Montserrat’s first literary festival, Alliouagana Festival of the Word, will be held November 13-15, 2009, at the Montserrat Cultural Centre, a prominent landmark in Little Bay. The festival will feature over a dozen prize-winning and internationally recognized authors. Alliouagana, which means “Land of the Prickly Bush,” is the name by which the Amerindians called the island.

Friday, November 13 at 6:00pm, will open a weekend of presentations, readings, and signings by important authors including Austin Clarke, Merle Hodge, Rachel Manley, Pauline Melville, and Montserrat’s own novelist and playwright Edgar Nkosi White. There will be open-mic sessions coordinated by Professor Carolyn Cooper, workshops, storytelling, and dramatic presentations. The celebration will feature a calypso review led by Professor Gordon Rohlehr and a calypso extravaganza featuring songs from Montserrat’s past, including the work of Arrow, internationally recognized King of Soca.

For registration, program, and more information, see www.litfest.ms