CaribbeanReads is actively seeking to acquire middle-grade novels with Caribbean settings by Caribbean authors.
There’s no deadline, we anticipate holding this open for a while so take your time and submit your best work. Your novel should be already complete and ready to send if we ask to see the full work. Be sure to be familiar with this genre before writing. If you don’t like reading this type of book, you’re unlikely to enjoy writing it. Continue reading
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, Uncategorized
When poet and author Juleus Ghunta decided he wanted to launch his CaribbeanReads picture book, Tata and the Big Bad Bull, in his home town of Hanover, Jamaica and turn it into a campaign to bring awareness of the negative impact that the almost decade–long closure of the Green Island Branch Library had on communities in Hanover, we thought it was a great idea. The library, which served several communities, had been closed for nine years, leaving residents without facilities for: accessing books, quiet study, research, and other similar activities. Continue reading
When poet and author Juleus Ghunta decided he wanted to launch his CaribbeanReads picture book, Tata and the Big Bad Bull, in his home town of Hanover, Jamaica and turn it into a campaign to bring awareness of the negative impact that the almost decade–long closure of the Green Island Branch Library had on communities in Hanover, we thought it was a great idea. The library, which served several communities, had been closed for nine years, leaving residents without facilities for: accessing books, quiet study, research, and other similar activities. Continue reading
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week
Thanks to Kyra Houston who read Tata and the Big Bad Bull and took the time to write about her experience. Among other things, she indicated that “I’m an American who teaches English Literacy to Primary (Elementary) school aged children in Jamaica. I was in search of culturally relevant material to use in my class with children who need extra support in learning to read. I came across this book at the recommendation of a friend and I must say- I love this book!” Read her full review here.
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, Reviews
As we adjust to the orders to remain at home during the COVID-19 crisis, a number of parents have been required to support their your children’s education at home. We wanted to point out a valuable resource published by Hands Across the Sea which is available on their website.
Three CaribbeanReads books are included in this valuable resource and we will be providing additional supporting material for our other books in the near future, so use this great Hands Across the Sea resource and be on the lookout for more from us!Lesson Plans from Hands Across the Sea
Sweet Victory: Kindergarten on kindle
Oliver and Friends: Grade One on kindle
Chee Chee in Paradise: Grade Three
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, Uncategorized
This is likely to be a quiet weekend for most of us. Many of us have been working at home, and as someone for whom this is normal, I can tell you that it’s easy for the weekend to become more of the same. So be sure to put away the work and do something different this weekend, within the confines of our current guidelines, of course.
If reading is one of the things you choose to do, be sure to check out our books for our adult readers, including:
Greyborn Rising by Derry Sandy
Love’s Promiseby Opal Palmer Adisa
Hurricane of the Heart by Jewel Amethyst
and plays by David Edgecombe.
Stay safe!
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week
The Copenhagen Book Festival opened today and two books by Opal Palmer Adisa, Look! A Moko Jumbie and Dance Quadrille, Play Quelbe were on display.
Lise Bostrop, the chair of the board of the Danish Language Circle, added the books to the organization’s display booth at the Festival. The promotional material informs visitors of the historical connection between Denmark and the US Virgin Islands and encourages them to learn about the culture of these islands as presented in Dr. Adisa’s children’s books.
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, On Writing
In a very favorable review, Kirkus Reviews praised Derry Sandy’s Greyborn Rising published by CaribbeanReads in 2019. Following a detailed description of the book, the Kirkus reviewer states “The author truly excels, however, in his meticulous plotting involving supernatural elements… generate entertaining mayhem … [and] moments of unnerving prose.” The reviewer sums the book up as “A masterful tale that illuminates terrifying creatures in Caribbean lore.” Kirkus Reviews is an American review magazine founded in 1933 and one of the few who review books published by very small independent presses like CaribbeanReads. They’ve also reviewed The Protectors Pledge by Danielle Y. C. McClean very favorably. Read Greyborn Rising for yourself in print (hard and soft cover) and on kindle. It’s available at bookstores in Trinidad and at online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Read the full review here. |
 |
“A masterful tale that illuminates terrifying creatures in Caribbean lore.” Kirkus Reviews
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, Uncategorized
In this article, Elisa McKay of the St. Croix Source highlights the work of Opal Palmer Adisa and her contributions to children’s literature. In both her children’s and adult work, Adisa work features Caribbean traditions and culture.
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, Uncategorized
Be the first to know!
In November 2014, CaribbeanReads was tremendously proud to publish the Burt Award prize-winning title Musical Youth #musicalyouthbook by Joanne C. Hillhouse. We printed 4000 copies of the book, and today, thanks to the support of Code, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, schools, bookstores such as Best of Books in Antigua and Paperbased in Trinidad, and book festivals in Brooklyn, St. Martin, USVI, Barbados, Anguilla, and Miami, we are all sold out!
With the second printing, we made a few changes to the cover (still maintaining the beautiful artwork of Glenroy Aaron) and the acknowledgements in which Hillhouse speaks of her own gratefulness and thanks “readers everywhere—tout monde sam and baggai, as we say in Antigua and Barbuda—who bought and/or took the time to recommend the book; and specifically, Caribbean readers and young people who have told me how much they love Zahara, and how Zahara and Shaka are #relationshipgoals.”
Inside, the second edition of Musical Youth contains the same content that has prompted the incredible support the book has received. Zahara and Shaka pop off the page with the same intensity that keeps teens talking about them long after they’ve read the last word. Read reviews of the book here.
In commemoration of the new edition, author Joanne C. Hillhouse has put together a candid discussion about her writing process, her vision of the characters, and more in this study guide: author’s edition.
Musical Youth is the first of two Burt Award winners published by CaribbeanReads, the second being The Protectors’ Pledge by Danielle Y. C. McClean. The success of these titles speaks to the fact that we need Caribbean books and, more generally, #weneeddiversebooks.
Where to buy it? The new edition is available from the publisher, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and select bookstores. Ask your local bookstores and schools for your copy of the new edition. Copies of the OG (original version of) Musical Youth are still available at select bookstores. It’s may become a collectors’ item, so get yours quickly.
Share the news, let’s make this hashtag go viral. #musicalyouthbook. As Caribbean schoolchildren (of old?) might say, we glad bag bus’!
Filed under Caribbean Lit News This Week, On Writing
