Scores of book lovers turned out for the launch and reading of excerpts from award-winning Jamaican author Peta-Gaye Nash’s latest tome ‘Told Ya!’, a collection of short fiction stories.   

The launch took place last Saturday (July 20) at Bookophilia in Kingston.

The collection offers a poignant glimpse into the lives of diverse characters grappling with identity and societal expectations. The last six stories are loosely linked; providing a nuanced exploration of interconnected lives and shared experiences, set against the backdrop of the Caribbean and Canada. The characters confront their own biases and prejudices and are forced to reckon with the complexities of their relationships and the legacy of colonialism that shapes their world. 

Guest speaker Dr Kim Robinson-Walcott gave the audience an insight into the nuances of the book and a glimpse into the relationship between the stories.  Dr Robinson Walcott recently retired as editor of the culture journals ‘Caribbean Quarterly‘ (University of the West Indies, 2010-23) and ‘Jamaica Journal‘ (Institute of Jamaica, 2002-24).  She is the author of ‘Out of Order: Anthony Winkler and White West Indian Writing‘ (2006),  the co-author of ‘Jamaican Art‘ (1989,2011), and the author and illustrator of the children’s books ‘Dale’s Mango Tree‘ (1992) and ‘Pat the Cat‘ (2018).  

In presenting her review of ‘Told Ya!’, Dr. Robinson-Walcott said Nash’s stories are full of social commentary – middle-class privilege versus lower-class desperation – which uses humour to cloak the disturbing social realities.

“Unfortunately, there is not much to laugh about a 13-year-old girl approaching an elderly man in an office parking lot in Kingston for financial help in return for sexual favours;  a 12-year-old prepubescent girl being targeted by the local don as his next sexual victim; or a woman who has been sexually harassed then assaulted at the workplace having no recourse but to migrate after the perpetrator is promoted while she is demeaned and her ordeal dismissed.

“Half the stories stand alone, and the other half (the last six stories) are linked by the characters Matthew Howard (the man approached by the 13-year-old in the parking lot in the story ‘You Cute Eeh’) and the main character in the title story ‘Told Ya!‘, Earl Stanley, who rescues the child in the story ‘Saved from the Don’ and their friend Danny Singh.

Born in Kingston, Nash has been living in Ontario for over 20 years.  She is also the author of short adult fiction, ‘I Too Hear the Drums’, and seven children’s books, all available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Her short stories and poems have appeared in several anthologies and she blogs on her website www.petagayenash.com  In 2015, she won the Mississauga Arts Awards (The Marty’s) for Emerging Literary Art, with another Established Literary Art in 2022, followed by two Observer Literary Awards.