1. The Frank Collymore Literary Award, launched in 1998, is the most lucrative writing prize in Barbados, with the top “Colly” winner receiving BDS$10,000.00 (US$5,000.00).
2. The National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Literary Competition produced its first Winning Words anthology of medal-winning entries in 1999.
3. The modern period of Barbadian Literature begins with the work of World War I veteran Clennell Wilsden Wickham (1895-1938), a radical journalist, editor of The Herald newspaper, and father of noted Caribbean author John Wickham (1923-2001).
4. Barbados’ Governor General Award of Excellence in Literary Arts is currently the nation’s largest prize for published work at BDS$7,500.00 (US$3,750.00).
5. “Barbadian man of arts” Frank Collymore (1893-1980) founded the Caribbean’s premier literary journal, Bim, in 1942.
6. Barbados’ first Poet Laureate is Esther Phillips (Leaving Atlantis), who was appointed in 2018 and is the present editor of Bim.
7. The National Cultural Foundation (NCF) is a statutory body established in 1983 to oversee the cultural landscape of Barbados. Its mission is to fuel the development of culture through training, research and the creation of opportunities in cultural industries. (www.ncf.bb)
8. ArtsEtc is an independent Barbadian publishing company and cultural forum founded in 2003 by authors and literary activists Linda M. Deane and Robert Edison Sandiford. It provides leading and emerging artists and thinkers spaces to be read, seen and heard. (www.artsetcbarbados.com)
9. The NCF’s free writing workshops, Writers’ Clinic, were established by novelist and poet Charmaine “Nailah Folami Imoja” Gill in 2004.
10. The NCF’s Writers in Schools & Education (WISE) programme was launched in 1999.
11. Geoffrey Drayton (1924-2017; Christopher), George Lamming (1927-2022; The Pleasures of Exile), Paule Marshall (1929-2019; Brown Girl, Brownstones), and Kamau Brathwaite (1930-2020; Rights of Passage) are among Barbados’ best known writers.
12. Barbados Copyright Agency Inc. (B-COPY, established in 2008), which represents the reprographic rights of Bajan authors, is a founding member of the Caribbean Reprographic Rights Organisations’ Agency (CARROSA).
13. The NIFCA Literary Arts Competition has awards named after Kamau Brathwaite, George Lamming and John Wickham for poetry, fiction and non-fiction, respectively.
14. Poet and novelist Kevyn Alan Arthur is the editor of Caribbean Treasure: A Trove of 18th Century Barbadian Poetry and Prose (Peepal Tree, 2008).
15. In its 20-plus-year history, 27 Colly awardees have published their manuscripts internationally.
16. Spoken word artist Adrian Green writes a popular Sunday column for the Nation newspaper.
17. Among Barbados’ best known publishers of local books/literature are Miller Publishing, Beyond Publishing Caribbean, Caribbean Chapters Publishing, Foundation Publishing, and AE Books.
18. AnimeKon, an annual pop-culture festival, has featured graphic novelists, novelists and poets as part of its lineup since its first edition in 2010.
19. Barbados has hosted two major literary festivals over the years: Bim LitFest, founded by Esther Phillips in 2012, and the NCF’s Writers’ Fest, first held in 1999.
20. Green Readings Barbados: The First Five Years is a guide to ArtsEtc’s environmentally themed readings staged in partnership with the Ministry of Environment from 2008 to 2012.
21. In 1847, three years before the first Public Libraries Act of Britain, a public library was established in Barbados. It became the Carnegie Free Library in 1906 and the National Library Service (NLS) in 1985. The NLS operates satellite branches across the island and a mobile unit.
Last Modified: June 4, 2022
