Peter Laurie Took Home the $10,000 First Prize at the 25th FCLE Awards

Peter Laurie took top honours at the 25th Frank Collymore Literary Endowment awards, which was held on Saturday, January 28. His “The House that Disappeared” emerged as the best among a field of 64, and netted him the $10,000 first prize.

The $7,500 second prize went to Ark Ramsay for his “My Warming Body,” a work of non-fiction, and there was a tie for third place, with Kerry Andre Belgrave (“you…”) and Martin Boyce (“In the Secrets Place”) each taking home $3,000. Boyce also won the Prime Minister's award, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.

Denis Foster received a special award, and Lisa Fraser, Mercedes Knight, Gloria Eastmond, and Akheem Chandler-Prescod all received honourable mention.

The awards ceremony, which was held, fittingly, at the Frank Collymore Hall, included readings from the finalists' works and a feature address by Barbadian writer, Wayne Jordan.

In his opening remarks at the event, Central Bank of Barbados Deputy Governor Alwyn Jordan said that since getting its start as an activity to mark the Bank's silver anniversary, the FCLE had developed a legacy of its own, noting that “as it marks its own milestone anniversary, it has become a symbol of excellence” for those involved in the literary arts in Barbados. He encouraged the winners and other entrants to help maintain that legacy, and the audience to continue to support them in doing so.

The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment is part of the Central Bank of Barbados' cultural outreach. The Bank is also a long-running sponsor of the Crop Over Visual Arts Festival, and owns the Exchange Interactive Centre, a museum located next to the Bank's Spry Street headquarters.