Tag Archives: literature

Why YA?

ya-coversCaribbeanReads will be publishing two YA novels in 2017, bringing our total YA offerings to four. Since CR is a small publisher, this is significant. Three of the four books have been recognised by the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature, Musical Youth was a 2014 winner, The Protector’s Pledge was a 2016 winner, and Barberry Hill was one of six finalists in 2016. So why is YA literature being given such a spotlight on the Caribbean front?

The term “young adult literature” can be hard to define. One would think that it means books that appeal mainly to a particular age range-teenagers. However, with adults being the most prolific readers of YA, it is clear that YA is more than a target age. Young Adult literature has come to mean ‘coming of age’ literature in which the central characters-usually teenagers-are impacted by the events in the book in a way that leaves them a step closer to adulthood.

YA books typically handle issues that are not addressed in the same way in books for younger children or adult literature for that matter. They tackle life complexities with which most teenagers are having their first experiences such as romantic love, fitting in, abandonment, family breakdown, drugs, sex, politics, and more. Often these themes are wrapped within a larger story, but whether the protagonists are embroiled in a fight with mystical creatures (as in The Protector’s Pledge) or in a true-to-life setting (as in Musical Youth, Another Day, and Barberry Hill), when you strip the book down to its bare minimum you should find a teen struggling against adversity to become more.

So, are these books important beyond their pure entertainment value? Definitely. They can play a key developmental role in a teen’s life.

  • Having these new experiences vicariously through books can be a safe way for teens to learn about life and to be inspired by the way that other teens overcome challenges.
  • Reading these stories can engender empathy for others, a very important skill in our day-to-day lives.
  • For children who may be in the midst of situations similar to those being faced by the protagonist, a YA book may provide a sense of comfort and a jumping-off point for discussing their problems with friends and an adult. It is much easier for a teen to present a book to an adult and say: “This is what is happening to me” than to find the words to describe how they are hurting.
  • Caribbean YA novels are important to our young people because, while the challenges of growing up are ubiquitous, every culture has a particular spin. Caribbean teens need support in their particular brand of coming-of-age. One example is colourism, a theme addressed in Joanne C. Hillhouse’s Musical Youth. While this problem may be endemic to the Caribbean or to people of African descent, being rated based on a physical feature is a concept with which all teens are familiar.

The world needs to read about how life impacts Caribbean teens and to understand that the Caribbean is a part of the global scene. Books, even fictional ones, play a key role in how the past is viewed. The Caribbean voice must be part of the collection of stories being told.

So how do we adults help this important movement? Write YA novels and share YA novels not just with Caribbean teens but with teens worldwide.

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Illustrating with CaribbeanReads

As a rule, CaribbeanReads uses Caribbean illustrators. We have a few non-Caribbean illustrators on our go-to list, for example, the first illustrator that I worked with was the phenomenal Ann-Cathrine Loo from the United Kingdom, and I would personally buy her a Caribbean passport to keep her on our list if it came down to that. But the exceptions are few and far between.

There are a few illustrators that we’ve used repeatedly and there is a good reason for that. These are illustrators who deliver excellent work that meets the requested specifications and is delivered in the time frame promised.

The main issue that we face with illustrators, however, is that many do not understand the difference between the art work that one does for sale at a gallery, for example, and the artwork that is placed in a children’s book, and no matter how talented an artist you may be, if you don’t understand this, the whole process of children’s book illustration can go south very quickly. This article discusses a few tips that will help the relationship between the illustrator and the commissioner.

  1. Get as much information as possible about the project. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many projects get started without a discussion of these crucial questions. These details include:
    • The full text of the story that you are illustrating. If the author seems reluctant to share this, offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement protecting the author’s work. Picture books are not generally very long so this should not be burdensome for you, and reading the entire work will help you to make a connection with the characters and their situations that you can’t make if you are just told what to draw.
    • The size of the book.
    • The plan for the layout, for example, will the artwork and the text be on the same page or on facing pages?
    • The schedule-there should be a deadline for thumbnail sketches, dummy sketches, and the finished product.
    • The publisher’s vision for the book. Although you are the artist, as an illustrator for someone else’s work it is important to follow the publisher’s lead. If you object strongly to the direction in which they want to go this may not be the project for you.
  2. Once you have these details as you progress, keep these steps ideas in mind
    • Once the thumbnails are approved, progress to a more detailed full-size sketches. This should be on facing pages so that you can see the full impact of the page layout. These should be detailed enough that the publisher can see specific issues, for example, if a character is wearing a hat on one page and not on another. The publisher will be able to see clearly what you have in mind and catch any changes while it is easy to make adjustments.
  3. DESIGN
    • If the art and the text will be on the same form, it may be best to plan the location of the text while you are composing the illustration. At the very least, be sure that there is a spot in each illustration clear enough to superimpose the words without the overall image becoming too busy.
    • Work on paper as large as or larger than the planned size of the book.
    • Don’t sign your name to the artwork.
    • Draw to the edges of the page, but don’t put important elements more than a half inch from the sides, top, or bottom of the pages.
  4. DELIVER
    • One of the biggest problems that we face with illustrators is timely delivery. Be realistic about how long the illustrations will take and don’t over promise. A delay in the delivery of the artwork can destroy a project and then, no matter how lovely your drawings are you may never be hired again.

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Literary Evening at the Grenadian Embassy DC

Mark your calendars for March 17, 2016. Four Caribbean authors will come together for an evening event at the Grenadian Embassy in Washington DC to discuss their books and literature in general. The evening will feature:

Force Ripe The Washington DC Book Launch of Force Ripe by Grenadian author Cindy McKenzie

Merle Collins Signing and Reading of Dame Hilda Bynoe: The Governor’s Story by Grenadian author Merle Collins


Full Front a Signing and reading of Hurricane of the Heart by Kittitian author, Jewel Amethyst Daniel.

Carol Mitchell-Author - HS Signing and reading by Kittivisian author Carol Ottley-Mitchell

The Embassy will supply light finger foods and drinks. Come out to enjoy an engaging evening. Thursday 17th March, 2016, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, 1701 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20009

 

grenada embassy event

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