The BVI Literary Arts Festival will run from November 7 to 10, 2024, under the theme 'Roots to Routes'. Photo: Provided

The BVI Literary Arts Festival begins today, November 7, 2024, with a public lecture by BAFTA winning historian and lecturer David A. Olusoga. Photo: BVI Literary Arts Festival

The 2024 BVI Literary Arts Festival is a four-day event catering to both adults and children. Photo: BVI Literary Arts Festival

A scene from BVI List Fest 2023. Photo: HLSCC

A scene from BVI List Fest 2023. Photo: HLSCC

A scene from BVI List Fest 2023. Photo: HLSCC

The Lit Fest put on by the BVI Lit Fest Committee at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) is being held this year under the theme ‘Roots to Routes’.

The festival is being held as part of the BVI Culture and Tourism Month activities.

Four-days of activities

Beginning at 4:00 PM, today, the public lecture entitled ‘Being and Belonging’ will see Mr Olusoga explore concepts of identity and citizenship in the context of the UK and the Overseas Territories, HLSCC President Dr Richard W. Georges told Virgin Islands News Online (VINO).

Later, a welcome reception for the writers and sponsors will be held at the Allamanda Estate Villa on Beef Island. Tickets are available for $100.00 for the public to attend.

Friday, November 8, 2024, will see the Let’s Talk Lit event, with panel discussions, readings and films. This will be held at the HLSCC grounds from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and is free and open to the public. In the evening, an event dubbed Sunset Stories will be held at Brandywine Estate Restaurant.

Saturday, November 9, 2024, promises to be a fun-filled day with the Literary Wonderland aimed at children ages 4 to 12 years old. There will also be a Light A Fire: Poets Showcase at Sushi Bar, and a Writing with Writers' Workshop at HLSCC Main Campus in Paraquita Bay.

The Lit Fest concludes on Sunday, November 10 with a Book Brunch at 1748 Restaurant, Long Bay Beach Resort.

Tickets to the Lit Fest’s evening events are available for purchase.

Lit Fest extended to Virgin Gorda

With last year’s Lit Fest being a success, Dr Georges said they needed to make an impact across the Territory and not just Tortola, and so this year, Virgin Gorda was included.

“A part of our mission is to improve literacy, we therefore have a fun children’s programme we call Literary Wonderland which includes reading, games, and activities to get children excited about reading and writing.”

The Literary Wonderland was brought to Virgin Gorda, before the official festival, on October 5, 2024, and according to Dr Georges, children turned out in numbers.

Lit Fest as a cultural tourism product

Meanwhile, Dr Georges said the team sees the future of the BVI Lit Fest as one where “a growing number of people begin to come to the BVI for the festival as an aspect of our cultural tourism product”.

The festival, he said, is meant to foster a culture of reading at all ages and levels, in addition to bringing Caribbean literature to the Virgin Islands and making the community aware of wider regional literature and the VI’s own literary tradition.

Dr Georges added that the Lit Fest also provides local writers with the opportunity to develop their own writing and gain exposure to literary agents and publishers.