‘The pendulum has swung’: Why we female Trinidadian writers are having our moment

Monique Roffey, the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, on the lit-boom that’s happening on the Caribbean islandLast week, Trinidadian writer Lisa Allen-Agostini’s novel The Bread the Devil Knead landed a coveted spot on the Women’s prize shortlist. As a fellow Trinidadian writer, this is both exciting and unsurprising. These days Trinidad is producing world-class female writers hand over fist. Allen-Agostini’s shortlisting comes on the heels of the announcement, two weeks ago, that Trinidadian writer Amanda Smyth had made the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction shortlist, the only woman on the list, and the first Caribbean writer ever to be chosen. Meanwhile, Celeste Mohammed has become the fifth woman (and third Trinidadian woman) to win Trinidad’s regional OCM Bocas prize.Something has happened in Trinidad, in our small but dense hothouse of a literary world. Perhaps it’s 12 years of the Bocas literary festival, or five waves of feminism, or maybe it’s to do with the internet opening up opportunities for those from developing countries, but in the last decade Trinidad has produced a host of outstanding female writers. It’s a trend that anyone in Caribbean literary circles knows about. Myself, Smyth, Allen-Agostini, Mohammed and others are part of a “lit-boom”, and most of this boom is female. We are finding ourselves on the global stage, on prestigious shortlists in North America and the UK. This huge generational and gender shift would have been... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-05-03 13:03:34 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "‘The pendulum has swung’: Why we female Trinidadian writers are having our moment"


Black Historical Fiction to Read With Your Book Club

I know some people like to march to the beat of their own drum and aren’t really interested in what ... Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-02-18 13:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Sparkling Historical Fiction Novel About Queer Life in Gilded Age New York

Three dynamic queer characters carve a place for themselves among Gilded Age New York's elite in Olivia Wolfgang-Smith's MUTUAL INTEREST. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-02-14 12:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


February’s Best Book Club Books

Historical fiction centering *The* Woman behind the Harlem Renaissance, a tropical rebel gets her duke, and more of this month's best book club books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-02-04 13:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Historical Fiction About Little Known History

From forgotten historical disasters to pioneers of culture and technology, these historical fiction books about little known history bring the more obscure sides of history to light. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-01-22 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New YA Book Releases This Week, January 15, 2025

From compelling historical fiction to high-speed thrillers, dive into this week's new YA releases. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-01-15 13:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


In These January Historical Fiction Releases, Real Historical Figures Reign Supreme

"These books feature a lot of real historical figures—something I always love in my historical fiction." What kind of historical fiction do you love? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-01-08 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jewish Life in Harbin, China: A Conversation with Jean Hoffmann Lewanda by Susan Blumberg-Kason

Jewish Life in Harbin, China: A Conversation with Jean Hoffmann Lewanda by Susan Blumberg-Kason Interviews [email protected] Tue, 01/07/2025 - 07:08 Shalama and Paul, Shanghai, 1950. Photo courtesy of Jean Hoffmann LewandaI met the author Jean... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2025-01-07 13:08:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jimmy Carter: Poet, Novelist, Memoirist, Philosopher

He wasn’t just prolific, publishing 32 books. His output also showed an unusual range that included memoirs and forays into historical fiction and even poetry. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-12-30 10:58:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Mirror and the Light: the series takes Hilary Mantel’s manifesto for historical fiction to heart

Hilary Mantel stressed she was concerned with depicting the outer world faithfully but her chief concern was her character’s interior drama. This adaptation shows how much she strayed from that Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2024-12-20 12:48:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sarah Jessica Parker gets a ‘golden ticket’ to the judging panel of 2025 Booker prize

Sex and the City star says it is ‘the thrill of a life’ to be appointed to 2025 panel alongside Roddy Doyle, Kiley Reid and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to pick year’s best novelHer Cosmopolitan-sipping, Manolo-wearing, wise-cracking Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City was a generation-defining star turn.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-12-14 14:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Julia Whelan and the Best Fiction Audiobooks of 2024

Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating Kristin Hannah’s memorable historical fiction audiobook, The Women, one of our picks for Best Fiction of 2024. It’s an emotional story about Vietnam War combat nurses, and Julia details how she... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-05 09:05:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tired of Today’s Tech: Writing Historical Fiction in a Technocratic American Present

The last time I wrote a novel set in what I considered to be the present was 2009-2010. The iPhone had appeared in 2007, but it had nothing to do with my characters, who were poor or old or both and lived on the scrappy outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then, my books have […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-04 09:56:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Riot’s Deals of the Day for December 2, 2024

Pack your ereader with today's bounty of excellent deals from historical fiction to nonfiction, dystopian reads to romance, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-12-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


11 Books by Bangladeshi Voices Beyond Its Borders

I yearn for a literary world where, as readers, we’re familiar with a wider spectrum of narrative traditions and approaches than what we now think of as the canon. We Bengalis love so much to talk, to weave tales, to let our anecdotes tangle with each other’s into a larger collective... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-11-19 12:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Most Influential Cookbooks of the Century

25 of the most important cookbooks of the last 100 years, the best historical fiction of 2024, and Martin Scorcese's adaptation plans. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-11-18 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Riot’s Deals of the Day for November 14, 2024

Death on a doomed ship, historical fiction from the Hundred Years' War, our relationship with the natural world, and more of today's best book deals Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-11-14 16:56:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Books of The Year, According to Amazon Books Editors

The Big A weighs in on the best books of the year, new YA titles out this week, historical fiction for Native American Heritage Month, and more today on Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 16:02:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Historical Fiction for Native American Heritage Month

Which historical fiction novel featuring Native Americans are you picking up this month? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this