Welcome to the Bocas Academy

A great way to start building a readership for your work is to submit stories, poems, or essays to print or online magazines and journals. Each magazine has its own submissions guidelines and deadlines, so read them carefully. It’s always a good idea to be familiar with the kind of content each magazine publishes, and make sure your work is suitable in genre, format, and length.

Here’s a list of magazines with a special interest in writing from the Caribbean:

The Caribbean Writer – https://www.thecaribbeanwriter.org/

Annual print journal published by the University of the Virgin Islands, including “poetry, short fiction, personal essays, creative non-fiction, and short plays,” usually with a designated theme for each issue.

Submissions guidelines here: https://www.thecaribbeanwriter.org/online-submission/

Moko: Caribbean Arts and Letters – https://mokomagazine.org

Online magazine based in the Virgin Islands, publishing “short stories, poems, interviews, essays, reviews of books, art, photography, and other types of visual media about the Caribbean and its diaspora.”

Submissions guidelines here: http://mokomagazine.org/wordpress/submit/

Pree – https://preelit.com

Online magazine based in Jamaica, publishing “original works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, interviews and experimental writing.” Accepting submissions only during designated submissions windows, and in response to specific themes.

Submissions guidelines here: https://preelit.com/contact/

Poui: Cave Hill Journal of Creative Writing – https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fhe/LLL/poui/home.aspx

Annual online journal publishing writers from the Caribbean region and beyond, with a focus on fiction, creative non-fiction, and poems.

Submissions guidelines here: https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fhe/LLL/poui/submissions.aspx

sx salon – https://smallaxe.net/sxsalon

Digital platform for “innovative critical and creative explorations of Caribbean literature, broadly defined,” including “literary discussions, interviews with writers, reviews of new publications (creative and scholarly), and poetry and prose by Caribbean writers.”

Submissions guidelines here: https://smallaxe.net/sxsalon/submissions

Wasafiri – https://www.wasafiri.org

UK-based print magazine of “international contemporary writing,” with a long history of publishing established and emerging Caribbean authors. Contents include fiction, poetry, life-writing, book reviews, and critical articles and interviews. Accepting submissions only during designated submissions windows.

Submissions guidelines here: https://www.wasafiri.org/about/submit/

Submitting your writing for prizes is another great way to get your name out there, and build a reputation and portfolio. While winning a significant prize can be a career boost, being included on a shortlist or list of finalists is also a great entry on your literary résumé.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize – https://commonwealthfoundation.com/short-story-prize/

This annual competition is open to any citizen of a Commonwealth country aged 18 and over, with no entry fee. It is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words). The Caribbean regional winner receives a cash award of £2,500 and the overall international winner receives £5,000. Past winners like Ingrid Persaud and Kevin Jared Hosein have gone on to secure agent representation and international publioshing deals.

The annual entry period usually runs from September to November.

BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest – https://www.bklyncbeanlitfest.org/about-bclf-short-fiction-story

An annual competition in two categories:

• The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize is open to unpublished writers of Caribbean heritage.
• The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean is open exclusively to Caribbean writers of all levels who reside and work in the Caribbean.

The annual entry period usually opens in May, with winners announced in September.

Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize – https://www.wasafiri.org/writing-prizes/queen-mary-wasafiri-new-writing-prize/

Administered by the literary journal Wasafiri, this prize is open to writers who have not published book-length works, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. Recent winners have included several early-career Caribbean writers who have gone on to publish successful books. It is awarded in categories of life writing, poetry, and fiction. The winners of each category receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication in Wasafiri.

The annual entry period usually opens in February.

Maintaining a regular writing routine can be challenging, and sometimes you need some structure to help you along. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a US-based creative writing initiative, challenging authors around the world every November to complete a 50,000-word draft of a novel. Registration is free, and offers how-tos and tips, pep talks from established writers, access to a writers’ forum, and tools for tracking your progress.

https://nanowrimo.org/

The Bocas Lit Fest’s Bios & Bookmarks interview series is a great place to find inspiration! Dozens of Caribbean writers in all genres talk about their latest books, and share their experiences, influences, reading suggestions and more.

https://www.bocaslitfest.com/bios-bookmarks/

Where to start? Try these episodes, depending on your interest:

For poetry: T.S. Eliot Prize winner Roger Robinson – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/roger-robinson/

For historical fiction: Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Book of the Little Axe – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-lauren-francis-sharma/ or Amanda Smyth — historical fiction

For general fiction: Trillium Book Award winner Rabindranath Maharaj – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-rabindranath-maharaj/

For short fiction: Andre Bagoo, author of The Dreaming – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-andre-bagoo/

For memoir: Tessa McWatt, author of Shame on Me – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-tessa-mcwatt/

Rajiv Mohabir, author of Antiman – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-rajiv-mohabir/

For Young Adult fiction: Jeanelle Frontin, winner of the 2019 CODE Burt Award – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-jeanelle-frontin/

For speculative fiction and fantasy: Karen Lord, author of Unravelling – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-karen-lord/

P. Djèlí Clark, author of Ring Shout – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-p-djeli-clark/

For romance: N.G. Peltier, author of Sweethand – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-n-g-peltier/

For children’s fiction, Alake Pilgrim, author of Zo and the Forest of Secrets – https://www.bocaslitfest.com/series/bios-bookmarks-alake-pilgrim/