Jamaican Authors for Miami International Book Fair

Six accomplished Jamaican authors are slated to appear at the 24th annual Miami International Book fair, which will begin next Monday (Nov. 4) at the Miami Dade College, downtown Miami. They are among 16 Caribbean nationals, who will appear at the one-week book festival and market, which showcase the works of nearly 350 authors, editors, publishers and literary agents from around the world.
For several years, Jamaican authors have been participating in the literary street fair, which has grown to attract almost 100,000 visitors. They will continue to make their presence felt this year at the Caribbean Voices section of the International Pavilion on Saturday (Nov. 10) and Sunday (Nov. 11).
The Jamaican participants are Howard Pitterson, Anthony C. Winkler, and Margaret Ceviar Thompson, who will be making their first appearance at the festival, and long-time entrants Kim Robinson, Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa and Professor Geoffrey Philp.
Mr. Pitterson will share his two-volume set ‘Spectre of Seven and Deadly Embrace,’ which chronicles the lives of five generations of a prominent Jamaican family of the sugarcane plantocracy during the period 1915 to 1945.
Best known for his screenplays ‘The Lunatic’ and ‘The Annihilation of Fish,’ Mr. Winkler has written several plays that have been produced in Canada, Germany and Jamaica and has authored several fictional novels set in Jamaica as well as college and university textbooks.
Ms. Thompson has two books to her credit, the latest being ‘The Pirate’s Daughter’ as well as ‘The True History of Paradise’, which are set in Jamaica. She teaches literature and creative writing at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
Among the veterans, Ms. Robinson is an editor of books and monographs at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. She is also the editor of the Jamaica Journal published by the Institute of Jamaica. She has authored several essays and short stories, which have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies and won the Commonwealth short story competition in 2005.
An award winning poet and prose writer, Dr. Palmer has written 11 titles. She has also been described as an accomplished storyteller, using characterizations of people, places and things to transport her listeners to the wonderland she creates. She teaches creative writing and literature at California College of the Arts.
For several years, Professsor Philp has participated in the Caribbean Voices workshop, reading from his published collections of poetry and short stories. He has also authored several children’s books tracing his childhood years growing up in Jamaica. Professor Philp teaches English at Miami Dade College.