Charmaine "Nailah Folami Imoja" Gill 2024 Frank Collymore Literary Award Winner

Frank Collymore Awards Celebrate Literary Excellence, Cultural Identity (Adapted from barbadostoday.bb.)

IN A VIBRANT celebration of Barbadian letters, the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment (FCLE) showcased the island’s rich literary talent at its 27th awards ceremony.

The event, held at the Frank Collymore Hall the evening of Saturday, January 11, underscored the endowment’s crucial role in fostering creativity, preserving cultural heritage and propelling Barbadian voices onto the global stage through the recognition of their best unpublished work.

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Elson Gaskin remarked: “From its inception the bank’s vision for the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment has been to nurture our literary heritage, ensuring that Barbadian voices resonate far and wide. The competition has grown into an institution earning respect as a hallmark of quality and creativity, and it continues to inspire both emerging and established writers.”

Gaskin highlighted that literature plays a profound role in shaping and preserving our national identity.

“Literature, alongside music, film and other art forms, holds immense potential for economic diversification and growth,” he noted.

“Each poem, short story, novel or play by a Barbadian writer, each piece of spoken word performed, enriches the tapestry of our nation. It reminds us of our shared struggles and trials, our rich cultural heritage, and our underlying spirit.

“You are custodians of our stories, ambassadors of our culture and architects of our identity. Keep writing, keep dreaming and keep daring. The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment exists because of you and for you.”

Dr Yvonne Weekes, the chairperson of the FCLE committee, also highlighted the endowment’s developmental nature: “Some people come in already strong writers, others come in hoping to become writers, but what is important is that the FCLE committee helps to produce a cadre of writers who are not just known in Barbados but are known throughout the region and globally. We are producing a canon of Barbadian and Caribbean literature that we can ultimately be extremely proud of.”

She detailed their upcoming projects, which include an editing workshop, a spoken word initiative, and a return to secondary schools with their writers. “We also want to ensure that the FCLE has more visibility,” she added.

During the ceremony, spoken word nominees squared off for top honours. Taking third place and winning $1500 was Timon Howard for “Anthemology.” In second place were Luci Hammans and Cyndi Celeste Marshall, who combined their talent with “Licensed to Authority,” taking home $2500. Akeem Chandler-Prescod claimed the prestigious top prize for the second consecutive year with “Monsters Are Real,” going home with $5000.

Developmental awards were also given for fiction to Patrick Michael Foster for It is Written and for poetry to Ramario Phillips for Soil Remembers. Those earning developmental awards will work closely with selected contracted mentors and editors over a six-month period, all geared toward improving their craft.

Phillips was also the recipient of the John Wickham Prize, which includes a cash award of $1000 and is presented to an entrant under the age of twenty-five whose work merits recognition by the committee.
Veteran novelist and poet Nailah Folami Imoja secured first place in the FCLE competition, receiving $10,000 for her novel manuscript Jamaica’s Exam. Also in the top winners’ row were third-placed Andie Davis, who won $5000 with her novel entry Fools and Kings, and Gloria Eastmond, whose poetry manuscript Blackness Stretches Over the Land earned her second place and $7500.

The master of ceremonies was Andre Harewood, and the keynote address was delivered by Professor Emerita Jane Bryce. Attendees were treated to excerpts from the literary finalists’ work and a guest appearance by vocalist Kellie Cadogan.

The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment was started in 1988 to support and develop the literary arts in Barbados, and is sponsored by the Central Bank of Barbados.

Please also see https://www.fch.org.bb/award-winners

THIS YEAR’S JUDGES were De Carla Applewhaite, Dr Andrew Armstrong, Lafleur Cockburn-Jackman, Ayesha Gibson-Gill, Dana Gilkes, Andre Harewood, Dr Nicola Hunte, Karra Price, Dr Samuel Soyer, and Dr Yvonne Weekes.

Here’s what the judges had to say collectively about the manuscripts they considered for Barbados’ most lucrative literary prize for unpublished work, and a few words from the top-place winner on the experience of entering.

Frank Collymore Literary Award, First Prize: Jamaica’s Exam by Charmaine “Nailah Folami Imoja” Gill

The outstanding prose entry this year is recognized for its cohesiveness from beginning to end; for the way the narrative avoids cliché even though the topic is familiar; and for its intimate tone and economical writing. The novel’s straightforward simplicity is endearing and allows for the emotions of the events presented to shine through. Creative in its approach, with a refreshing choice of topics and a unique, humanizing treatment of the vignette assortment, Jamaica’s Exam is a truly engaging story, cleverly written. The diary/journal-style entries keep reader’s interest throughout with its constantly shifting, short lines of almost list-like commentary. In that regard, there is careful consideration of the structure. The references to the Caribbean are especially well written. A story about growing up and searching for identity.

“I say to people don’t give up, don’t throw away your work, because it’s always something that you can go back and work on. Especially once you’ve started to hone your skills. Something that you may have written fifteen years ago might not be the rubbish that you thought it was when you have no skills to make it gold.” Charmaine “Nailah Folami Imoja” Gill, May 2025. Please see here for an excerpt from the novel.

Frank Collymore Literary Award, Second Prize: Blackness Stretches Over the Land by Gloria Eastmond

Blackness Stretches Over the Land is a kaleidoscopic exploration of many meanings of B/black as concept, symbol, metaphor, and “race.” These include love, the transatlantic slave trade, natural disaster, and soil, which are refreshingly treated with equal passion. The poet is to be commended for engaging with the contemporary as well as the historical dimensions of blackness, for treating Black achievements instead of just belabouring the horror of slavery as many other writers still do in this century, and for sharing not just the harm but the hope.

There is deft stylistic use of language and poetic devices, and a pleasing spectrum of forms among which are colour poetry and haiku. This collection is permeated by strong, short poems, and its figurative language, felicitous phrases and coinages are a real source of pleasure.

Frank Collymore Literary Award, Third Prize: Fools and Kings by Andie Davis

This novel engages a range of subjects as it presents the musician’s life of Raj the Propheslayer: the absentee performer-father and its adverse familial consequences; the personal, political and racial complexities of academic and artistic relationships; the global challenges of migration; the sociopolitical power of the interface of social media and art; the need for healing.... The author elicits sympathies for the Caribbean reggae musician, his neglected family, the European researcher Renata, and the “son” Raj never knew he had. Most impressive is the author’s skill in differentiating the language style of Raj’s inner philosophical reasonings from his speech style during conversations. Fools and Kings shows a writer who competently handles story and character and has a grasp of plotting.

Frank Collymore Literary Award, Honourable Mention and Developmental Award: It Is Written by Patrick Michael Foster

It Is Written elevates Caribbean folklore to a grandeur of imagistic expression and world-building while engaging with the archetypal conflict between life-giving and life-decaying forces. The story is especially resonant because of the climate crisis. With a strong edit, the detached narrative style could be addressed. In addition, the large number of characters needs to be carefully reconsidered.

Frank Collymore Literary Award, Honourable Mention, John Wickham Prize and Developmental Award: Soil Remembers by Romario Phillips

Soil Remembers is a collection of poems of varying merit. Some of the poems are strong and characterized by resonant description, vivid imagery, and haunting mood. Some “sing off the page.” Varying the perspective and message of the poems would touch readers even more, for they need some uplift despite the truths of history’s horrors.