"An Unending Search", by Ryan Bachoo is a novel set in South Trinidad in the late 1970s. It follows the story of Tar, a young man who dreams of escaping poverty and systemic racism. Inspired by Uncle Sundar, Tar's journey is one of hope and ambition, ultimately leading him to New York or London. The novel explores themes of identity, racism, and classism, painting a vivid picture of life in Trinidad during that era.

To commemorate Indian Arrival celebrations in the month of May, this episode includes a Q&A between Ryan and Stephanie Ramlogan, the 2020 winner of the BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer's Prize.

“The Trouble with the Dog” by Stefan Bindley-Taylor was awarded the 2024 BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize. This category was judged by Lauren Francis-Sharma, Desmond Hall and Wandeka Gayle.

From the judges: ‘It is, at first, an exploration of a twisting familial relationship that embodies the hopes and expectations that live between perception and actuality. But with a sure hand, “The Trouble with the Dog” takes us through the perspectives of an uncle and his niece grappling with loss in different ways. The story, not just a psychological study, also presents their struggles with a directness, a wry humor, and without overt sentimentality yet still offers an emotional resonance and tenderness that guides the reader through the silences between generations, the silence that threatens to stifle intimacy between people committed to loving one another. This short tale shows us another way.’

There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad’s government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants—and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.

New Felicity’s superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they’ve brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.

Skittish that the reporter’s story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time—from the town’s early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros’s adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas.

In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers’ lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros’s fate.

With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.

Justin Haynes is a novelist and short story writer who was born in Port of Spain and raised just outside of it. He later moved to Brooklyn, NY. He holds degrees from St. Francis College, the University of Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt University.