New NIFCA Winning Words produced by NCF

A transition from pre-pandemic to pandemic, that best describes the latest edition of the book: ArtsEtc NIFCA [National Independence Festival of Creative Arts] Winning Words Anthology 2019/2020.

Produced by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), the publication has pieces which reflect the period just before the COVID-19 pandemic as well as submissions made while Barbadians were battling the novel coronavirus.

Given that there was no NIFCA 2020, the edition provided a vehicle for much of the writing created during that period. The publication captures Barbadian life by writers across the island.

The anthology is usually produced coming out of the Literary Arts NIFCA competition. ArtsEtc Inc. then curates the creative pieces.

Literary Officer Karra Price said this edition was special since it showed the resilience of writers who, although they were battling the adverse effects of the pandemic, still manage to create.

NCF’s Literary Arts Officer Karra Price.

“The 2019/20 Winning Words Anthology was exciting to produce because it highlighted the best of NIFCA 2019 and showcased the 2020 musings of our literary community all in one noteworthy text. The onset of the pandemic meant that there was no NIFCA 2020, instead we were forced to explore art in new and innovative ways.”

She continued: “The result was a selection of thought-provoking writings taken from social media which reflected the pulse of the people. We are so proud of this compilation and we look forward to sharing it with the community.”

Linda M. Deane and Robert Edison Sandiford, co-editors, and founders of ArtsEtc Inc. were pleased to be part of the 100 per cent Bajan collection of writings.

“In The ArtsEtc NIFCA Winning Words Anthology 2019/2020, we get the clearest sense yet – of all these NCF anthologies – of the power, significance and preciousness (in a very good way) of Barbadian thought and expression.  We felt an increased duty to honour this in the reading, editing, laying out, and general design of the publication.

“Winning Words 2019/2020, dealing as it does with the days just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and then our first year of lockdowns and showdowns, stands strong alongside similar contemporary publications, such as Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic,” the team said.

Copies of the anthology are on sale at the NCF, West Terrace, St James. (PR)