Jamaica Book Festival Debuts Caribbean Collective at Beijing International Book Fair
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Book Festival has been selected to curate the first-ever Caribbean Collective Showcase at the 2026 Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), marking a historic milestone for Caribbean literature on one of the world’s largest publishing stages. The showcase will feature titles from eight Caribbean nations, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, bringing together a diverse mix of established publishing houses and independent authors.
Representing Jamaica and the wider Caribbean at the fair will be the JBF’s Festival Director, Latoya West-Blackwood and Marketing Director Joel Nomdarkham, who will travel to Beijing as part of a fellowship programme. Through the Caribbean Collective, they will showcase the richness, diversity, and creativity of Caribbean storytelling to a global audience of publishers, literary agents, and cultural organisations.
“We debuted the Caribbean Collective at the Bologna Book Fair in Italy earlier this year with three countries and now we’ve grown to eight in under three months,” said West-Blackwood. “Our focus is on balancing our work to promote reading for pleasure with the business of books. The Collective represents small islands coming together to pursue big opportunities and develop a meaningful and sustained presence internationally. We are proud to create a platform that brings Caribbean voices together and introduces them to the world.”
Some of the selected titles for the Caribbean Collective display.
The Beijing International Book Fair is among the world’s leading publishing and rights-trading events, attracting participants and visitors from around the world each year.
For Nomdarkham, the experience is also an opportunity to learn from international literary ecosystems and bring fresh ideas back to Jamaica and the Caribbean.
“It’s always great getting to experience other festivals and book fairs around the world,” he said. “Books are the cornerstone of knowledge, and seeing how different cultures approach storytelling and the reader experiences is always inspiring and useful. I’m looking forward to finding ideas that we can bring back and incorporate into our own programmes and events.”
The Caribbean Collective will be represented by the Jamaica Book Festival team: Festival Director Latoya West-Blackwood and Marketing Director Joel Nomdarkham.
The 2026 Beijing International Book Fair will take place from June 17–21 in Beijing, China. Through the Caribbean Collective Showcase, the Jamaica Book Festival aims to increase the visibility of Caribbean literature, strengthen cultural exchange, and create new opportunities for regional authors and publishers in international markets.
About the Jamaica Book Festival
The Jamaica Book Festival is a literary and cultural organisation dedicated to promoting reading, writing, publishing, and literary exchange through festivals, community programmes, youth initiatives, and international partnerships.
Contact
Joel Nomdarkham
Marketing Director, JBF