Eight writers will receive awards from the seventh annual Frank
Collymore Literary Competition in an Awards Ceremony on
Saturday, January 8, 2005 in the Inner Courtyard of the Tom
Adams Financial Centre. These awards are funded by the
Central Bank of Barbados, who established the Frank Collymore
Literary Endowment in 1998 to assist in the promotion of the
literary arts in Barbados.

The best three writers from a list of nearly thirty entrants to the
competition sponsored by the Central Bank of Barbados, will
share BDS$20,000 in prizes. Two of the prizes will go to
first-time winners. The panel of judges also found four other
entries worthy of honourable mention.

For the third consecutive year, a writer will receive the Prime
Minister’s Award. Initiated by the Right Honourable Owen Arthur,
this award is presented to an entry that strongly deserves
recognition and encouragement for quality of writing; and that
reflects on Barbadian culture and identity in an original and
provocative way.

Endowment Chairman, Andy Taitt, said that the judges were
especially challenged this year by a number of writers willing to
experiment both with form and content. “Several times we had to
stop and revise our first impressions,” the Chairman said, “to ask
ourselves if a writer was trying to do more than we had at first noticed. And even where the work did not eventually reach the
standard we hoped for, it is refreshing to see writers with the
courage to take chances and go beyond the usual. Especially
where the stakes are so high.”

The judges noted that the Frank Collymore Literary Competition,
named for one of the most important figures in West Indian
literature, continues to attract a wide range of talented writers,
and to serve an important function in identifying the strengths
and needs of writers in Barbados.