Bocas Lit Fest

Founded in 2011, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in April is Trinidad and Tobago’s premier annual literary festival: a lively celebration of books, writers, writing, and ideas, with a Caribbean focus and international scope.

The Festival brings together readers and writers from Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, and the wider world for a thrilling programme of readings, performances, workshops, discussions, film screenings, and more.

The Festival also includes a full programme of activities for younger readers, The NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest. There is a month-long storytelling caravan around the country on Saturdays throughout the month of April, plus readings, creative writing workshops and performances by children’s authors, alongside the main Festival.

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest takes place at the National Library and the adjoining Old Fire Station in downtown Port of Spain. An entire city block in the heart of the capital is transformed into a vibrant Festival Village, including performance stages open to the street, booksellers’ stalls with hundreds of titles on sale, and space to eat, drink, and relax. There are also satellite evening events at venues around the city.

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the first major literary festival held in Trinidad and Tobago and the southern Caribbean, is a lively, energetic, enjoyable celebration of words, stories, and ideas, with events for everyone — from budding writers to avid readers to schoolchildren. All readings, panels, and performances are free and open to the public.

The main festival in Port of Spain has launched two more literary festivals in Tobago and San Fernando.

The 2018 NGC Bocas Lit Fest starts on Wednesday 25 April with the preservation and Conservation Workshop. It's five days full of readings, performances, films, workshops, and discussions. As always, there will be activities for children too. The 2016 NGC Bocas Lit Fest ends on Sunday 29 April 2018. 

Trinidad and Tobago, at the southern end of the Caribbean.

Main venues:

• The National Library and Old Fire Station, downtown Port of Spain, Trinidad
• Scarborough Library, Garden Side Street, Scarborough, Tobago
• San Fernando Hill, San Fernando, Trinidad

 *Please full events PDF file further down.

• To celebrate the Caribbean’s literary achievements in a festive atmosphere
• To broaden our cultural capital into an area in which we have already excelled, and to which many aspire
• To foster interest in reading and writing
• To help demystify books and improve literacy
• To help sustain the book industry, which supports this
• To expand our idea of literature by including performance poetry and raps
• To exploit and enhance our presence on the world stage
• To administer annual prizes for Caribbean writers

The Bocas Lit Fest is a registered non-profit company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to running three literary festivals in Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain; Tobago; and San Fernando), we are a year-round writing and literary arts development organisation, with numerous initiatives forging links and opportunities between writers, readers, publishers and others. We also administer major regional writing prizes which provide crucial support for Caribbean writers.