Tobago-born writer M NourbeSe Philip receives Windham-Campbell Prize

Tobago-born poet, playwright, essayist, and novelist M NourbeSe Philip was among eight writers awarded US$175,000 each by the Windham-Campbell Prizes to support their work and allow them to focus on their creative practice independent of financial concerns.

A media release said the Windham-Campbell Prizes are a major global prize that recognizes eight writers each year for literary achievement across four categories – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

With annual prize money exceeding US$1.4 million – and total prize money awarded over the past decade at over US$18 million – they are one of the most significant prizes in the world.

In poetry, Philip was selected for her diverse and rich body of work – including "Zong! As Told to the Author by Setaey Adamu Boateng" – which is deeply engaged with the complexities of art, colonialism, identity, race, and forgotten and suppressed histories, and that constantly pushes boundaries on the page and in performance, the release said.

The selection committee gave her this citation: “Inventing derelict tongues of refusal, M. NourbeSe Philip breaks open and reimagines the horror of official speech and how it acts, creating a genre-obliterating poetry.”

Previous writers from TT who have been awarded a Windham-Campbell Prize include Dionne Brand (fiction, 2021) and André Alexis (fiction, 2017).

Michael Kelleher, director of the prizes, said: “Each year, I feel incredibly honored to call the eight recipients: to be the messenger delivering the entirely unexpected and life-changing news that they have been awarded US$175,000.

It is clear – now, more than ever – how challenging working in the creative industries, around the world, can be. A Windham Campbell Prize is intended to offer financial security, and through this freedom, the time and space to write, to think, to create – all without pressure or expectation.”

The prizes were the brainchild of lifelong partners Donald Windham and Sandy M. Campbell.

The couple were deeply involved in literary circles, and for years they had discussed the idea of creating an award to highlight literary achievement and provide writers with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns.

When Campbell died unexpectedly in 1988, Windham took on the responsibility for making this shared dream a reality. The first prizes were announced in 2013.

The prizes are administered by Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and nominees are considered by judges who remain anonymous before and after the prize announcement.

Recipients write in English and may live in any part of the world.

2024 recipients:

• Deirdre Madden (Ireland) – fiction
• Kathryn Scanlan (US) – fiction
• Christina Sharpe (Canada/US) – nonfiction
• Hanif Abdurraqib (US) – nonfiction
• Christopher Chen (US) – drama
• Sonya Kelly (Ireland) – drama
• M. NourbeSe Philip (Canada/TT) – poetry
• Jen Hadfield (UK/Canada) – poetry