The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is now welcoming submissions from Caribbean writers. The prestigious Prize is an annual award for literary books by Caribbean writers, first presented in 2011. Books are judged in three categories: poetry; fiction — both novels and collections of short stories; and literary nonfiction — including books of essays, biography and autobiography, history, current affairs, travel, and other genres, which demonstrate literary qualities and use literary techniques, regardless of subject matter.
A panel of three judges for each genre category, will determine category shortlists and winners.
The three category winners are then judged by a panel of four judges — consisting of the chairs of the category panels and the prize chair — who determine the overall winner.
The author of the book judged the overall winner will receive an award of US$10,000. The other category winners will receive US$3,000.
Earlier this year, the Prize celebrated its 15th anniversary. At the Awards Ceremony, One Caribbean Media‘s CEO, Dawn Thomas expressed the group’s continuous support “One Caribbean Media will continue to invest in the arts, in storytelling, and in the voices that represent the heart and soul of our Caribbean communities. We believe that these stories, ‘our stories’ are vital, not only for cultural preservation, but also for societal progress. They serve as a mirror to our struggles and triumphs, as well as a window into the richness of our traditions, languages, and histories.”
Photo: ROBERT TAYLOR
The Overall and Fiction winner for the 2025 Prize is Village Weavers, a novel by Haitian-Canadian-American writer Myriam J.A. Chancy .
The Poetry category winner is Polkadot Wounds, by Anthony Vahni Capildeo, TT-born British writer; while the prize doe Non-Fiction went to by Dionne Brand for Salvage: Readings from the Wreck.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for entry for the 2026 prize, a book must:
1. Have been first published in the calendar year 2025 (1 January to 31 December);
2. Have been written by a single author who either holds Caribbean citizenship or was born in the Caribbean (this must be verified by the publisher), regardless of current place of residence; or who is a legal permanent resident of an independent Caribbean country;
3. Have been written by an author who is living on 31 December, 2025;
4. Have been written and first published in English originally (i.e. translations are not eligible);
5. Be a new work, previously unpublished in book form (though collections including poems, stories, essays, or other short pieces that have individually appeared in print in periodicals or anthologies are eligible).
Note: textbooks, technical books, pictorial coffee-table books, specialist publications, and reference works are not eligible.
For more information and eligibility guidelines, please visit: https://www.bocaslitfest.com/awards/ocm/guidelines/
The Entry Form is available here.
For any queries about eligibility requirements or the submission process, please contact the prize administrators at: info@bocaslitfest.com
