LiteraSEA - Holiday Book Drive For Caribbean Youth

Dear friends and family, please join me in supporting Caribbean authors and Caribbean youth this year!

Why this cause is important to me:

I was born into a Caribbean family who raised me with an appreciation for literacy and the arts. This blessing has benefitted me tremendously - personally, professionally, and beyond.

Reading is key to unlocking every child’s full potential. A good education is of course about much more than just reading - but being able to read well is the foundation upon which so much else depends: children first ‘learn to read’ and then they ‘read to learn’.

Literacy is also a critical route out of poverty and a provider of opportunity in life and work. Young children who enjoy reading independently will open the door to new discoveries and wide interests - to knowledge, creativity, understanding, and confidence.

Your donation will go directly towards the purchase of children's books written by Caribbean authors. These books will be distributed to school systems in Jamaica - with a special focus on the Treasure Beach community - a magical place very close to my heart!

If you would rather purchase a book directly, that is wonderful! Please email me through this platform so that I can arrange to pick it up from you. All I ask is that it is a children's book written by a Caribbean author.

I am also incredibly proud to be collaborating with Bookman Express and their children's imprint Sapling Books in special support of two of their publications - Ian Takes Flight by Richard Nattoo and Here Comes The Morning by Protoje and The Bookboys!

Bookman Express (BEx) is a family-operated publishing house established in 2011 when arts advocate Dutty Bookman encountered the challenges of publishing his first book. He formed the company as a platform for other creatives to develop their careers in professional authorship, and BEx has since been growing steadily towards a long-lasting legacy with support from his wife, Sasha. Their sons, Azibo and Gyasi (also known as The Bookboys), have also taken on meaningful responsibilities for the company, especially related to Sapling Books, their children’s book imprint established in 2020.

They are founded on the conviction that everyone has a unique story to tell and that our collective story is simply all our individual stories combined. By focusing on Caribbean, Afrocentric and other Indigenous perspectives, they intend to grow a catalog of relatable content to enhance reading culture and support a balance of representation in the world of literature.

In their view, culture is the last stand, and social and personal transformation is possible through advancing stories that unlock the most creative elements inside of us.

BEx is guided by an openness to the unique ways that stories can be shared. Their approach to publishing includes working with writers, visual artists, photographers, activists, musicians, the youth and the elders to jointly develop projects. They cherish their community of collaborators who reflect values of cultural integrity and self-determination.