Many thanks to Peter Jordens for providing several links to share a look back at the 5th BVI Lit Fest, which took place on November 6-9, 2025. [Also see previous post BVI Lit Fest: Long Story Short.] Here we share an editorial from The BVI Beacon (18 November 2025) followed by two more related links.
Since 2021, the BVI Literary Arts Festival has grown into one of the territory’s most meaningful annual celebrations of culture. This year’s edition, hosted this month at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College and other venues across Tortola, once again reminded residents of what can happen when art, education and community come together with a vision.
From the tiniest painters at the “Literary Wonderland” event to seasoned poets at the “Light a Fire” reading, the 2025 festival offered something for everyone. Toddlers drew pictures and told their own stories; teenagers listened to authors and other artists discuss craft and identity; adults gathered at sunset readings and a brunch to celebrate words and ideas; local writers (including the Beacon) showcased their work at a book fair.
Few events in the VI can claim such a wide and thoughtful reach.
Even more impressive was the festival’s blend of local and international talent. More than 40 speakers — including writers from the VI, the wider Caribbean and beyond — participated in panel discussions, readings and workshops. Such exchanges not only connect the VI to the regional literary canon, as HLSCC President Richard Georges rightly noted, but also help nurture new voices here at home.
When VI students can sit in the same room with award-winning authors like Celeste Mohammad or Tiphanie Yanique, they see first-hand that Caribbean stories — including their stories — matter on the world stage.
The festival’s scope also extended well beyond the printed page. It embraced music, storytelling, film and visual art, showing that literature does not exist in isolation but thrives when it interacts with other forms of expression.
Of course, no festival finds its footing overnight. In only five years, the event has evolved, adapted and improved as it learned from each experience. As just one example, the decision this year to spread panel discussions over two days rather than crowding them into one was wise: It allowed more focused conversations and greater participation from schools.
Each year, the organisers seem to take stock, listen and grow — the mark of a healthy and maturing cultural institution.
The VI needs more of this. Events like the Literary Arts Festival do more than entertain. They help define this community and what it hopes to become. They invite dialogue across generations and backgrounds, celebrate creativity, and strengthen a sense of shared identity. They also serve as a reminder that culture is not a luxury: It is a vital part of national development that deserves continued public and private support. As the festival heads into its sixth year, we congratulate the organisers, sponsors, writers and volunteers who have brought it this far.
With each new edition, the BVI Literary Arts Festival is finding its way. It is also helping the VI find its voice.
For the original article, see https://www.bvibeacon.com/editorial-culture-done-right-at-the-lit-fest
[Photo above by Freeman Rogers: Virgin Islands poet Johanna Gibson, centre, speaks during a poetry panel at the BVI Literary Arts Festival.]
At Lit Fest, all sorts of stories
Allison Vaughn with Freeman Rogers, The BVI Beacon, November 14, 2025
https://www.bvibeacon.com/at-lit-fest-all-sorts-of-stories
British Virgin Islands Literary Arts Festival
Marianne Sunshine, The British Blacklist, November 9, 2025
https://thebritishblacklist.co.uk/british-virgin-islands-literary-arts-festival
Many thanks to Peter Jordens for providing several links to share a look back at the 5th BVI Lit Fest, which took place on November 6-9, 2025. [Also see previous post BVI Lit Fest: Long Story Short.] Here we share an editorial from The BVI Beacon (18 November 2025) followed by two more related links. Since
