Literary Prize

Members of the jury

1.1. Members of the jury in alphabetical order

French speaking judges :
- Alain AGAT (Martinique)
- Marie-Rose LAFLEUR (Guadeloupe)
- Lyonel Trouillot (Haiti)

Spanish speaking judges:
- Ariel CAMEJO (Cuba)
- Griselle MERCED (Puerto Rico)
- Emilia PEREYRA (Santo Domingo)

English speaking judges:
- Prof. Funso AIYEJINA (Trinidad)
- Vladimir LUCIEN (Sainte-Lucie)
- Beverly EAST (Jamaïque)

Final international jury :
- Andrés BANSART (Vénézuela)
- Earl LOVELACE Président de l’AEC (Trinidad & Tobago)
- Camila VALDES (Cuba)
- Patricia DONATIEN (Martinique)
- 1 membre du jury francophone: Lyonel TROUILLOT
- 1 membre du jury anglophone: Beverley EAST
- 1 membre du jury hispanophone: Ariel CAMEJO

Regulations

Preamble

The Association of Caribbean Writers, whose first Congress in November 2008 led to the creation of a major literary prize, was established under the aegis of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, on the initiative of its President, Victorin LUREL, parliamentary representative for Guadeloupe.

The first edition of this Grand Prix was awarded at the second Congress in April 2011, under the provisional name of “Grand Prix littéraire caribéen of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe”.

This first edition was conceived as a precursor to the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers, which was announced at the third Congress in 2013.

At that time, the “Grand Prix littéraire caribéen of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe” became the “Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers”.

Article 1 - The “Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers” is organized on a biennial basis by the Association of Caribbean Writers.

Article 2 - The “Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers” is the property of the Association of Caribbean Writers.

Article 3 - The “Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers” is intended to honor and reward a literary work written in French, English, Spanish or another language, published within the last three years. It is awarded by the members of an international jury that is composed of Caribbean writers and literary figures.

Article 4 - The prize is awarded biennially, during the Congress of Caribbean Writers.

Article 5 - Conditions for submitting an entry
5.1. All parties involved in the production and distribution of books are invited, further to the notification letter sent out by the Association of Caribbean Writers, to submit to the jury works that, in their estimation, reflect the spirit of the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers.

The works submitted will only be considered if they have been presented by a publishing house and accepted by the members of the Prize jury.

5.2 Literary works (novels, essays, plays and poetry) fulfilling the following criteria may compete for the “Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers”:

- overt expression of Caribbeaness;
- examination of the foundations, languages and concepts of a common Caribbean identity;
- quality of writing and style;
- acuteness and lucidity of the writer’s view of the Caribbean;
- work published within the last three years, at most.

Article 6 – Prize money
The winner of the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers receives an endowment that is determined by the Association’s board.

Article 7 - Submission of works
Publishers are invited to provide the works of the pre-selected authors within a prescribed time-limit. The works must be accompanied by an application package consisting of :

- the author’s curriculum vitae;
- a brief presentation his/her entire body of work;
- a complete list of his/her works, along with publication references for each work;
- a list of the author’s works that have been translated into French, where applicable;
- a list of the author’s works that have been translated into a language other than French, where applicable.

The works submitted will not be returned to the publishers.

The competing works must be sent to the members of the jury before January 30^th 2015.

The works must be sent in their original language.

Application packages should be sent to the President of the Association at the following address:

Association des écivains de la Caraïbe
Grand Prix littéraire de l’Association des écrivains de la Caraïbe
Attn : Madame Dominique Hubert
C/° CCEE
16 rue Peynier - 97100 BASSE-TERRE
GUADELOUPE FWI

Article 8 - Nomination, voting and awarding of the prize
8.1 The international jury selects the winner of the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers two (2) days before the prize is awarded.

8.2 The prize is awarded in a formal ceremony, during the closing session of the Congress of Caribbean Writers.

Article 9 - Conditions for awarding the prize
9.1 The jury reserves the right to not award the prize, in cases where none of the competing works seems to be prize-worthy. The decision of the jury shall be final and no explanation for its decision shall be provided.

9.2 The Association of Caribbean Writers and its partners shall not be held liable for any cancellation of the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers.

Article 10 – Establishment, tasks and composition of the jury
10.1 Establishment by language grouping
In keeping with its vision for the development of Caribbean literature, the Association has chosen a demanding approach, which entails the establishment of 1 English-speaking jury, 1 French-speaking jury and 1 Spanish-speaking jury. These juries will conduct an initial selection and pick the top three (3) works, for submission to a final international jury.

The language-based juries are made up of writers having English, Spanish and French as their native languages.

These juries, comprising a maximum of five (5) members respectively, are established by the board of the Association, at least six (6) months prior to each Congress.

Each language-based jury will select one (1) rapporteur from among its members, (i.e. 3 members). Each rapporteur will have to defend his/her jury’s choice.

The members of the board cannot be jury members, but can attend working sessions without voting rights.

The President’s vote will have the weight of two votes.

The members of each language-based jury for 2015 are as follows:

• English jury: Lawrence Scott (Trinidad & Tobago) – Vladimir Lucien (Saint Lucia) – Beverly East (Jamaica)
• French jury: Yanick Lahens (Haiti) – Gisèle Pineau (Guadeloupe) – Marie Rose Lafleur (Guadeloupe) – Alain Agat (Martinique)
• Spanish jury: Ariel Caméjo (Cuba) – Griselle Merced (Puerto Rico) – Emilia Peyrera (Dominican Republic)

10.2 Role of the juries
After collective deliberation, the language-based juries must each select one (1) book, from the list made available to them by the board of the Association of Caribbean Writers.

These three works will be submitted to a final international jury, made up of Caribbean writers and literary figures, who will name the winner of the 2015 Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers.

10.3 Final international jury
This jury will be composed as follows:

• One member designated to be a rapporteur by the English-speaking jury
• One member designated to be a rapporteur by the French-speaking jury
• One member designated to be a rapporteur by the Spanish-speaking jury
• 7 other trilingual members, designated by the board of the Association of Caribbean Writers. The designations of the board are irrevocable.

The final decision of the international jury is also irrevocable.

10.4 Schedule of deliberations
Each language-based jury must choose a work for submission to the final international jury by March 27^th 2015. This deadline must be respected at all costs.

The international jury must choose a winner by April 15^th 2015.

Article 11 – Undertakings of the jury
11.1 The members of the jury undertake to promote the Grand Prix littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers and to perform their tasks: proposing and reading works, participating in meetings and in the prize-giving ceremony.

11.2 The members of the jury can neither be candidates nor former prizewinners.

11.3 The members of the jury agree to participate on a voluntary basis.

Article 12 – Duration of jury participation
Membership can be lost by resignation or by decision.

Jury members wishing to withdraw from participating agree to inform the other members of the jury of their wish to resign.

The members of the jury reserve the right to exclude a member, if the latter proves to be non-compliant with the values promoted by the Prize or with the criteria required to be a jury member. This decision must be unanimously approved by the jury.

Article 13 - Voting
13.1 All members of the final international jury undertake to vote on the awarding of the prize. Jury members shall be required to attend meetings and the final deliberation as well as the prize-giving ceremony.

Neither voting by mail nor voting by proxy is allowed.

13.2 The jury’s choice shall be made, after discussion, by secret ballot, with an absolute majority in the first two rounds, and a relative majority in the third.

Article 14 - Participation in the competition implies acceptance of these regulations.

SELECTION

OUVRAGES POUR LE GRAND PRIX LITTERAIRE DE L’ASSOCIATION DES ECRIVAINS DE LA CARAIBE
5EME CONGRES DES ECRIVAINS DE LA CARAÏBE 5-9 avril 2017

ESPACE FRANCOPHONE

ESPACE ANGLOPHONE

ESPACE HISPANOPHONE

FINALISTES DU GRAND PRIX LITTERAIRE 2017

FINALISTES DU GRAND PRIX LITTERAIRE 2017 DE L’ASSOCIATION DES ECRIVAINS DE LA CARAIBE
5EME CONGRES DES ECRIVAINS DE LA CARAÏBE 6-9 avril 2017

FRANCOPHONE Roland Brival, Nègre de personne, éditions Gallimard, 2015, Martinique Anthony Phelps, Je veille incorrigible féticheur, éditions Bruno Doucey, 2016, Haïti ANGLOPHONE Olive Senior, The pain tree, Cormorant Books, 2016, Jamaica HISPANOPHONE Rita Indiana, La Mucama de Omicunlé, Ed. Périférica, 2015, Republicana dominicana