Barbados & Beyond

Something is happening in Barbados. A small island producing an outsized cultural force: a Prime Minister remaking the global conversation on climate justice, artists like Sheena Rose and Rihanna carrying Barbadian creative life into the world. The writers in this showcase are part of the same wave.

We are delighted to welcome Shakirah Bourne, Andie Davis, and Cherie Jones to Chapters for an evening that celebrates, interrogates, and refuses to be tidy about what it means to write from and about Barbados today.

Shakirah Bourne's work spans adult short fiction and middle grade novels rooted in Caribbean folklore. Her debut children's book Josephine Against the Sea received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, and her short fiction collection In Time of Need won the Governor General Award for Excellence in Literary Fiction.

Andie Davis grew up in Barbados and her 2024 debut novel Let Me Liberate You announces a bold and distinctive voice. Her fiction has appeared in The Caribbean Writer and Delmarva Review, and she is a 2026 Hedgebrook resident.

Cherie Jones is the author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and translated into French and German. The French translation won the Prix Carbet des lycéens in 2023.