
In just three years, the region’s largest literary prize — sponsored by One Caribbean Media, parent company of the Express and TV6 — has become much sought after by Caribbean writers all over the world who qualify by being of Caribbean birth or citizenship.
The cross-genre OCM Bocas Prize is judged in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry, by judges from all over the Caribbean and its diaspora. The 2014 Prize is open to books published in the calendar year 2013. The overall winner is selected from the three category winners.
The 2014 judging panel is chaired by the distinguished Jamaican poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, who is joined by ten other writers, academics, and editors.
There are two deadlines for submissions, 15 November, 2013, and 13 January, 2014, depending on the publication date of an eligible title.
In 2013, the novel Archipelago by Monique Roffey was the overall winner of the OCM Bocas Prize. White Egrets, the poetry collection by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, won in the inaugural year of the Prize, and Earl Lovelace’s novel Is Just A Movie took home the 2012 Prize.
Speaking about the impact of this literary award, Marina Salandy-Brown, director and founder of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, at which the prize is presented annually, said, “OCM is unique in rewarding literary excellence in this region, and its patronage has contributed much to raising the profile of Caribbean writers, which was much needed.”
For information about the OCM Bocas Prize, see the NGC Bocas Lit Fest website.
The 2014 NGC Bocas Lit Fest takes place from 23 to 27 April, 2014, at the National Library and the adjacent Old Fire Station, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.