The NATURE ISLAND LITERARY FESTIVAL AND BOOK FAIR which was launched in 2008 is now in its fourth year. Scheduled to be held August 5-7, 2011 the Festival will be held on the grounds of the University of the West Indies Open Campus on Elmshall Road, Roseau.
Over the past three years the Festival has been able to attract large crowds who listen to readings by leading local and regional writers including Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott of St. Lucia, Earl Lovelace from Trinidad and Tobago, Marie Elena John from Antigua, Cynthia Wilson and Esther Phillips from Barbados, Phillip Nanton from St. Vincent, Muhammed Muwakil from Trinidad and Tobago, Kwame Dawes, Colin Channer, Kei Miller and Esther Figueroa from Jamaica, Caribbean publisher Ian Randle, and noted film producer Rudy Langlais from Los Angeles.
The accompanying Book Fair and workshops expose the public to a number of Caribbean works and writers and open the public to the wide range of possibilities for careers in literature.
To make this another memorable event which will impact positively on our writers, publishers and community as a whole, a programme has been developed that includes notable writers from the region and diaspora. Special invitees include Snoo Wilson and Trish Cooke from the UK, Lisa Paravasini-Gebert , Gino Morrow and Joanne Skerret from the US, Beverly East-Davenport from Jamaica, Ken Corsbie from Guyana, Keegan Maharaj from Trinidad and Tobago, Kendel Hippolyte from St. Lucia and Paulette Jno.Baptiste from Guadeloupe.
The Festival also includes a series of FREE workshops for children and adults.
Over the past three years the children’s session has introduced hundreds of kids to the fascinating world of books and story-telling. This year’s workshop for children will be held at the Dominica Grammar School on Saturday July 30, 2011 from 9am -1pm and will target children ages 3 – 15. The workshop will include reading by award winning children’s writer Trish Cooke; Japanese Calligraphy; Origami; Books for exchange and for sale; Face Painting; Word Games and more.
The adult workshops which have already begun, continue on August 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th – including such topics as Self Publishing; How to Write for Children; Travel Writing; Opening Doors to Early Literacy and Playwriting.
For further information on those workshops persons can go to the Festivals website and register: www.dominicalitfest.com or www.facebook.com/NatureIslandLiteraryFestival
As part of Emancipation Celebrations this year’s Literary Festival and Book Fair promises to be an event that should not to be missed.
I personally believe that you left out one important scholar: Dr. Michael Connors should have been an invited guest. His name has become synonymous with the Caribbean, especially in the fields of architecture and decorative arts. He is a resident of St. Croix and has written seven books about the Caribbean architecture and interiors. Dr. Connors` first three books on colonial West Indian decorative arts, Caribbean Elegance, Cuban Elegance, and French Island Elegance, were all published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Dr. Connors’ fourth book, Maisons des Antilles, was published by the French publisher Flammarion, and his fifth book, Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture, was published in 2009 by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., who also published British West Indies Style: Antigua, Jamaica, Barbados, and Beyond in 2010 and The Splendor of Cuba; 450 Years of Architecture and Interiors to be released on October 4th, 2011.
Great stuff!