The 2012 NGC Bocas Lit Fest programme overflows with readings, discussions, performances, workshops, and more — over eighty events in all. Highlights include:
• The announcement of the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, a major regional award recognising Caribbean writers of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
• The announcement of a new annual award to support an emerging Caribbean writer in completing a manuscript and making connections in the international publishing world.
• The televised OCM Bocas Debate. This annual high-level discussion of burning public-interest topics will address the legacies of Independence over four mornings on TV6’s Morning Edition programme.
• The first annual NGC Bocas Lecture: the Big Idea, delivered by distinguished geneticist Professor Steve Jones on the provocative topic “How Different Are Human Races and Should We Care?â€
• The world premiere of The Old Yard: Carnival Portraits from Trinidad, written for strings, winds, and percussion by Adam Walters and inspired by traditional characters such as the Moko Jumbie and Dame Lorraine.
• Screenings of films based on Caribbean novels and poems — see how our literature translates to the big screen.
• The launch of the Caribbean Literature Action Group, a new partnership between the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council, and Commonwealth Writers, aimed at supporting the development of Caribbean writing and publishing.
• A Pigeon Point Bocas Lit Lime in Tobago, in March, to open the 2012 Festival.
Plus readings by celebrated Caribbean authors, discussion panels, workshops, performance poetry and open mic sessions, film screenings, music, a full programme of events for children, and more.