Canadian poet & author Tessa McWatt has been nominated as the overall winner of the ’26 OCM Bocas for Caribbean Literature for her non-fiction biography The Snag.
The winner was announced earlier this month at the Bocas Lit Fest in Trinidad.
In The Snag, McWatt’s mother’s dementia has progressed to the point where she can no longer live independently. This situation forces McWatt to confront and experience her grief. This leads her to the forest. Here, she discovers that from the youngest seedling to the oldest snag in the forest, every stage of a tree’s life has meaning. It’s where finding solace in the natural world is a source of healing & understanding.
The prize recognises the best in Caribbean literature in fiction, nonfiction, & poetry.
’26 CBC Poetry Prize
A winner is chosen for each of the three genres. These winners comprise the shortlist for the overall prize.
The nonfiction category was judged by author & educator Alison Donnell. Also on the panel were journalist & author Richard Charan and author & educator Oneka LaBennet.
The Snag faced off against the previously announced poetry winner. The winner is the World After Rain: Anne’s Poem by Canadian author Canisia Lubrin. Besides, this year’s fiction winner was also Ibis by Trinidadian American writer Justin Haynes.
Canisa Lubrin’s poetry book is an ode & elegy to her mother
Lubrin’s The World After Rain is a long-form poem dedicated to her mother. It ‘s a meditation on time, love, loss & grief. With reflections on the past & present, the meticulously crafted poem intimately explores the paradoxes of contemporary life.
Lubrin is a Canadian writer, editor, & an academic. She was born in St. Lucia and is now based in Whitby, Ontario. Lubin has also authored Code Noir. It won the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. Also, The Dyzgraphxst, which won the ’21 Griffin Poetry Prize.
