Afreximbank supports Jamaica Book Festival’s literary exchange

The Jamaica Book Festival (JBF), in partnership with The University of the West Indies (UWI), PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Advocacy (INAFRICARA), will host the inaugural Africa Caribbean Literary Exchange from February 25 to 28 in Kingston, with a community outreach engagement in western Jamaica included in the schedule.

Presented by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in its first major sponsorship of a Caribbean literary initiative, the Africa Caribbean Literary Exchange brings together writers, publishing leaders, educators and cultural thinkers for a week of public dialogue and cross-sector collaboration rooted in shared history and future possibility.

Confirmed guests include New York Times bestselling author, Namina Forna; International Booker Prize Judge, Troy Onyango; Ghanaian-German literary advocate, Alexandra Antwi-Boasiako; award-winning children’s content producer, Jeunanne Alkins; professor of Caribbean literature, Dr Curdella Forbes; chess master, Tunde Onakoya (virtual); and author and Professor Paulette A. Ramsay. The programme will blend readings, dialogue, and live exchange, creating space for audiences to encounter new ideas, new works, and new partnerships across the Atlantic.

“This exchange is a bridge we are building with intention,” said Latoya West-Blackwood, founder and festival director of the Jamaica Book Festival. “It brings African and Caribbean voices into the same room to spark relationships that can outlast the week itself, relationships that can grow new collaborations, strengthen our book ecosystems, and inspire young people to see their stories as powerful and globally relevant.”

West-Blackwood added that Afreximbank’s presenting sponsorship elevates the Exchange’s regional significance. “When an institution of Afreximbank’s reach puts its weight behind a literary initiative in the Caribbean, it sends a clear message that books, culture, and ideas matter, economically, socially, and diplomatically.”

The week begins in Kingston with an official welcome, hosted in partnership with INAFRICARA, setting the tone for a programme grounded in scholarship, advocacy, and cultural connection.

On Saturday, February 28, JBF invites the public to the Africa Caribbean Lit Fest in Kingston, providing readers with a direct opportunity for conversation with the visiting delegation through book chats and live literature experiences. The exchange also includes a community outreach visit in western Jamaica, co-ordinated by the Hanover Authors’ Guild, in alignment with the initiative’s commitment to meeting communities where they are and widening access to literary and cultural exchange beyond Kingston.

Professor Paulette A. Ramsay, research fellow at INAFRICARA, noted that the partnership positions the exchange as both timely and necessary. “We must not lose that nostalgic longing for that book of adventure that keeps us excitedly anticipating the grand denouement, or the book that teaches us something new about ourselves as human beings, that book that introduces amazing new places, history, science fiction, or interesting cultures. We must celebrate books.”