News from Authors

Caribbean Beat Magazine has moved online, and this issue features “Shandilay Bush”, a poem by Roger Robinson — a hymn of healing, “to remind you / of life, of oh sweet sweet life”.

Today, the Royal Society of Literature has announced its shortlist for the RSL Ondaatje Prize, which includes Roger Robinson with A Portable Paradise. The annual award of £10,000 is for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place.

This year’s judges are Peter Frankopan (Chair), Pascale Petit and Evie Wyld.

The full shortlist is:

Find a list of upcoming and previous events featuring Monique Roffey and The Mermaid of Black Conch. You can see Monique reading from the book on Twitter (no account needed).

Check out the latest reviews of The Mermaid of Black Conch.

May's issue of Woman and Home Magazine includes Monique Roffey's latest novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch, in its '5 of the best literary fiction' list. Pick up a copy to read the list and pick up the book to read it for yourself.

Amazon are still struggling to fulfil some book orders (they have been de-prioritised due to coronavirus), but we are still shipping books out twice a week. Buying from us is thus the fastest way to get our books in your hands (and our authors earn the most money from direct sales).

Monique Roffey’s sixth novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch, is set in a tiny Caribbean village in 1976. Attracted to the area by a fishing contest, an American tourist makes a remarkable catch: a mermaid, the victim of a centuries-old curse. The novel follows the battle for ownership of this mermaid, and the impact she has on the lives of the local people she encounters. Political, sexually-charged and brimming with energy, The Mermaid of Black Conch brings together many of the themes which have made Roffey such a compelling literary voice throughout her career.

The Poetry Book Society has announced its Summer 2020 selections. We are pleased to find that esteemed poet Ilya Kaminsky chose our bilingual anthology of 33 Caribbean women poets as the Translation Choice: The Sea Needs No Ornament/El mar no necesita ornamento (eds. and trans. Loretta Collins Klobah and Marieta Grau Perejoan, June 2020).

Roger Robinson's T.S. Eliot Prize-winning collection A Portable Paradise has been longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize. The £10,000 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize rewards fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the spirit of a place.

The Mermaid of Black Conch, the new novel by Trini author Monique Roffey, is a magical realist fable drawing on an ancient legend to explore themes of identity, migration, history and love. Enjoy an extract from this immersive new book, then discover what inspired her with this exclusive interview: http://www.zingmag.net/a-mermaids-tale/

Nine books by writers with roots in seven Caribbean territories have been longlisted for the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, sponsored by One Caribbean Media Limited.

Poetry

⭐ Honeyfish, by Lauren K. Alleyne (Peepal Tree Press)
⭐ Skin Can Hold, by Vahni Capildeo (Carcanet Press)
⭐ Epiphaneia, by Richard Georges (Out-Spoken)

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is celebrating the award-winning poetry, global collaborations and unyielding service of Kwame Dawes. (The date was supposed to be this week, but the celebrations have been postponed due to COV-19.)