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In the first quarter of the 20th century, Daniel Thaly of Dominica, then a British Caribbean colony, was one of France’s most celebrated poets. He was educated in Martinique and then at medical school in France before returning to Dominica. His illustrious reputation crumbled when radicals in the emerging anti-colonial Negritude movement criticised his work. From then on he wrote little. Here for the first time in English (and French) we can read a selection of his lyrical and passionate poems - many about Dominica - alongside an introduction that pieces together what little is known of his life.

The Maroons (escaped slaves) of Jamaica are famous. Not so the Maroons of another Caribbean island - Dominica, also a former British colony. Dominica’s Maroons once controlled much of this wild and mountainous island but few details of their story of resistance and ultimate defeat have been known - until now. Written by Dominica’s leading historian, In the Forests of Freedom is a stirring account of how a displaced and enslaved people challenged the British empire in their struggle to create a free and self-sufficient society. From the Africans who took refuge on the island in the 16th century, through the two brutal Maroon Wars in the last decades of slavery, to the building of a post-emancipation nation, In the Forests of Freedom takes the reader deep into the hinterland of the Dominica story.

There is renewed interest in Phyllis Shand Allfrey, author (the Orchid House) and politician from Dominica. Allfrey died in 1986 - her poetry neglected and little known. Her work is now being acclaimed and her place in Caribbean literary cannon assured.Allfrey's biographer, Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, writes in her illuminating introduction that with the renewed academic interest in Allfrey's work and the publication of this collection, Allfrey's time has come. The volume includes all the poems published in her lifetime, some unpublished poems and a sample of her satirical poems written when she was editor and publisher of The Star newspaper in Dominica.This is the first time her poetry has been put together in one volume, spanning five decades, from the 1930s, and reflects the two strands of Allfrey's life - the tropical and the temperate.Phyllis Shand Allfrey was born in Dominica in the eastern Caribbean in 1908. She was a friend of Jean Rhys. Her novel, The Orchid House, was published in 1953 and her short story collection, It Falls into Place, in 2004. She lived in New York and London before returning to Dominica in the early 1950s. She was the co-founder of the Dominica Labour Party and served as a minister in the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958-62). She died in Dominica in 1986.The introduction is by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, Professor of Caribbean Literature at Vassar College New York. Her biography of Allfrey, A Caribbean Life, was published in 1996.

"Crime writing with a harsh edge." - Nicholas Clee, The Guardian"An original and stimulating debut. The narratives are steeped in Caribbean storytelling traditions which Shillingord exploits to deliver penetrating insights on the joys and sorrows of life." - Mike Phillips, award-winning crime writer."The humour made me both chuckle and laugh out loud. What lifts this collection above the usual bang-bang crime story is its attempt to unpick the bigger issues facing the Caribbean. Shillingford deftly and confidently creates stories, which are concerned with dealing with the effects of crime on people's lives. Christborne Shillingford is an exciting and unique addition to the genre." - Dreda Say Mitchell, award-winning crime writer.A first collection from a new voice in crime fiction. Christborne Shillingford's short stories have an anarchic style chronicling the Caribbean adventures of a very amateur detective whose special knack is getting in (and out of) street scrapes. He escapes from drug dens, bent policemen, ghosts, disdainful girlfriends and crazy dogs. These are crime tales from "the block" - a modern, irreverent look straight from the back streets of Dominica.This is Christborne Shillingford's first book. He lives in rural Dominica, his birthplace.

"A woman I won’t forget ... a book that people will love.” Diana Athill, Jean Rhys' publisher and award-winning biographer."My aunt's love of Dominica and its people is as freshly painted as if it happened yesterday." Katie Fforde, novelist.Elma Napier's remarkable memoir chronicles her love affair with the wild Caribbean island of Dominica. It began in 1932 when she turned her back on London's high society to build a home in Calibishie, a remote village on Dominica's north coast. There are tales of literary house parties, of war and death, smugglers and servants and, above all, of stories inspired by her political life as the only woman in a colonial parliament. She writes deftly about the island's turbulent landscapes and her curiosity about the lives and culture of its people.Elma Napier was born in Scotland in 1892, the daughter of Sir William Gordon Cumming, who was accused of cheating while playing cards with the Prince of Wales. After living in Australia for nine years, Napier settled in Dominica with her second husband in 1932. She became the first woman to sit in any West Indian parliament. Apart from Black and White Sands (written in 1962), she wrote two novels and two memoirs of her early life. She died in Dominica in 1973.

"Frankness and insight." New West India GuideWhat happens when people return to the land of their birth after decades away? The migrants' journey is a well-told story but much less is known about those who return. Why do they go back? What is it like to be back home? Home Again is a collection of contemporary real-life stories by men and women who have returned to Dominica. Their feelings and experiences, expressed in their own words, link the challenges of the past to both the positive aspects of return – a sense of belonging and well-being – and also to its difficulties – of rejection and frustration.Compelling, moving and intensely personal, Home Again, is a revealing insight into the lives of these pioneering migrants.

"A moving coming of age story packed with tropical adventure." – Ros AsquithTeenage twins James and Jerome discover that treasure, buried during the days of slavery, is their rightful inheritance. As the boys de-code the clues that will lead to the treasure, they have some strange encounters: there's a helpful parrot, a ghostly figure from the past and a legless man who can walk; they escape from a falling tower and discover a boiling lake. And, of course, there's also an evil stranger who confronts them in an exciting climax.Abraham's Treasure mixes a classical hunt-the-treasure plot with a hint of magical realism to give a real page-turning quality. The twins are typical teenagers who have some very untypical experiences as they desperately strive to reach the treasure – whatever that may be – before their adversary. Great for boys but girls, too, will identify with the twins and also with Petra, an annoying neighbour who is just as smart as they are. And the wild landscape of Dominica makes it a perfect location for a spot of treasure-hunting.Joanne Skerrett was born and brought up in Dominica. She moved with her family to the United States during the 1980s. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BA in English and later attended Northeastern University where she earned an MBA. She also holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a journalist on newspapers including the Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune. Joanne lives in Washington DC where she works as a lawyer. Abraham's Treasure is her fifth novel and her first book for young people.

Look Back! is a children's picture book written by the great team of Trish Cooke (words) and Caroline Binch (illustrations), both of whom are distinguished contributors to children's literature. A magical tale set in the Caribbean and a wonderful evocation of the oral story-telling traditions of the region, it celebrates the relationship between a grandmother (from Dominica) and her grandson as she tells him about her childhood adventures in the rainforest and her encounters with the mysterious Ti Bolom. The rhythms and repetitive patterns of Caribbean language are a rich component of the story – as is typical of Trish's work – and the illustrations have that marvellous realism that is a hallmark of Caroline's many successful books.Trish Cooke (author) is an award-winning author, scriptwriter and actress of Dominican heritage. Born in Bradford, she was inspired to write mostly by her parents who were great storytellers. Her most popular children's book, So Much (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury) won the 0-5 category of the Smarties Book Prize and the Kurt Maschler Award in 1994. She has written plays for stage, TV and radio, including pantomimes, and also runs creative writing workshops.Caroline Binch (illustrator) is an award-winning children's author and illustrator who is probably best known for her illustrations for Amazing Grace, which has become an international best-seller. Her book Hue Boy (written by Rita Phillips Mitchell) won the Smarties Gold Award in 1993 and Gregory Cool, which she wrote and illustrated, was highly commended for the Kate Greenaway medal. Caroline was born in Manchester but now lives by the sea in Cornwall.

There is renewed interest in Phyllis Shand Allfrey, author (the Orchid House) and politician from Dominica. Allfrey died in 1986 - her poetry neglected and little known. Her work is now being acclaimed and her place in Caribbean literary cannon assured.Allfrey's biographer, Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, writes in her illuminating introduction that with the renewed academic interest in Allfrey's work and the publication of this collection, Allfrey's time has come. The volume includes all the poems published in her lifetime, some unpublished poems and a sample of her satirical poems written when she was editor and publisher of The Star newspaper in Dominica.This is the first time her poetry has been put together in one volume, spanning five decades, from the 1930s, and reflects the two strands of Allfrey's life - the tropical and the temperate.Phyllis Shand Allfrey was born in Dominica in the eastern Caribbean in 1908. She was a friend of Jean Rhys. Her novel, The Orchid House, was published in 1953 and her short story collection, It Falls into Place, in 2004. She lived in New York and London before returning to Dominica in the early 1950s. She was the co-founder of the Dominica Labour Party and served as a minister in the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958-62). She died in Dominica in 1986.The introduction is by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, Professor of Caribbean Literature at Vassar College New York. Her biography of Allfrey, A Caribbean Life, was published in 1996.This book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon here.

Your Time Is Done Now tells the story of the Maroons of Dominica and their allies through the transcripts of trials held in 1813 and 1814 during the Second Maroon War.Using the evidence to explain how the Maroons waged war against slave society, the book reveals for the first time fascinating details about how Maroons survived in the forests and also about their relationship with the enslaved on the plantations. It also examines the key role of the British governor who succeeded in suppressing the Maroons and how the Colonial Office in London reacted to his punitive conduct.Read the evidence and hear the voices of the oppressed in resistance and defeat.

Lawrence Scott is a prize-winning Caribbean novelist and short-story writer who was born on a sugar estate in Trinidad. He has been short-listed for Commonwealth Writers' prizes three times, twice nominated for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award, long-listed for the Whitebread Prize and the Booker Prize and was winner of the Tom-Gallon Short-Story Award. His latest novel is Light Falling on Bamboo about the 19th century painter Jean Michel Cazabon. He has travelled extensively in the Caribbean and North and South America where he has lectured, read and talked about his work. Academic research has included the Golconda Research/Writing Project, a "public history" project which involved the recording and transcribing of oral histories from "The Sugar" in Trinidad. Leaving by Plane Swimming Back Underwater is his second short-story collection. He lives and work in both London and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Gone to Drift is the first Young Adult novel from the Jamaican writer Diana McCaulay, and was placed second in the 2015 Burt Prize for Caribbean Literature.Truth? Respect? Survival? Gone to Drift tells the story of Lloyd, a 12-year-old Jamaican boy, and his search for his beloved grandfather, Maas Conrad, a fisherman who is lost at sea. Lloyd suspects that his grandfather has witnessed an illegal capture of dolphins for the tourist trade and that he has been hurt, perhaps even killed. No one wants to help Lloyd except for an uptown girl who studies dolphins, his best friend Dwight and a mad man called Slowly on a sun-baked beach.Interspersed with Lloyd’s quest on land and sea is a second voice – of Maas Conrad himself, who, unknown to Lloyd is alive but marooned on a rock. In this exciting adventure story Lloyd discovers that the enemies of his grandfather – and of the Caribbean Sea that he loves – are closer to home than he could ever imagine.“This is my first novel for young adults,” says McCaulay, “and as reading meant so much to me as a teenager, I’m hoping Gone to Drift will be read and enjoyed by many Caribbean young people. I wanted to pay tribute to our long tradition of fishermen, and I’m so grateful the Burt Award has made that possible. I’m also thrilled that Gone to Drift is published by Papillote Press, a Caribbean publishing house which I’ve long admired.”Gone to Drift follows on from McCaulay’s two acclaimed novels, Dog-Heart (2010) and Huracan (2012) and is built on her 2012 Regional Commonwealth prize-winning short story, The Dolphin Catchers (Granta Online).

After many years out of print this enticing and hugely autobiographical novel is back. Its new and incisive introduction by the Dominican scholar Schuyler Esprit casts a fresh and contemporary eye on Allfrey’s life and work.First published in 1953, it was republished in 1982 as a Virago Modern Classic. Three white sisters return to their Caribbean island home to find their family living in poverty and mental anguish. Each sister responds to the family’s plight in different ways — seeking change through romance or politics or money.The Orchid House describes a colonial society in decay as seen through the (usually) loyal eyes of the sisters’ childhood nurse, Lally: “Beauty and disease, beauty and sickness, beauty and horror: that was the island.”

International giants, regional stars, local heroes and self-published unknowns all have their place in this masterful author index from the eastern Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. It also includes those who have written about Saint Lucia and Caribbean writers whose work has influenced the development of Saint Lucian life and literature. It’s a bibliography which, in its all-embracing reach (It includes funeral programmes and recipe books), reflects the creative, cultural, political and economic world of this small island. In bringing Saint Lucia to life, it is a magnificent resource for discovery and research, beyond its most famous son, the Nobel Laureate writer Derek Walcott.

An A-Z of Neglected Writers of the Anglophone Caribbean makes a major contribution to providing a fuller picture of the region's rich literary history. It both restores our knowledge of writers whose lives and work have slipped out of view while heralding others whose work has never been properly recognised. Offering a fascinating insight into the worlds of these 'lost' writers, this A-Z also provides future researchers with a comprehensive bibliography of their forgotten works. An inspiring reclaiming of writers, especially women, from Antigua, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad: those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time; those disregarded by the establishment; those whose personal or professional lives stole their writing lives; those who suffered discrimination; those who wrote about the “wrong” things. All are celebrated in this brilliantly researched and compiled book.

"I am honoured as a Kalinago leader to be part of this wonderful work as it relates to the history of our people,” says Irvince Auguiste, former Kalinago Chief.What happened to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean in the wake of the European adventurers who claimed to have “discovered” them? While in some parts of the region they were decimated within a generation, others, such as the Kalinagos of Dominica and the Lesser Antilles, resisted the onslaught. This is the first book to examine the long story - from pre-Columbian times to the present day - of the Kalinagos. Written by a Dominican whose knowledge of the Kalinagos is unsurpassed, in remarkable detail it sheds new light on how they have shifted identities from the early years of resistance, through tactical retreat to eventual revival of Kalinago tradition into the 21st century.

'Imprinted' is a personal story and social history of reading and the development of a literary culture in the Caribbean. It explores the places and spaces of such a cultural journey, during and after the colonial period, in particular in Dominica, the author's birthplace. Entwined within this critique is the story of the author's own reading history, from being a child reader devouring the library (Black Power heroes and romance fiction) of her family home in Dominica to the concerns of a literary scholar of a digital age. A remarkable investigation full of personal reflection and awareness of the social, political and economic dynamics - and constraints - that shape Caribbean reading experiences.

"A joy to read," says TS Eliot prize winner Roger Robinson. This first poetry collection by the award-winning Trinidadian novelist Lawrence Scott reflects on the paintings and places of of the 19th-century Trinidadian artist Michel Jean Cazabon, the subject of Scott's novel, Light Falling on Bamboo. Beautifully crafted, these highly regarded poems, most in sonnet form, celebrate the landscape of Trinidad and remembrance of loves and old friendships while evoking both the historical and contemporary violence of its society.

The first biography of JR Ralph Casimir (1898-1986), a Pan-Africanist and poet from the Caribbean island of Dominica. This biography, lovingly written by his grand-daughter, explores his political and personal life. In particular it examines his involvement with Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) of which he was a founding member, organiser and agent for Garvey’s Black Star Line. He committed his life to opposing the discrimination woven in to the British colonial system. A teacher, bookbinder, and lawyer’s clerk, he was also a prolific poet and editor of Dominica’s first poetry anthology.

Grittier than TV’s ‘A Death in Paradise’, this crime novel is set in the rural Caribbean (St Lucia) where traditional allegiances and a moribund criminal justice system provide a backdrop to the rape and murder of a young girl. When her father is accused of the crime, her brother joins the police to try and clear their father's name. While the suspect languishes in jail on remand, the young detective makes some alarming discoveries. Thwarted by his mother but supported by his girlfriend, a horrible truth finally emerges.

Set in the Caribbean - from Jamaica to Trinidad, Barbados to Dominica, the author’s birthplace - this sparkling collection of stories from one of the Caribbean’s foremost cultural activists is full of surprises, both in style and intent. Characters and plots have a compelling intimacy and warmth that reflect the tragedies and triumphs of the region.

Still Standing tells the story of the traditional wooden homes (known as ti kais) of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean. This gorgeously illustrated book pays tribute to these humble buildings that have withstood hurricanes and earthquakes since the end of slavery. Often ignored and now in danger from development, this unique vernacular architecture is is an important part of Dominica’s rich creole culture.

“A beautifully illustrated poetic depiction of an island I love with all my heart.” Trish Cooke"A feast for the ears and eyes." Margaret Bateson-Hill"The rhythms, sights and sounds of the Caribbean are beautifully captured. A real joy!" Valerie BloomSaying good night “to all things we love”: in a homage to a magical Caribbean island, Good Night Sweet Island takes the reader through a poetic and visually stimulating journey. Each verse celebrates aspects of tropical island life: birds and animals, dance and music, fruit and food, rivers and forests, sea and beach. As the sun goes down, a child says a dreamy good night to all the rich experiences of the day.

Much admired by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, the poetry of the St Lucian poet Irvin Desir is published here for the first time. Often visionary, these poems contain such images as “fireflies heave for heaven” and “you filled this cluttered room like a handful of clove”. Published in only a few anthologies during his life, this posthumous collection at last brings to our attention a voice too long unknown.Islander viiI shall see you through the cold shorelinewhere the wind carries and slides over the sandwherever we search death haunts useverywhere the distracted petals have goneour words fade, fade like mist over the mountainour words add to the silence like lifting dust.

It is 1957 in Marianao, a suburb of Havana. Adela Santiago is 13 years old and lives in a small blue house with her mother, father, brother, and grandfather. And yet something is amiss. The students on her street are disappearing. Not only that but her parents' marriage seems to be disintegrating and her cousin is caught up in a bombing at the Hotel Nacional. Welcome to a world where a revolution is brewing. Welcome to Cuba. An insight into what it is like to be young when bad things happen and it is not your fault.

A coming-of-age tale with a twist: a 14-year-old clinically depressed Trinidadian girl, who has attempted suicide, is banished by her mother to Canada to live with her aunt. She feels lonely in exile. Adding to this estrangement is the fact that her aunt is a lesbian - which is deemed shameful in Trinidad. But with the help of a boy and her Skyping best friend "back home" in Trinidad, she begins to accept her new family and her illness. Then her mother arrives and threatens to take her back to Trinidad. Where then is home?

'They tell you one thing but you are not free.' London in 1802 is a dangerous place for black people, unsure of their legal status and threatened by slave catchers. Elizabeth d’Aviniere, the mixed race great-niece of the Lord Chief Justice, who had spent her childhood in his home, now fears for her own children’s safety and yearns for her mother, an African-born enslaved woman. Why did she no longer write? Was she dead? Had she been recaptured?Dangerous Freedom weaves fact with fiction to reveal 'the great deception' exercised by the powerful on the child known as Dido as seen through the eyes of the adult Elizabeth. This magnificent and radical portrayal of a known historical character adds to our understanding of a trauma that continues to exist just below the surface of contemporary life.

Riff explores the turbulent life of the Caribbean musician and poet Shake Keane (1927-97). A trend-setting but troubled Caribbean icon, he absorbed many of the themes of the 20th century - colonialism, migration and masculinity. Each of them found expression in his work. Born in St Vincent, he migrated to London in the early 1950s where he became an important figure in the free form jazz scene. A return to his birthplace was blighted by politics, and his last decades were spent in self-imposed exile in New York City and Norway. 'This beautiful, evocative biography of Shake Keane explores with equal passion Keane’s double life as poet and musician and his innovation as a virtuoso in both art forms. Nanton brilliantly contextualises Keane’s life through the multiple lenses of Caribbean nationalism, post-war migration and the formation of Caribbean literary identity. A compelling and captivating read'- Hannah Lowe'The story of Shake Keane has never been more inspiring or relevant to the times in which we live. Born in St Vincent, the trumpeter was an integral part of innovative bands led by Joe Harriott and Michael Garrick in the 1960s, and defied expectations of what a West Indian musician could achieve in post-war Britain. Keane was also an accomplished poet with a sharp wit and strident humour. Philip Nanton’s excellent biography creates an engaging portrait of a restless, complex soul'- Kevin Le Gendre

"What a powerful writer…. A Caribbean One Hundred Years of Solitude." Fay Weldon"Why was this book overlooked?" Salman Rushdie"Rare and magical. The first of its kind… wonderful evocative language; complete emotional range; a loving, touching insight into human and family relationships. Sam SelvonWitchbroom is a visionary history of a Caribbean Spanish/French Creole family and an island over four centuries to 20th-century independence. With an innovative tone and content, its carnival tales of crime and passion are told by the narrator Lavren, who is both male and female.First published in 1992, Witchbroom became a Caribbean classic. The follow-ing year it became a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, broadcast over eight nights and read by the author. It was shortlisted for a Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book.A pioneering work, it heralded a new generation of modernist Caribbean writers who, like Scott, broke away from a predominantly realist literary tradition; Witchbroom identifes more with magic realism. A richly entertaining and many layered read, its hermaphrodite narrator brings a contemporary flavour to the novel.The title Witchbroom refers to a fungus that attacks cocoa trees, and is also used as a metaphor for the decline of the island s plantocracy.