, “Wonderfully realized characters, with complex lives inhabit this haunting story involving themes of poverty, violence, class, corruption and young love.”

The third writer vying to be top of the list is Diana McCaulay of Jamaica, who was a finalist in 2015. Her new book is Daylight Come, which the judges say, “Tackles themes and issues of current environmental change in ways that do not make the reader feel like a geography or sociological lesson.”

The winner will be announced on May 2 at a special event for secondary school students at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain, featuring readings by and conversation with the three finalists. This year, the author of the winning book will be awarded CDN$10,000 (TT$53,600). The two other finalists will each receive CDN$2,000 (TT$10,720).

This unique award was established by CODE — a Canadian charitable organisation that has been advancing literacy and learning for 59 years — with the generous support of Canadian philanthropist William (Bill) Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation.

In order to support the development of high quality, culturally relevant books for Caribbean youth, between 2014 and 2018 CODE purchased copies of each year’s winning books and working with a dedicated network of local partners throughout the region distributed more than 37,000 copies in eleven Caribbean countries. Their efforts have afforded Caribbean youth access to great books in their schools, libraries and community organizations.

At a media launch in Trinidad on March 26, CODE and The Bocas Lit Fest announced that the CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult literature is in its final year due to the change in sponsorship from the Literary Prizes Foundation (now the Consecon Foundation) in Canada. The two organisations have started the search for a replacement donor.