Shortlist for Prize Nominations

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Editor, Alscess Lewis-Brown

abrown@uvi.edu

December 16, 2017

The Caribbean Writer Announces Shortlist for Volume 30 Prizes

The Caribbean Writer is delighted to announce the 2016 shortlist for Volume 30 prizes. The winners will be announced in January 2017.

The list of prizes include: The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize, The Daily News Prize, The David Hough Literary Prize, The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize, The Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize, and The Charlotte and Isidor Paiewonsky Prize.

Of the 400 submissions for Volume 30, not all could have been selected but, even among those not selected, so many captured our imagination and admiration. The nuances of these explosive times are captured at some temperature in Volume 30. Of that number, the following selections are under consideration for a prize. One writer will be selected from each category.

The Shortlist in Full

The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize

An annual prize of $400 is awarded to a writer for best short fiction. This prize is donated by the St. Croix Avis Newspaper

1. Alicia Valasse is a St. Lucian poet and freelance writer. She has been shortlisted for a story entitled “Suicide.”

2. Adrianne Aron, a member of the Haiti Action Committee in California, began writing fiction as R&R from her work as a liberation psychologist. She has been shortlisted for a story entitled “Gift of Life.”

3. Louis Di Leo is a Graduate Assistant and Ph.D. student in English at the University of Southern Mississippi where he teaches introductory and advanced composition courses. He is shortlisted for a story entitled “An Ocean Holds My Story.”

The Daily News Prize

An annual prize of $500 is awarded to resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.

1. Anurie Oliver is a sophomore at the University of the Virgin Islands, from St. Croix. This is her first publication. She is shortlisted for her story entitled “Island Deep.”

2. Susan Hunter, a late bloomer in the garden of life, has sat back and observed the coming and going of all of nature, only to find that sitting back, blooming, and observing is all there really is to life, anyway. Living resides in the low hills just above Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI. She is shortlisted for a story entitled “Objects in Mirrors.”

3. Alexis Camarena is a sophomore at the University of the Virgin Islands, from St. Croix. This is his first publication. He is shortlisted for a prose selection entitled “Hugo.”

The David Hough Literary Prize

An annual prize of $500 is awarded to an author residing in the Caribbean. This prize is donated by Sonja Hough, owner of Sonja’s Designs, the handmade jewelry designer in Christiansted, St. Croix, in memory of her late husband.

1. Sara Collins is a Jamaican-Caymanian writer who previously published in The Caribbean Writer. She is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Going.”

2. Kirk Budhooram was recently awarded his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. He is shortlisted for a poem entitled “The Last Day of School.”

3. Yolaine St. Fort, a writer of Haitian descent, is a founding member of Poets for Ayiti. She is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Coals.”

The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize

An annual prize of $500 is awarded to a new or emerging writer. This prize is donated by Marvin’s widow, Dasil Williams, in honor of her late husband who served as the editor of The Caribbean Writer from 2003 – 2008.

1. Michelle A. Belle hails from the Commonwealth of Dominica. This is her first publication in TCW. She is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Truth or Scare.”

2. Lynn E. Frederiksen was born on St. Croix and raised in the East Hill schoolhouse. She is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Courage of Egrets.”

3. Semaj Johnson resides on St. Croix where he currently works as a civil litigator. He is the winner of the 2014 Marguerite Cobb-McKay Prize. He is shortlisted for the short story “Lipstick for the Dead.”

The Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize

An annual prize of $500 is awarded to a Caribbean author whose work best expresses the spirit of the Caribbean. This prize is donated by former Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. in honor of his wife, Cecile de Jongh’s, abiding commitment to literacy in the territory especially among the young people of the Virgin Islands.

1. Royston Emanuel is a St. Lucian teacher trainer at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. He is shortlisted for the poem entitled “Jouvert.”

2. Vincent Toro is a Puerto Rican poet and playwright currently living in The Bronx, NY. He is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Sucrosanct.”

3. Dike Okoro (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is a poet and literary critic. He is shortlisted for a poem entitled “Fishing.”

The Charlotte and Isidor Paiewonsky Prize

An annual prize of $250 is awarded to a writer for first-time publication in The Caribbean Writer. This prize is donated by the Paiewonsky family.

1. Shania Daley is a University student who is originally from rural Jamaica where her love of poetry and the written arts were born. She is shortlisted for a story entitled “Conversation With My Mother Who Doesn’t Love Me.”

2. Andre Bagoo is a poet and journalist working in Trinidad and Tobago. He is shortlisted for a poem entitled “On Wordsworth’s the Daffodils.”

3. Khalil Nieves’ is of Puerto Rican descent. He is shortlisted for a story entitled “Guantemara: Medio Pasaje.”

For more information on The Caribbean Writer, please visit www.thecaribbeanwriter.org.

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