Support your Favourite Finalist at the National Poetry Slam
Secure your seat and be part of the moment.
The finalists represent a dynamic mix of emerging and established spoken word artists, all eager to compete for the country’s most celebrated spoken word title. Taking the stage in the Grand Slam will be Renaldo Briggs, Colleen Cleghorn, Alicia Psyche Haynes, Rickibah Isaac, Johchele Johnson, Shimiah Lewis, Derron Sandy, Alexandra Stewart, and Seth Sylvester, who will challenge the 2025 defending champion, Shaquille Warren. The standby poets are Ronaldo Mohammed and Geron Ruiz.
Bocas Lit Fest 2026 Programme is LIVE!
“All Together Now” at 2026 Bocas Lit Fest
This year’s edition of the Anglophone Caribbean’s largest literary festival, set to run from Thursday 30 April to Sunday 3 May, has the theme “All Together Now”. Literature as community will be in focus at the 2026 Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s annual festival of words, stories, and ideas, which launched its programme today.
Family Reading Circle, Festival Edition
Join us on Saturday 2 May 2026
The beloved and popular Family Reading Circle Festival Edition in partnership with Let’s Read is back! Bring the little ones 12 and under to enjoy readings and interactive activities by writers of the latest children’s books and some of your favourite local writers.
CountMeInTT Multiplication Challenge
Join us on Saturday 2 May 2026
Tell your story with maths! The CountMeInTT Multiplication Challenge is a fast-paced interactive math activity where students race against the clock to complete a multiplication grid. It’s a fun way for children to build confidence in mathematics while competing with other young learners.
Kaiso Conversations: 3Canal
Get your ticket and join us on Friday, 1 May 2026
Following the resounding success of the inaugural Kaiso Conversations event featuring David Rudder in January, the Bocas Lit Fest will present the second instalment in the fundraising series — an intimate, thought-provoking conversation with Rapso standard-bearers 3canal about their songwriting process, in discussion with series creator, the music critic Nigel A. Campbell. CTA: Patrons are encouraged to buy tickets early, as space is limited.
ANNOUNCING THE GENRE CATEGORY WINNERS!
The OCM BOCAS PRIZE for Caribbean Literature 2026
The judges for the 2026 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature have announced the winners in the three genre categories. The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, first presented in 2011, is an annual award for literary books by Caribbean writers.
2026 Festival
30 April - 3 May, Port of Spain
Trinidad & Tobago
2026 Festival Sponsors
The Bocas Lit Fest is both a year-round organisation dedicated to developing writing and literary arts, and the name of Trinidad and Tobago’s premier annual literary festival.
Our Festival
The annual Bocas Lit Fest is a vibrant celebration of books, writers, and ideas, bringing together voices from the Caribbean and around the world.
Literary Hub
Weekdays: 10 AM – 5 PM
Weekends: Closed
Weekdays: 10 AM – 5 PM
Saturday: 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday: Closed
Weekdays: 7 AM – 6 PM
Weekends: 9 AM – 4 PM
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2026 featured festival participants
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BIOS AND BOOKMARKS
Bios & Bookmarks is an online reading series with popular authors, featuring readings and discussions with both familiar and new Caribbean writers across the region and diaspora. Season 8 of Bios & Bookmarks explored “The Complexity of Caribbean Love”.
WE LIT!
We Lit is a youth-centred programme using reading, writing, and performance to empower secondary school students across Trinidad and Tobago, combining creative expression with academic support in English and Literature.
WRITE AWAY!
The Write Away! offers engaging digital content to support online English classes, available to all secondary schools via the Ministry of Education’s School Learning Management System. The Non-Fiction Series is now open for registration.
BOCAS STORYTIME
Every year our storytellers encourage children in our storytelling caravan to create their own stories based on a suggested title. All the ideas from the different storytelling sessions are recorded and published in a book with the children credited as the authors!
