History
In its first year, the Antigua & Barbuda Literary Festival carried a different name, The Caribbean International Literary Festival. It began as the brainchild of Baltimore Times publisher Joy Bramble and her sister Pam Arthurton, whose family settled in Antigua after their native land of Montserrat was devastated by volcanic activity.
No strangers to devastation, the sisters looked around their adopted land to see how they could become a part of the community of those looking to better their island. One of the key issues they honed in on was literacy, since this is the backbone of a strong educational system and a well-trained, professional workforce. They learned that the island’s only library had been devastated in a 1974 earthquake and had yet to be replaced, making access to reading materials difficult for the entire population.
So the goals of their festival became to inspire Antiguans and Barbudans with a sense of their literary history, to celebrate local and regional artists, and to raise funds to support the Antigua & Barbuda Library in whatever form it took. At the same time, to create an attractive and sustaining festival they knew they would have to involve the international literary community.
The Caribbean International Literary Festival opened in 2006 at the Jolly Beach Resort, with 43 well-known authors, publicists and publishers from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Caribbean region. Over 200 participants enjoyed three days of workshops, panel discussions, readings, book signings and fundraisers.
In its second year, the Festival received substantial financial support from the Antigua & Barbuda Ministry of Tourism, which recognized the importance of the event as a “book tourism” activity. In deference to this sponsorship, the organizers renamed it the Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival.
The 2007 event was moved to the Anchorage Inn and 32 authors participated. The organizers introduced the first day Youth Day, and arranged for each secondary school in the nation and in Montserrat to send its three top writers to a day filled with workshops and seminars with noted authors at no cost. Over 75 young people participated, and many returned the second and third day of the Festival to continue their interactions with the authors.
In 2008, the Festival featured 34 authors, publishers and agents discussing the fine points of creating and producing books. It was again held at Jolly Beach Resort & Spa, where the authors and visitors made full use of the beautiful beach. The second Youth Day was a great success,with over 100 students participating. An important new feature was the Jolly Harbour Festival Village sponsored by La Perla International. At this venue adjacent to Jolly Beach, the organizers offered a literary street fair open to the public that featured the Western Union Children’s Tent, a Food Demonstration Tent, book sales and signing tents, food and drink vendors, and live entertainment.
This year, the event will be centered around the capital, St.John’s, area. We are offering some hotel options, so that our returning literary friends can experience other places on the island. Our line-up of visiting authors will reflect some of the best the Caribbean and the Diaspora offers, along with special visits from some of the Sesame Street crew for the children.
