TT writer wins Code Burt Award

LOCAL writer Jeanelle Frontin was on Thursday announced the winner of the 6th Code Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature for her book The Unmarked Girl.

Second place went to TT-born, US-based writer of The Accidental Prize Tamika Gibson and placing third was Diana McCaulay from Jamaica, writer of Daylight Come.

Frontin said she is beyond happy and touched to have received the first-place win. She said she hopes the award will receive the funding required for its continuation so other writers and aspiring storytellers can experience the feeling of their work being received in this way.

The award is a collaboration between the Canadian charitable organisation Code, which focuses on advancing literacy and the promotion of literary work for over 60 years, and the Bocas Lit Fest. According to Bocas Lit Fest’s website, the award recognizes excellent, engaging and culturally-relevant books in English for youth aged 12-18, written by Caribbean authors.

The winners also did readings from their manuscripts/ books which the young attendees seemed to have found engaging. This was evident in the questions asked during the question-and-answer period which allowed them to interact, share their inspiration and bits of their writing journeys with the students in attendance – the age group for which the books were written to +target. Present were students from San Juan North Secondary, Waterloo Secondary, Arima Central Secondary, and St Augustine Secondary.

The pan-Caribbean jury is chaired by Jamaican publisher Ian Randle and administered by The Bocas Lit Fest. The team selected the top three from six short-listed submissions of both published books and unpublished manuscripts. Randle said the panel of four which included himself, Ayesha Gibson- Gill from Barbados, Saajid Hosein from TT, and TT-based writer and University lecturer Muli Amaye.

He said, “What was remarkable throughout the entire process was the level of consensus among all the judges at every stage. So by the time, we created the short-list we already knew what the top three titles were going to be.”

A total of 44 entries were submitted to judges, comprising 34 manuscripts, nine self-published books and one traditionally published book. “In total, submissions came from eight Caribbean countries with an overwhelming majority coming from TT followed by Jamaica.” Randle said all three novels will make worthy and excellent additions to the growing list of published books available for young adult readers in the Caribbean and beyond.

Below are readings by the authors from the books, The Unmarked Girl, The Accidental Prize, and Daylight Come.

The Unmarked Girl

The Accidental Prize

Daylight Come