THE VALLEY, Anguilla, April 11, 2017…..Literary aficionados should plan now to be a part of the sixth annual Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification, featuring award-winning authors, celebrity writers and note-worthy publishers from across the USA, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as the host country, Anguilla. From May 18-21, 2017, on the lush tropical grounds of the beautiful Paradise Cove Resort, readers, writers and thinkers will come together for three exciting days of stimulating panels, inspiring presentations and informative workshops, against the stunning backdrop of Anguilla’s unparalleled azure blue waters, and powder-soft white sands.
This year’s distinguished panel of authors, poets and lyricists includes:
? Kaitlyn Greenidge – Born in Boston, Kaitlyn currently lives in Brooklyn. She received her MFA from Hunter College. Her work has appeared in The Believer, American Short Fiction, Guernica, Kweli Journal, The Feminist Wire, Afro Pop Magazine, Green Mountains Review and other places. She is the recipient of fellowships from Lower Manhattan Community Council’s Work-Space Program, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her Debut novel, We Love You Charlie Freeman was recognized as a Top Book of 2016 by the New York Times and one of Buzzfeed’s Best Fiction books of the year, and she is a finalist for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel prize, as well as the winner of the Whiting Award for Fiction.
? Thomas Mullen – Author of Darktown, an NPR Best Book of the Year and a nominee for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for excellence in historical fiction;
? Colin Channer – Jamaican author and poet, called “Bob Marley with a pen,” known for the poetry collection Providential (2015), the novella The Girl With the Golden Shoes (2007), and the national bestselling novel Waiting in Vain, a Critic’s Choice Selection of the Washington Post, which hails it as “a clear redefinition of the Caribbean novel”;
? Ilyasah Shabazz – Educator, motivational speaker, and author of award winning publications such as a coming of age memoir, Growing up X (Random House 2002);
? Adrian Green – Notable Spoken Word Artist/Lyricist from Barbados, his works include Random Acts of Conscience (CD, spoken word)and Talk Hard CD launched Dec 2009; recipient of NIFCA (National Independence Festival of Creative Arts) 2010 Gold award in drama / speech for “Bajan Green.” Green also appeared in Headliners calypso tent for Crop Over 2011.
? Critically-acclaimed Calypsonian and Ex-Tempo Entertainer, Llewellyn MacIntosh “Short Pants.” Short Pants has created a new genre. He’s coined it talkalypso—literally talking calypso lyrics in a poetic style—that strips away the melody and harmony of musical accompaniment and exposes the lyrical genius, or lack-there-of, in classic and contemporary calypso music.
? Nicole Dennis-Benn – Author of the highly acclaimed debut novel, Here Comes the Sun (2016), a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and an NPR Best Books of 2016;
? Tiphanie Yanique – Award-winning author of the collection How to Escape a Leper Colony: A Novella and Stories (2010), a children’s picture book I am the Virgin Islands (2012) and her novel Land of Love and Drowning (2014);
? J. Leone is the author-artist of the 3 part series Living, Laughing and Loving, Poems for an Awesome! Life. Living, Poems for an Awesome! Life is a collection of 77 pages of advice, lessons learned, and hints about how to improve the way you can look at the world (or see the world).Humorous, insightful, and sometimes touching, this collection by J. Leone allows us to meet Sweaty Betty and the McGee Three and reminds us to get our butts out of bed to see the sunrise. It encourages us to face our challenges and how to find strength in the face of fear. J. Leone’s positive collection of poems and drawings is sometimes outrageously funny and sometimes deeply thought provoking. He is a private business owner, a writer of songs and available for public speaking. He can be spotted in NYC, Princeton NJ, Miami, Amsterdam, and on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Maarten.
? Peter Bailey is a media entrepreneur as well as creator of the critically-acclaimed NiteCap with Peter Bailey series in which he hosts transformative discussions with newsmakers including the likes of real estate titan Don Peebles, Rick Ross, Mike Tyson, 50 Cent, Janelle Monet, Ice T and Fantasia to name a few. Bailey’s first book, Magic City: Trials of a Native Son, (MTV Books/Simon & Schuster)was praised by the New York Times as being “one of the pop music gems of 2010”. Before that Bailey worked as an award-winning staff writer at the Miami Herald, Newsweek and Time. He made his acting debut in 2015 in “The North Star” starring alongside Lynn Whitfield, Keith David and Clifton Powell. His latest series “NiteCap Next” backed by The Knight Foundation is geared towards sharing the stories of America’s most promising young entrepreneurs of color.
From the publishing world, we are proud to welcome:
? Kevin Larimer – Kevin Larimer is the editor in chief of Poets & Writers. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and received his MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has presented lectures on publishing at the International Poetry Conference in Koprivshtitsa, the University of Iceland in Reykjavík, the Academy of American Poets’ annual Poets Forum, and the Writer’s Hotel Master Class. He has also served on a number of panels on publishing at events such as the Library of Congress National Book Festival, the Sozopol Fiction Seminars, the Slice Literary Writer’s Conference, the AWP Conference, and the Bronx Book Fair.
? Allison Hunter – a literary agent with the multi-national literary group, Janklow & Nesbit;
? Yona Deshommes– Associate Director of Publicity at Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster;
? Julie Trelstad – is the Director of Digital Rights at Writers House, a literary agency in New York City. Prior to joining Writers House, Julie was an editor for various publishing houses including Wiley, Sterling, Reader’s Digest, and the Taunton Press. She has also worked as a freelance consultant for self-publishing authors.
? Joseph H. Lake, Jr. House of Nehesi, St Martin, publishing executive, is an author and leading St. Martin political scientist. Lake has worked for over thirty-five years in St. Martin as a journalist, newspaper editor, and publisher. He is the holder of numerous awards, including the St. Martin Day Culture and Heritage Award from the Collectivité Saint-Martin (2012). Lake is the author of The Republic of St. Martin (2000), Friendly Anger–The Rise of the Labor Movement in St. Martin (2004), and Six 4 Nine–Country Sint Maarten/Collectivité Saint-Martin (2014). The 2017 title Pen on Paper is a collection of commentaries, news articles, and editorials penned by Lake or attributed to him between 1970 and 2001 in the news media for which he was a columnist, the associate editor or publisher and editor.
Pride of Anguilla Authors, Poets and Lyricists include:
? Revolutionary Poet and Heroine of Anguilla, Mrs Daisy “Wong” Richardson.
? Leading Anguillian Author, Historian and Cultural Educator, Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, has written and published over twenty books, commentaries, plays and poetry.
? Mr Lennox Vanterpool, educator, musician and debut author of, Broken Chords.
? Mrs Orelia Kelly, Educator, and poet, author of the novel, Memoirs of Grandpa.
? Students of the Band One Year Five (Banwaun Fivae) English Cohort.
? The Winners of the Malliouhana Poetry Competition
? Calvert Carty, Oral Historian and Lyricist, is a leading member of the cultural group, The Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre.
? Timothy Hodge, Director of Anguilla Social Security Board, Author, Poet and Playwright.
? Verna Bryan, is an Entrepreneur, and as an active Participant in the 1967 Anguilla Revolution, is recognized as a Revolutionary Memory Bearer.
? Winston Harrigan, is a Contractor, and as an active Participant in the 1967 Anguilla Revolution, is recognized as a Revolutionary Memory Bearer.
? Melinda Goddard, a Marketing Executive from the USA, who now resides in Anguilla, is the debut author and self-publisher of One Way Ticket: From America to Anguilla.
? Don Edward Walicek is Associate Professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras Campus. He holds a PhD from the University of Puerto Rico and an MA in History and Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Walicek has served as Editor of the Caribbean Studies journal Sargasso since 2009. He has written numerous articles, chapters, translations, and reviews as well as columns for the newspaper Claridad. Some of these deal with the culture and history of Anguilla, exploring topics such as the Anguilla Revolution, emancipation, and the history of its languages. He’s also the author of entries for the seven Anguillians included in the Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2016. His co-edited volume Guantánamo and American Empire, The Humanities Respond, published by Palgrave Macmillan, will appear later this year.
? John McKendrick Q.C., is a British lawyer and the Attorney General of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla. As a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, John travels a lot and during a visit to Panama City he was inspired to learn about the Darien venture undertaken by Scotland in the late 17th C. This led him to write: Darien: A Journey in Search of Empire which was published by Birlinn in February 2016. Though previous accounts have been written on the subject of Darien, John’s historical account of Scotland’s unsuccessful attempt to establish a colony on the isthmus of Panama, is combined with his fascinating travelogue to Darien in Panama as well as Darien, Georgia. The impact of the Darien venture had a far reaching impact on Scottish, British and American history. John spoke about his book at an event chaired by the BBC’s Allan Little to a sell-out audience of 250 people at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August 2016.
“Anguilla Lit Fest is an important cultural event which the Government of Anguilla is pleased to support,” says Hon. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary with Responsibility for Tourism, Sports, Youth and Culture. “We recognize and appreciate the significant role that the Literary Arts play in the development and preservation of our culture and heritage, and the Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification offers visitors an opportunity to experience first-hand one of the island’s oldest social traditions- the Jollification – whilst engaging in a uniquely enriching, authentic literary experience.”
This year’s Lit Fest will honor the commemoration of 50 years since the Anguilla Revolution, transforming, empowering and building the nation through the promotion and celebration of the Literary Arts. A new element this year sees the inclusion of an immersive Calypso Music Writing Workshop, hosted by Short Pants out of Trinidad. The 3-day annual event, which is organized by the Anguilla Literary Foundation and sponsored by the Government of Anguilla, the Anguilla Tourist Board and the Business Community of Anguilla, will climax with a grand calypso explosion featuring Anguilla’s top calypsonians alongside veteran Trinidadian performers, Sugar Aloes, Baron and Short Pants.
Special vacation packages for the event will be offered by a number of Anguilla’s leading properties, including the host hotel, Paradise Cove Resort, and sponsor hotel, The Reef by CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa.
For more information on the Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification or to register for this year’s event, go to www.anguillalitfest.com or www.paradisecoveanguilla.com. You may also engage with the Lit Fest community on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/anguillalitfest) and Twitter.
For more information on Anguilla please visit the official website of the Anguilla Tourist Board: www.IvisitAnguilla.com; follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/AnguillaOfficial; Instagram: @Anguilla_Tourism; Twitter: @Anguilla_Trsm, Hashtag: #MyAnguilla .
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
