The Hollick-Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize - £10,000 prize for an emerging writer

The Hollick-Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize - £10,000 prize for an emerging writer

One new Caribbean writer will have the opportunity to win a prize package worth 10,000 British pounds that includes a trip to London and mentoring from an established writer.

The Hollick-Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize was announced on Saturday at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest 2012 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

It is a collaboration between the Arvon Foundation, a charity that promotes writing, and NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

Lady Sue Hollick, former chair of the Arts Council in London, reported that the prize will provide a unique opportunity to one emerging writer each year and will initially run for a three-year period "for time and space to advance or finish a literary work with support from an established writer".

She added: "It is very important for emerging writers to be able to work with established writers."

The prize is broken up into three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

The writer must be living and working in the Caribbean and writing in English.

All writers who meet the criteria will be assessed by a panel consisting of representatives from Hollick and Arvon Foundation, a literary agent and three representatives from NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

Hollick noted that the prize consists of mentoring from an established writer, travel to the United Kingdom for a one-week intensive Arvon creative writing course of their choice, and three days in London for networking with agents.

The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2012. More information will be posted on bocaslitfest.com.