Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine APRIL 2019 | Page 28

Visitors to Anguilla always attest to having a fantastic time while there.
Here is one event which contributes to great vacation memories.
Anguilla Lit Fest 2019
BOOKS, BEACHES & A BETTER YOU
The 2019 Anguilla Litfest: A Literary Jollifi cation
is an unrivalled opportunity for meeting authors,
book signings, and writing workshops.
Special vacation packages for the event will be
off ered by a number of Anguilla’s leading properties,
including the host venue, Paradise Cove Resort,
and sponsor hotel, The Reef by CuisinArt.
May 16th - 19th
A
nguilla Lit Fest 2019
promises to Inspire,
Educate, Motivate
and Uplift. The
Anguilla Literary Foundation
is excited to announce its
impressive listing of inter-
national artists scheduled
to appear at the 8th annual
Anguilla Lit Fest, taking place
16th to 19th May at Paradise
Cove Resort, Anguilla.
Legendary novelist, essayist,
poet and activist, Dame Alice
Walker, best known for her
Pulitzer Winning novel, The
Colour Purple (1982), the
critically acclaimed Possessing
the Secret of Joy (1992), and
most recently a bilingual
English/Spanish anthology
of poetry Taking the Arrow
Out of the Heart (2018), will
headline the annual ‘Literary
Jollifi cation’ in Anguilla
exploring the themes of
feminism, sexuality, identity
and spirituality in her prolifi c
writing and lived experience.
Dynamic author/poet Jason
Reynolds will also be featured
in the 2 day literary limelight.
Reynolds who delights young
adult audiences will have
special appeal for those in
their teens and twenties as
well as for the young at heart.
His fi rst book of prose, When I
Was The Greatest (2014) won
the Coretta Scott King/John
Steptoe Award for New Talent,
and most recently his acclaim
skyrocketed with his New York
Times best-selling Track series,
Ghost (2016), Patina (2017)
and Sunny (2018).
This year, Lit Fest welcomes
a number of writers who are
also social media ‘Infl uencers’
and motivational speakers
including husband and wife
team, Tony and Sheri Gaskins
who are co-authors of the
award-winning book, Make it
Work, 22 time tested, real life
lessons for sustaining a happy
healthy relationship. Tony is a
highly regarded motivational
speaker, author and life
coach who has appeared
on The Oprah Winfrey show
amongst others; Glory
Edim, a literary advocate and
founder of Well-Read Black
Girl, a book club and online
community and now a Book
Festival that celebrates the
uniqueness of Black literature
and sisterhood and whose
fi rst anthology, Well-Read
Black Girl: Finding Our Stories,
Discovering Ourselves, was
published by Random House
in 2018; Denene Millner co-
writer of Act Like a Lady, Think
Like a Man, with Steve Harvey,
Around the Way, Girl, a memoir
with actress Taraji P. Henson,
and founder of MyBrownBaby.
com, and Editor of Denene
Millner Books; Novelist and
Motivational Speaker, Sadeqa
Johnson, who has worked
with numerous best-selling
authors like JK Rowling and
Bishop TD Jakes before herself
becoming an award-winning
author of And Then There Was
Me ; N.C. Marks of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, whose
award-winning novel Plastered
in Pretty is a dystopian tale,
which explores Facebook and
Instagram as virtual religious
icons, and aptly captures the
language and nuances of social
media-based relationships;
and Journalist/Blogger Sarah
Greaves Gabbadon, better
known as JetSet Sarah, whose
captivating and inspiring posts
on Caribbean destinations,
food and shopping inspire all
who ‘follow’ her to follow in her
footsteps.
Other authors include: Patricia
“Pat” Cummings, the author
and/or illustrator of over 40
books for young readers,
who also holds a summer
Children’s Book Boot Camp that
brings writers and illustrators
together with top editors and
art directors. Her most recent