On Writing

Carol advises and muses on writing and the writer’s life.

06-07-2017

Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Now Open for Submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Now in its fifth year, the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature recognizes up to three English-language literary works for young adults (aged 12 through 18) written by Caribbean authors.

CaribbeanReads has had the pleasure of publishing two Burt Award winners, 2nd place winner in 2014 Musical Youth by Joanne C. Hillhouse and 3rd place winner in 2016 The Protectors’ Pledge by Danielle Y. C. McClean.

This year, the winning title will be awarded $10,000 CDN, and two finalists will be awarded $2,000 CDN each.

Publishers of winning titles will be awarded a guaranteed purchase of up to 2,500 copies, which will be donated to schools, libraries, and literacy organizations throughout the region. To date, more than 22,000 copies of winning books have made their way into the hands of Caribbean youth.

Published books, previously self-published books, and unpublished manuscripts are eligible for the award. Eligible books and unpublished manuscripts may be submitted to the Bocas Lit Fest by publishers registered and operating in the Caribbean. Unpublished manuscripts or previously self-published books may be submitted by authors directly to the Bocas Lit Fest.

Books published between 1 November 2016 and 31 October 2017 and eligible manuscripts must be received at the office of the Bocas Lit Fest by 31 October 2017.

See attached for the official 2018 guidelines and entry form. More information at http://www.bocaslitfest.com/2018/burt-award/

16-11-2016

Reading Out Loud

Carol and daughter reading Nerissa Golden's Island Days
Carol and daughter reading Nerissa Golden’s Island Days

This photo was taken in 2013 and it still amazes me how much my daughter has grown in that time. She is still an avid reader–both of my children are–and we still share our joy of reading. Nowadays, we discuss books we’ve read and recommend them to one another. I love this interaction, I love when they finish a book and say ‘Mommy, you have to read this book,’ and I attribute much of that to the fact that we read as a family way beyond the time when the children were able to read for themselves. Continue reading “Reading Out Loud”

02-11-2016

Audio books

ear-buds-headphones-kids-blog
(blog.chw.org)

There is more than one way to skin a cat…or so I’ve been told. Similarly (or maybe not) encouraging your children to develop a lifelong love of reading involves a variety of approaches and audio books can be an important addition to your bag of tricks. Continue reading “Audio books”

24-10-2016

Do You Need an Editor?

This morning I read a book review in which the reviewer’s writing was so careless and error-ridden that I questioned her credibility in critiquing someone else’s work. I stopped reading by the third paragraph and thought, she really should have hired an editor. Continue reading “Do You Need an Editor?”

24-04-2014

Image, Then and Now

Shel SilversteinThe first time I picked up The Giving Tree, I reacted very strongly to the author’s photo on the back. I thought, “This must be an excellent book, because the author is a scary looking guy!” And it was true. Shel Silverstein became one of my favorite children’s books authors.

I thought about him this morning as I got ready to go to a bookstore to discuss doing a book reading there. The Giving Tree was written more than fifty years ago, and I wonder how Mr. Silverstein, who seems rather reluctant to be photographed, would have fared today when everything is recorded and immediately disseminated.