Stephanie Castillo (
The Oprah Magazine) shares the “7 best Caribbean books for your 2021 reading list, according to Rebel Women Lit’s Readers’ Awards.” These are the 7 choices:
Best Fiction:
Best Non-Fiction:
Best Poetry:
Best Translation:
Best Short Story Collection:
Best YA:
Best Middle Grade:
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Jherane Patmore doesn’t need a reason to celebrate Caribbean literature.
The 25-year-old founded Rebel Women Lit in 2017, a book club turned literary community in Jamaica and beyond, to help readers diversify their reading lists. Toward the end of 2020, Patmore, who lives in Jamaica, realized she didn’t have to wait for major book awards to recognize all the great work that was coming out of the Caribbean not when she could do it herself. So, without a fancy judge’s panel or prizes, she organized the first-ever Caribbean Readers’ Awards to highlight books written by Caribbean authors and/or set in the region.
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RWL announces Winners of the Caribbean Readers’ Awards 2020
Rebel Women Lit (RWL) recently announced the Winners of the Caribbean Readers’ Awards 2020. Our warmest congratulations to all the winners (listed below).
As RWL explains, The Caribbean Readers’ Award recognizes outstanding works in Caribbean Literature. The prize is given to one fiction novel, YA novel, middle grade/tween novel, nonfiction works, short stories, and translated literature. RWL also recognized individuals who embody the spirit of Rebel Women Lit and have made recognizable contributions in their field and in the Caribbean Literature community. The selected awardees are highlighted as Rebel Women Lit Critics and Honorees.
Jherane Patmore
Rebel Women Lit, a Jamaican book club turned global literary community, launched their Caribbean Readers’ Awards Nominations on December 1, 2020. These awards are entirely reader-led and will highlight books written by authors who are of Caribbean citizenship, were born in the Caribbean, or are of Caribbean heritage and have significant portions of the book set in the Caribbean.
Jherane Patmore, Founder of Rebel Women Lit, said, “Caribbean literature is so much more diverse than our scholastic reading lists would suggest, which is why Rebel Women Lit decided to create these awards so that we can showcase the amazing range that Caribbean lit has to offer.”
Book lovers have spoken and the nominations are in for the inaugural Caribbean Readers’ Awards, hosted by Rebel Women Lit. Launched on December 1, 2020, phase one of the awards saw readers putting forward their favourite Caribbean books published between November 2019 and November 2020.
Now, with the shortlists revealed, the voting phase of the awards has commenced and everyone is encouraged to vote for their top picks in each category. Voting ends on December 31, 2020, and the winners will be announced at the online awards ceremony on January 3, 2021.
“It’s been so heartening to see the response to the awards so far. So many good books were nominated - some that got a lot of support and publicity from the bookish community and traditional media, as well as some that hadn’t, so this also provides a great opportunity for readers to discover some hidden treasures. The reception to the awards so far has been fantastic as well, and the number of nominations, along with the earl
In Jamaica, Rebel Women Lit Launches the Caribbean Readers’ Awards
Book club and literary community Rebel Women Lit aims to ‘showcase the amazing range’ of Caribbean literature with the newly launched Caribbean Readers’ Awards.
Shortlisted titles for the 2020 edition of the newly launched Caribbean Readers’ Awards. Image: Rebel Women Lit
By Hannah Johnson | @hannahsjohnson
‘2020 Was a Big Year for Caribbean Authors’
Voting is now open for the debut cycle of the Caribbean Readers’ Awards, a new initiative from the Jamaica-based book club and literary community Rebel Women Lit, founded in 2017 by Jherane Patmore.
“Caribbean literature is so much more diverse than our scholastic reading lists would suggest,” says Patmore in a prepared statement on the launch of the awards. “Rebel Women Lit decided to create these awards so that we can showcase the amazing range that Caribbean lit has to offer.”