Venerating his role in preserving generations of Caribbean culture and thought in print, the Guyana-born, UK-based Arif Ali, founder of Hansib Publications, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters. Founded in 2013, the Bocas Henry Swanzy Award is named for Anglo-Irish BBC producer Henry Swanzy, whose career at the Caribbean Voices radio programme from 1946 to 1954 was transformative for West Indian writers of the time.
Following in the footsteps of Jamaican Una Marson, the first Caribbean Voices editor, Swanzy played a vital role in promoting Caribbean writing to regional and international audiences at the start of the postwar publishing boom. Created by the Bocas Lit Fest in Swanzy’s memory, this award celebrates the contributions of editors, broadcasters, publishers, critics, and others who have devoted their careers to developing Caribbean literature.