Nominees for the Guyana Prize for Literature will be shortlisted soon and President Bharrat Jagdeo will confer prizes on the winners at a convocation ceremony planned for August 31.
Members of the Guyana Prize for Literature Judging Panel and Management Committee recently updated the president on their progress, during a recent meeting at State House, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).
It said the names of shortlisted candidates will be published in the lead up to the award ceremony.
University of Guyana Professor Al Creighton, who was among the committee members at the meeting, said, “The judges have decided on the shortlist in all the categories, fiction, poetry and drama and we will be making an announcement about which books, which writers have made it to the shortlist and then also the next thing that is going to happen is the actual awards ceremony for the prize.” Committee members Elfrieda Bissember, Victor Ramraj, Alim Hosein and Gwyneth George also attended the meeting.
The Guyana Prize for Literature has been giving recognition to Guyanese writers since 1987 as stimulus for the development of good creative writing among Guyanese and Caribbean writers, GINA said. In 2010, it added, government provided funds to the Management Committee for the first Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award, starting with the Prize for 2010. Three Awards were being offered in the categories of Fiction, Poetry and Drama, with a US$5,000 prize for the winner in each category.
