The Caribbean Writer has announced its 2014 annual prize winners for Volume 28, which highlights time, place and memories.
Topping the list of prizes is The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize ($500) for new or emerging writers. This annual 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. This prize was awarded to Charlene Spencer, an up-and-coming poet publishing in The Caribbean Writer for the first time and who currently resides on the island of St. Croix.
The First Lady Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize ($500) was awarded to Dariel Suarez, a Cuban-born writer now living in Boston. This prize is awarded to an author whose work best expresses the spirit of the Caribbean. It is donated by Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. in honor of First Lady Cecile de Jongh’s abiding commitment to literacy in the territory especially among the young people of the Virgin Islands.
The David Hough Literary Prize was awarded to Anya Martinez, a writer who currently lives in Trinidad where she is actively pursuing a writing career. This $500 prize is awarded to an author who is a resident of the Caribbean. It is donated by Sonja Hough, owner of Sonja’s Designs, the handmade jewelry designer in Christiansted, St. Croix, in memory of her late husband.
The Daily News Prize for poetry ($300) was awarded to Colin Robinson, an established poet from Diego Martin, Trinidad.
The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize for short fiction ($400) was awarded to Trinidadian born, Jacqueline Bishop who teaches full-time in the Liberal Studies Program at New York University.
The Charlotte and Isidor Paiewonsky Prize for first-time publication ($250) in The Caribbean Writer went to Mary Rykov, a music therapist, educator, writer and editor, with Puerto Rican roots, who currently resides in Toronto, Canada.
The Marguerite Cobb-McKay Prize to a Virgin Islands author ($200) went to Semaj Johnson, an emerging Virgin Islands writer who currently works as a civil litigator.
“We would like to thank all of our supporters and sponsors for making these prizes possible,” said Editor Alscess Lewis-Brown. “We are looking forward to another set of exciting submissions in Volume 29 scheduled to be published in 2015. That volume highlights ambiguities and contradictions in the Caribbean space.”
The fast-approaching deadline for Volume 29 submissions is December 31, 2014. The biographies and photographs of these winners will be featured in that journal.
According to information on the organization’s website, The Caribbean Writer is where “the Caribbean Imagination Embraces the World — is an international, refereed, literary journal with a Caribbean focus, founded in 1986 and published annually by the University of the Virgin Islands.”
It’s mission is to “publish quality writing by established writers that reflects the culture of the Caribbean; promotes and foster a strong literary tradition; and serves as an institute for the development of emerging writers.”
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