Young writers shine at Jamaica Book Festival awards
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Jamaica Book Festival Director Latoya West-Blackwood (2nd left), along with members of the Jamaica Book Festival team - prize coordinator Stephanie Koathes (left) and marketing director Joel Nomdarkham (right), share a moment with poetry awardees (from left) Eden McPherson of Immaculate Conception High School, second place; Maguwa Wamazola of The Queen’s School, third place; and Andrea Meikle, accepting on behalf of poetry winner Tianna Arnett.
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Young Writers’ Prize awardees pictured with festival partners and the Jamaica Book Festival team at the awards ceremony.
The Jamaica Book Festival (JBF) proudly celebrated the achievements of Jamaica’s emerging literary voices at the Young Writers’ Prize Awards, held at the Kingston & St Andrew Parish Library.
Last month’s ceremony honoured students who demonstrated resilience, creativity, and determination, even after the significant disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa.
The competition received nearly 100 submissions from young writers across 10 parishes, from 33 schools, highlighting the depth of talent and the strong interest in creative expression among Jamaican youth. From these entries, 11 outstanding students were recognised for their excellence in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, marking a major milestone in the Festival’s ongoing mission to nurture young storytellers. The winning entries were selected by an outstanding field of judges including Efe Paul Azino of the Lagos International Poetry Festival, Melvina Hazard, children’s programme manager for Bocas Lit Fest, and award winning Jamaican American writer, Keisha-Gaye Anderson.
The 2026 Young Writers’ Prize was proudly presented by title sponsors The Bloom Fund and the Universal Service Fund. The overall category winners each received a trophy, cash grant and a laptop to support their continued writing journey, while runners-up were presented with trophies, tablets and gifts in recognition of their achievement and dedication.This year’s top honours went to poetry winner Tianna Arnett of Immaculate Conception High School for ‘She Eats Light (The Triptych)’, fiction winner Derron Williams of Belmont Academy for ‘Miss Tiny’s Library Bus’, and non-fiction winner Nathaniel Harris of Kingston College for ‘The Bridges We Build’.
Festival Director Latoya West-Blackwood emphasised the broader importance of the initiative, stating, “This programme is especially meaningful in an age where we must be intentional about building a strong knowledge culture where our youth are creators, not mere consumers of innovation and contributors to national development. Our young people need creative outlets, and the Young Writers’ Prize offers a powerful platform to nurture talent, build confidence, and remind them that their voices matter.”
A special announcement was also made by Saeed Thomas, founder of audiobook platform, Odiyo, who revealed that the company will renew its partnership with JBF to professionally produce and publish all winning pieces as an audio anthology. This opportunity will allow the young authors to share their stories with a wider audience and have global audiences experience their work in a new, accessible format.