2025 VI Literary Festival & Book Fair Canceled; Bi-Monthly Literary Activities Scheduled

The Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair (VI LitFest) scheduled for April 10 and 13, 2025, has been canceled. 

Festival Chair Alscess Lewis-Brown said that getting to what would have been the 12^th Literary celebration has been “nothing short of a wonderful evolution. And, considering this year’s theme: “Possibilities: Beyond Tradition, Inside of Courage,” she promised that “the committee will host bi-monthly activities to create opportunities for literary engagement as part of the VI LitFest Heritage.”

She further stated that the focus going forward will be on fundraising to prepare for the 2026 Festival, which will feature the university’s literary journal, “The Caribbean Writer,” on the occasion of its milestone 40^th anniversary under the 2024 theme, 40 years of The Caribbean Writer: A Spectrum of Representation. “As an international journal, “The Caribbean Writer” continues to investigate our humanity at home and in the diaspora in an ever-changing world through dynamic publications,” she said.

Lewis-Brown also expressed enthusiastic gratitude for the support the festival receives from the community at large, as well as for the financial backing from indispensable partners including: the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development; The Buccaneer Hotel, U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, The University of the Virgin Islands’ College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, UVI’s Cooperative Extension Service, UVI Research and Technology Park, The Virgin Islands Department of Education’s Division of Cultural Education and the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, The VI Lottery, The Virgin Islands Daily News, the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts, and “The Caribbean Writer”. 

Donations (monetary and in-kind) from the community at large are also welcome as these directly support and strengthen the literary tradition. Checks should be made payable to the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development on behalf of the VI Lit Fest.

For more information, visit www.usvilitfest.com or email usvilitfest@gmail.com