2022 USVI Literary Festival and Book Fair
The Caribbean Writer collaborates with Virgin Islands Literary Festival & Book Fair for the 2022 in-person/online event
About this event
Friday, April 8 2022 from 9am to 6pm AST
Saturday, April 9 2022 from 7:30am to 7pm AST
ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — The Caribbean Writer (TCW) together with the Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair (VI Lit Fest) will host the 8th iteration of the VI Lit Fest as a hybrid event on April 8 and 9th , 2022 under the community focused theme: Disruptions, Disguise and Illuminations” which is also the theme shared with Volume 36 of TCW, currently being prepped for publication. Headlining the festival this year is Pulitzer Prize winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones of the 1619 Project. This year’s VI Lit Fest poster features artwork by Virgin Islands artist Gail Widmer.
On Friday, all events are virtual. We burst open the virtual doors at 9:00 a.m.in a space for elementary and secondary students. In this space, we are proud to feature 4 published Virgin Islands authors under the age of twelve: seven year old Bae Sewer, sharing her fabulous first book Island Girl (2021) which include an activities workbook/slash coloring book; ten year old Rhea G. Madison James, author of two books: The Runaway Watermelon (2020) and The Runaway Avocado (2021) with a combined coloring book; eleven year old Makeda Hardcastle who has been illustrating her series of ten books, entitled the First Life Series about the main character’s first life as a fish. Also, twelve-year-old Sofia Forbes author of an upcoming novella, Fighting Bondage set in the 1800’s on a plantation of enslaved people plotting escape. Their panel will be co-moderated by 12-year-old, Bilal McFarlane and Dr. Yvette McMahon-Arnold. Then, beginning at 10:30 a.m. our focus will shift to presentations around, editing, copyrighting, poetry and fiction writing as well as readings and presentations by nationally and regionally acclaimed authors.
Our Ekphrastic poetry competition is on again. Participants may submit poetry inspired by the New Blood Art Exhibit that will open April 1, at Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted –the works will be video graphed by Douglas Canton and are curated by Artist Lucien Downes.
You are invited to select a piece of “New Blood Exhibit” art and write a poem inspired by that piece of art. Email the completed poem to usvilitfest@gmail.com by 6 PM on Friday, April 8. Include your name and telephone number.
Registration is free with a $20.00 donation requested.
