Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival: Writing for the Future

WRITING FOR THE FUTURE

Guest Authors: Lorraine Avila, P. Djeli Clark, Shakirah Bourne

Conversation Partner: Tanya Batson-Savage

Date: Sun 10 Sept @ 2pm

Where: NYU Brooklyn - 370 Jay Street

Djeli and Lorraine are all writers of stories for young readers. In following their calling to write, they have chosen the path that takes them back to their familial lands, which sometimes stretches all the way back to Africa. They each mine the vast storehouses of their Caribbean ancestries for inspiration and invite young readers, generations removed from venerable lore and myth, to feast at a smorgasbord of narratives which often combines tribal wisdom, pre-modern civilisations and the supernatural. Young heroines battle for supremacy with ancient sea witches. School-aged students channel the spiritual practices of their ancestors, and guided by divine visions, save communities. Children are reluctant inductees into societies of magic where they find the confidence to fell giants…