Our warmest congratulations to Emilio Jorge Rodríguez, whose book Una suave, tierna línea de montañas azules: Nicolás Guillén y Haití received an Honourable Mention for the Caribbean Studies Association’s 2018 Gordon K. and Sybil Farrell Lewis Book Prize. Rodríguez’s book previously won the 2017 Casa de las Américas Prize.

The jury included Anton Allahar, Chair (Western University, Ontario), Russell Benjamin (Northeastern Illinois University), Holger Henke (Wenzhou-Kean University), Rita Keresztesi (University of Oklahoma), and Margaret Shrimpton (Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán). This is the first time that this notable academic award has been given to a book published in Spanish. Among the criteria for selection are: 1) theoretical contribution to our understanding of historical and/or contemporary issues within a discipline of the broader field of Caribbean Studies; and 2) methodological rigor of the work, e.g. the use of primary sources or archival/historical data, methodological innovations, and suggestions for new avenues of research and thinking about the Caribbean.

Other authors who have received awards of honorary mentions previously are Maureen Warner-Lewis, Richard Price, Peter A. Roberts, Olive Senior, Neil Roberts, Ada Ferrer, Hilary Mc D. Beckles, and Raphael Dalleo.