A first prize of $10,000 CAD, a second prize of $7,000 CAD and a third prize of $5,000 CAD will be awarded to the winning authors in Code's 2016 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature. The prize is now accepting submissions of books and manuscripts until October 31.
Launched in 2013, the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature recognises outstanding literary works for young adults (YA) written by Caribbean authors. It provides thousands of youth across the Caribbean region each year with access to exciting new titles they will want to read, said a release jointly issued by Code and their programming partners, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest. The award aims to build the capacity of the Caribbean publishing industry through a variety of initiatives year-round.
"Awarding prizes to winning authors is only one element of the programme," said Code executive director Scott Walter in the release. "Through the Burt Award, Code–along with our partner the Bocas Lit Fest–also links authors and publishers, holds writing workshops for aspiring YA writers, and provides professional development for teachers on how to use good books to encourage more engaging and enjoyable learning in their classroom. We hope that, combined, these initiatives will help to strengthen the local publishing industry and to stimulate the production of more high-quality, culturally-relevant literature for young people."
"Young adult literature has become a booming business and one of the fastest growing book categories for publishers in recent years," said Marina Salandy-Brown, founder of the organisation that hosts T&T's annual literary festival, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, "with more than 715 million books sold worldwide in 2013 alone. And, that literature is also being read by adults. We in the Caribbean have been missing out and so we are attempting, with Code, to redress that."
The award's guaranteed book purchase and distribution programme will ensure that a minimum of 2,000 copies of each of the three winning titles will be bought from their publishers and put into the hands of young people through schools, libraries and community organisations across the Caribbean. So far, 7,500 copies of the first set of winning titles have been donated to hundreds of locations across 11 Caribbean countries.
Published books, previously self-published books, and unpublished manuscripts are eligible for the award. Eligible books and unpublished manuscripts can be submitted to the Bocas Lit Fest by publishers registered and operating in the Caribbean. Unpublished manuscripts or previously self-published books can also be submitted by authors directly to the Bocas Lit Fest.
Books published between October 1, 2013, and October 31, 2015, and eligible manuscripts must be received at the office of the Bocas Lit Fest by October 31.
More info:
www.codecan.org/burt-award-caribbean or email burtaward@bocaslitfest.com