JCDC Creative Writing Competition Opens

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Youth & Culture, is inviting professional and amateur writers to submit their works for its annual Jamaica Creative Writing Competition. Each year the competition welcomes entries in three classes: Junior (U-12), Intermediate (U-17) and Adult (18 and older). The competition encourages writers to sharpen their skills in Standard English or Jamaican Dialect through Poems, Essays, Short Stories, Plays and Novels. Entrants are also encouraged to reflect Jamaican situations and experiences in their content and creative works.  

Entry forms are available on the JCDC website: www.jcdc.gov.jm, at its Head Office located at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10 and all JCDC parish offices island-wide. Entries must be sent via email to [email protected] then three hardcopies along with the completed entry form are to be submitted to any JCDC Office. The deadline for entry is Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

Winners are awarded cash, certificates of merit, medals, trophies and other prizes as an incentive for showcasing their talents. The award-winning pieces are also taken on an islandwide exhibition tour, so that others can enjoy these outstanding works.

Past awardees from the competition include Dionne Jackson-Miller, Professor Mervyn Morris, Trevor Rhone, Basil Dawkins, Mervyn Nadine Tomlinson, Rhonda Harrison, A-Dziko Simba, Charmaine Morris, Carroll Edwards, Michael Reckord and Claudette Beckford-Brady. Some of these writers have had their short stories published in the JCDC Gold Anthology that was released in November last year and now available for sale.