2025 CARICON Prize Winners

CARICON champions the promotion of Caribbean literature, culture, and heritage. Its literary prizes honor “the voices that are shaping the Caribbean literary landscape through bold, brilliant, and unforgettable storytelling.”

CARICON’s mission is to promote and expand Caribbean literature across the diaspora by elevating publishing opportunities for Caribbean authors and raising awareness of their contributions to the global literary landscape. 

This year, Dr. Earl Lovelace was awarded the inaugural CARICON Lifetime Achievement Award “for a career that has shaped Caribbean literature with heart, honesty, and unmatched brilliance.” Here are the 2025 winners— in CARICON’s words, “the voices shaping the Caribbean literary landscape—bold, brilliant, and unforgettable.”

CARICON Prize for Children’s Literature:
Angélica and la Güira – Angie Cruz (Penguin Young Readers)
A beautiful tribute to Dominican culture, Cruz’s story beats with rhythm, love, and memory. A timeless journey through music and the bond between generations.

CARICON Prize for Poetry:
Makeshift Altar – Amy Alvarez (University Press of Kentucky)
A fearless, lyrical exploration of migration, identity, and belonging. Alvarez crafts a poetic sanctuary—intimate and urgent.

CARICON Prize for Young Adult Literature:
Better Must Come – Desmond Hall (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)
A suspenseful coming-of-age story set in Jamaica. Hall keeps readers on edge while honoring the resilience of youth facing complex realities.

CARICON Prize for Fiction
A House for Miss Pauline – Diana McCaulay (Dialogue Books/Hachette UK)
McCaulay offers a layered and powerful story of truth, trauma, and justice. A deeply Caribbean novel rooted in memory and social reckoning.

CARICON Lifetime Achievement:
Dr. Earl Lovelace
Awarded the inaugural CARICON Lifetime Achievement Award for a career that has shaped Caribbean literature with heart, honesty, and unmatched brilliance.

Support the authors:
https://bookshop.org/lists/caricon-prize-winners-2025

Also see https://cari-con.org/ and our previous post, https://repeatingislands.com/2025/07/03/2025-caricon-prize-for-fiction-a-house-for-miss-pauline/