GREAT BAY/MARIGOT--Eight writers with books published by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP) will participate in the 2026 St. Martin Book Fair, with Fabian Adekunle Badejo leading the group as keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremony on June 5 at 7:30 pm at Heritage Village in Spring Garden, Colombier.
The eight writers are among about 20 authors, artists, storytellers, and presenters featured at the 23rd edition of the festival, which has grown into one of the Caribbean’s dynamic international literary events.
Faizah Tabasamu will conduct her always popular workshop on hair, while Tadzio Bervoets, whose debut collection of poems and stories is currently in production at HNP, will lead a workshop on the environment on June 6 at the University of St. Martin (USM).
Wycliffe Smith, whose study of religion in the Windward Islands during Slavery is also in production, will sit on the publishing panel. Rhoda Arrindell will serve as a panelist on education during the Presidents Forum, the symposium component of the festival.
Poet Safiyya Chance, fresh from her successful poetry-centered concert in May, is scheduled to participate in the literary recitals.
The children’s digital activity guide edited by Aishira Cicilia and Shanice Theodule-Felix has been selected as the featured publication for the Main Book Launch and Closing Ceremony on June 6 at 8 pm at USM. Admission to all book fair activities is free.
Under the theme “Soualiga Flambo,” this year’s festival celebrates what organizers describe as the remarkable growth of St. Martin’s literary community, reflected in the unprecedented number of the island’s authors participating in the event. Soualiga, a reputed Amerindian name for St. Martin, translates as “Land of Salt.”
When the St. Martin Book Fair began in 2003, with barely six weeks to organize, the organizers were able to secure more authors from abroad than on-island writers, showcasing just three St. Martin authors, festival founder Shujah Reiph said last week.
“In 2026, we can easily draw from a list of at least 40 St. Martin authors, both self-published writers and those with books released by publishers,” said Cindy Peters, Book Fair Committee member and political science lecturer at Clark Atlanta University.
“With his own study, literary output, and critical engagement with St. Martin literature and cultural production beginning at least 20 years before the book fair and continuing uninterrupted ever since, Badejo’s keynote address may offer a chapter-worthy examination of the fair’s role as a pillar in generating the environment that continues to fuel the growth of St. Martin writing,” said HNP Projects Director Lasana M. Sekou.
Photos: Clockwise from top left: Fabian Adekunle Badejo, Safiyya Chance, Faizah Tabasamu (Rochelle Ward), Wycliffe Smith, Aishira Cicilia, Shanice Theodule-Felix, Rhoda Arrindell, and Tadzio Bervoets.
