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CARIB | Jun 20, 2021

Walter Rodney annual non-fiction writing competition launched

/ Our Today

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Noted Jamaican poet and activist, Linton Kwesi Johnson among the distinguished panel of judges

Pluto Press, Plutio Educational Trust (PET) and the Walter Rodney Foundation (WRF) have teamed up to launch the annual non-fiction Dr Walter Rodney Writing Competition.

The competition celebrates the life and work of the late Guyanese writer and political activist, while reflecting and advancing the impact of his thinking on scholars and organizers. A panel of judges, featuring noted Jamaican poet and activist, Linton Kwesi Johnson as well as scholars, Stella Dadzie and Dzodzi Tsikata have been confirmed for the inaugural non-fiction Walter Rodney Writing Prize.

The prize will award £4,000 to a woman or non-binary first-time author with citizenship of an African or Caribbean country. Johnson is also a reggae icon while Dadzie is a historian and Tsikata, an academic will judge the submissions.

They will release a long list on October 1, followed by the short list announcement on November 15.

In a joint statement on behalf of the foundation, Rodney’s widow, Pat and children Shaka and Asha commented: “We share the united vision of working towards the inclusion of all people of Africa and the Caribbean in global conversations and to explore and support platforms for these voices to be heard. We envision that this WRF-Pluto Press-PET collaboration will serve as a model for future activities and we are excited to build a long-lasting partnership and legacy through literary works.

“We are over the moon that Dzodzi, Stella and Linton are bringing their knowledge and passion to the judging panel and are particularly excited for shortlist nominees to have their work read by three pioneering anti-colonial thinkers,” added Neda Tehrani, editor at Pluto Press.

Competition details

Submissions should comprise of a proposal alongside sample writing and writers should demonstrate the influence of Rodney’s ideas on their own work. The winner of the prize will receive a £4,000 writing grant, alongside access to Pluto, PET and WRF’s combined global network of contacts.

Their debut book will be published by Pluto Press. Submissions are open until August 23 at 11.59 p.m. The winner of the prize will be announced in early 2022 at an online ceremony.

Rodney’s contribution to Caribbean society

Dr Walter Anthony Rodney was a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and academic, who was assassinated in 1980 in his home country. He was also a strong critic of capitalism and argued that only under “the banner of Socialism and through the leadership of the working classes” could Africa break from imperialism.

University of the West Indies (UWI) students march in protest against the banning of UWI lecturer, Walter Rodney. (Photo: UWI)

On October 15, 1968, the Jamaican government, led by prime minister Hugh Shearer, declared Rodney persona non grata. The decision to ban him from ever returning to Jamaica and his subsequent dismissal by the University of the West Indies, Mona, caused protests by students and the poor of West Kingston that escalated into a riot, known as the Rodney Riots, resulting in six deaths and causing millions of dollars in damages.

The riots, which started on October 16, 1968, triggered an increase in political awareness across the Caribbean, especially among the Afrocentric Rastafarian sector of Jamaica, documented in Rodney’s book The Groundings with my Brothers published by Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications in 1969.

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