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LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL IN THE BVI
The BVI Literary Festival was founded in November 2021 as part of the Department of Culture’s Culture and Tourism Month activities and operates in collaboration with the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
The BVI Literary Arts Festival (BVI Lit Fest) is an annual coming together of writers, poets, publishers, booksellers and book lovers to celebrate the literary arts and the creative process through workshops, panel discussions, readings, signings and launches. The festival includes a full programme with a mixture of local, regional and internationally acclaimed writers and poets.
The BVI Lit Fest aims to create a space in which lovers of the Literary Arts can engage in deeper, more focused discussions on cultural identity through literature. It fosters the development, promotion, and marketing of the works of the authors of BVI Literature.
The inaugural BVI Lit fest was held between the 2nd and 13th of November 2021. It consisted of the “Writing with Writers’ Workshop” series, the “Let’s talk Lit Panel Discussions, a book fair and “Evening of Music and Poetry.” The workshops, which were held virtually, included workshops on poetry, publishing, and non-fiction. These were facilitated by the Virgin Islands Poet Laureate, Dr.Richard Georges, Anthony Anaxagoru, and Andre Bagoo, respectively. The panel discussions, which were also held virtually, focused on essay writing, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The guest panellists for the essay writing panel discussion were Andre Bagoo, Amanda Choo Quan, and Amilcar Sanatan. The guest panellists for the fiction panel discussion were Cadwell Turnbull and Tiphanie Yanique.
The guest panellist for the non-fiction panel discussion was Tami Navarro. The guest panellists for the poetry panel discussion were Raymond Antrobus, Canisa Lubrin, and Desiree Seebaran.
Event Schedule plan
Conference Schedule.
Writer’s Welcome Reception (By Invitation)
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BVI Business Legacies
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From artisanal patisseries to expanding regional corporations, the Virgin Islands’ generational businesses are a testament to resilience, vision, and sacrifice. Join us for a multi-perspective exploration of the stories and nuance behind building and sustaining legacy enterprises within our Caribbean context. Presented by OA Consulting Group
Poetry is a Place
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Puerto Rican poets speak to how identity, intersections, and political events inform the writing process and creative production. Writers may read excerpts of their works.
Auteurs in Bloom
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Enya Douglas, Naudia Turnbull and Natalie Hodge in conversation on the filmmaking community in the British Virgin Islands. Short films screened.
A Brighter Sun: The SaM Selvon Centenary
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Alscess Lewis-Brown, Patricia Turnbull, Richard Georges read the words of 20th Century novelist Sam Selvon. Presented by OCM Bocas Lit Fest
Songs of My People: BVI Song Writers’ Music Lab
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Local songwriters give their take on BVI musicology and music history as well as teach songwriting in our musical traditions. Presented by 284 Media
Caribbean Britannia
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Caribbean-British writers explore their multiple identities in writing and self-expression. Writers may read excerpts of their works.
The Ethical Traveler
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Writers use their personal voice and histories to write travel narratives with ethics and originality. Writers may read excerpts of their works.
Film: 5 Minutes with Elizabeth Nunez
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In these candid conversations beautifully shot in the quiet comfort of her home in Long Island, New York, Nunez walks us through the creative inputs of five of her most celebrated novels. Presented by Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival.
Pitch Your Book One-on-one Coaching Sessions
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Experience a one-on-one coaching session with literary agent, Elise Dillsworth to pitch your book and receive feedback as well as discuss how to navigate the industry with the projects that you have. Only 3 spaces available.
The Future of Money
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A primer on the topics of inflation, understanding the Federal Reserve Board and issues that inform Recessional trends in economics. Concretizing and breaking down economic theory for our daily lives. Sponsored by VP Bank
Sunset Stories at Brandywine
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Award-winning and best-selling novelists Charmaine Wilkerson, Tiphanie Yanique, and Alecia McKenzie read excerpts from their latest works, moderated by Sauda Smith.
Odes: The Art Of Salvaging Poetry Workshop
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The ode, commonly understood as a ceremonious and celebratory form, an homage or tribute to a subject of the poet’s choosing, is also an exercise in retrieval. As we inhabit islands—a world—of unrelenting crises, engaging in the act of rescuing the disregarded and seemingly ordinary can be a defiant move against the manufactured precarity that insists on consuming us whole. In this workshop, we will explore how the ode as a contemporary form can function as a tactic to salvage all that which slips through the cracks, “buried under the accumulating emergencies of our lives,” as the poet Adrienne Rich...
For Everyday Use Fiction Workshop
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This writing workshop is dedicated to utilising personal experience and histories to create dynamic works of fiction.
Life Story Non-Fiction Workshop
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This non-fiction workshop is focused on utilising generational and cultural markers to tell your story.
Literary Wonderland - Childrens Programme
Pitch Your Book One-on-one Coaching Sessions
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Experience a one-on-one coaching session with literary agent, Elise Dillsworth to pitch your book and receive feedback as well as discuss how to navigate the industry with the projects that you have. Only 3 spaces available.
An Insider's Guide to the Publishing Industry
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Light A Fire: Poets' showcase
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Performances by: Anthony Anaxagorou, Shivanee Ramlochan, Ariel Francisco, Canisia Lubrin, Yesha Townsend, April Glasgow, Errol Percival Jr., Giovanni Herbert, Kamaal Lettsome. Music by Brent Hoyte, Homegrown Music Academy. Hosted by Giovanni Herbert
Book Brunch
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Jonathan Escoffery’s best-selling novel, If I Survive You is shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize, and has been nominated for the John Leonard Prize, the Pen/Jean Stein Open Book Award, the Story Prize, and the arnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction among others. Jonathan reads from his works and shares in conversation with Cindy Allman, creator of the BookOfCinz platform and the ReadCaribbean challenge.
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