By popular demand, Kellie Magnus, Founder and Editorial Director of Jackmandora, a Caribbean children’s media company, will conduct a second workshop that focuses on writing picture books, early readers and chapter books for early childhood and primary markets. The workshop is hosted by the Department of Literatures in English, UWI, Mona.

Ms Magnus is the author of more than fifteen children's books and stories, including the popular Little Lion children’s book series and several books for the Ministry of Education’s Literacy 123 series.  Two of Jackmandora’s books A Book for Baby and Trixie Triangle were selected for the 2011 BookStart Jamaica Pilot Programme. She also co-authored the Jamaican translation of the best-selling children’s book parody, Go the F*** to Sleep with celebrated poet, Kwame Dawes.

 She writes on the arts, education, and entertainment for regional and international publications and serves on the boards of the National Library of Jamaica, the Early Childhood Commission, and the Book Industry Association of Jamaica. She has lectured on publishing and media at numerous conferences and has taught at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) and the City College, City University of New York. She was one of the developers of Max and Friends, a multimedia package designed for children with autism and related developmental disorders. The package includes 3 episodes of a live-action television series, children’s books, a CD of original songs and a manual for teachers and parents.

Kellie Magnus was also one of the authors of Shaggy Parrot and the Reggae Band, a picture book and CD project featuring the voice of Grammy winning recording artist, Shaggy. She has won the BIAJ Award for Best Children’s Book, the BIAJ Readers’ Choice Award for Best Children’s Book and the New York City Proclamation for Outstanding Contribution to Literature. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia Universities, her work at Columbia combined educational technology and media, with an emphasis on technology and media for children, and the management of information, communication and media resources.

This workshop (scheduled for January 14, 21, 28, and February 4, 2015, from 6 to 8 PM in the Graduate Conference Room, Faculty of Humanities and Education at UWI, Mona) is an opportunity for those interested in writing for children to take advantage of Kellie Magnus’s expertise in the field. Please contact the Department at 9272217 or litsworkshop@gmail.com in order to register. 

The Guyana Prize for Literature was established in 1987 to provide encouragement for the development of good creative writing among Guyanese in particular and Caribbean writers in general.


During the Awards Presentation on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Prize it was declared that after contributing to the advancement of the literature through the recognition of Guyanese writers, the pledge to Caribbean writing should now be honoured in a specific and direct way.  This need was further felt since there was still no literary prize offered within the Anglophone region with Awards for Caribbean Fiction, Poetry and Drama.  The pledge became a reality when it was announced in Georgetown on November 2, 2010, that the Government of Guyana had provided funds to the Management Committee of the Guyana Prize for the first Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award, starting with the Prize for 2010.  There will be three Awards.


The categories are Fiction, Poetry and Drama, with a prize of US$ 5,000 for the winner in each category.

ELIGIBILITY
The Prize is for published books and is open to works by citizens of Caribbean countries : CARICOM States, the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Netherland Antilles.

To be eligible for entry, a book must have been

·         written and published in English 

·         published in the calendar years 2013/2014; i.e. between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014;  

for Drama, entries must

·         be full-length plays, which have not been published/performed before January 1, 2013. 

For Fiction and Poetry works must be entered by the publishers.  Plays may be entered by either publishers or the playwrights.

 No more than one work by any author may be entered in each category.

It is the responsibility of the publisher to verify the nationality of the authors where necessary

SUBMISSIONS
Entries should be submitted to

The Management Committee
Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award
Faculty of Education and Humanities
University of Guyana
Turkeyen Campus
Greater Georgetown
Guyana
Closing date for entries is February 28, 2015. 

Entries must be accompanied by a separate sheet with the following information for each author

·         name, date and place of birth, citizenship

·         address, telephone number, Fax number, e-mail address

·         title of work

·         date and place of publication

·         date(s) and place of performance or publication for plays

·         brief bio-sketch/career resume of author

·         photograph of author

Four copies of each entry must be submitted

Winners in the three categories will be decided by a Jury of eminent persons in the field.  A shortlist of finalists will be announced approximately one month before the Awards Ceremony, and may be used as a part of promotion for the Prize.
The winners, as a condition of entry, are expected to attend the Prize Awards Ceremony to be held in Georgetown, Guyana at the end of May, 2015, on a date to be announced, and should also be prepared to give public reading(s) from their works as organised by the Guyana Prize Management Committee.  The Awards are to be presented by His Excellency the President of Guyana.  Airline tickets and expenses for the visit to Georgetown will be provided where necessary.  Further enquiries may be directed to Debra Lowe debral65@yahoo.com

The Guyana Prize for Literature

Faculty of Education and Humanities

University of Guyana 

Turkeyen Campus

Greater Georgetown

Phone 592-222-3470 / 222-3597

Fax 592-222-7015 

e-mail : debral65@yahoo.com 
e-mail : guyanapri08@yahoo.com