The Caribbean Review of Books, or CRB, is a literary magazine based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, reviewing books of Caribbean interest—by Caribbean authors or about the Caribbean—and publishing original fiction, poetry, and other literary material. It is the second periodical to use this name.
The first Caribbean Review of Books, 1991–94 The original Caribbean Review of Books was founded in 1991 by the University of the West Indies Publishers' Association (UWIPA) in Mona, Jamaica,"Back Matter: Announcing the Caribbean Review of Books", Social and Economic Studies, Vol. 40, No. 4, Regional Programme of Monetary Studies (December 1991). JSTOR. from where it was published quarterly until 1994.Andre Bagoo, "Caribbean magazine under pressure", Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 4 July 2007.H. Faye Christenberry, Angela Courtney, Liorah Golomb, Melissa S. Van Vuuren, Literary Research and Postcolonial Literatures in English: Strategies and Sources, The Scarecrow Press, 2012, p. 115. Edited by Samuel B. Bandara, acquisition librarian at the university, the publication was intended to be "the complete source for Caribbean book news" (as stated below the masthead of Issue number 1, dated August 1991, and on subsequent issues),"Caribbean Review of Books". Cover of Number 3, February 1993. George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Digital Libraries. and combined book reviews with bibliographical information, interviews, and other features.Glenford D. Howe (ed.), Higher Education in the Caribbean: Past, Present and Future Directions, University of the West Indies Press, 2000, p. 299.
When some crucial UWIPA resources were absorbed into the newly founded University of the West Indies Press in 1993 and no external funding could be secured, The Caribbean Review of Books ceased publication.
The revived Caribbean Review of Books, 2004– A revival of The Caribbean Review of Books was one of the early objectives of the Caribbean Publishers Network (Capnet), founded in 2000. When external funding again proved difficult, one of Capnet's founding members, a small publishing house in Trinidad called Media and Editorial Projects Limited (MEP) decided to take responsibility for the project."The Caribbean Review of Books (CRB)" , Media & Editorial Projects (MEP Publishers).
In May 2004, under publisher Jeremy Taylor and editor Nicholas Laughlin,Eric Banks, "Scott McLemee on the Caribbean Review of Books, the Crisis in Haiti, and the 'Economy of Attention, Critical Mass, National Book Critics Circle, 27 January 2010.Scott McLemee, "Economy of Attention", Inside Higher Ed, 27 January 2010. the new Caribbean Review of Books—CRB for short—was launched as a quarterly magazine aimed at a general readership, supported by subscriptions and advertising. Its primary content was reviews mainly fiction, poetry, biography, history, and current affairs books, as well as books about art and culture.
The CRB became an independent non-profit organisation in 2006, and secured a grant from the Prince Claus Foundation,Caroline Neisha Taylor, "Caribbean Beat & Caribbean Review of Books: Free, Open Access Archives", Review of the Indigenous Caribbean, 27 March 2008. and continued support from MEP. However, like its predecessor, the CRB suspended print publishing in mid-2009. It was re-launched in May 2010 as an online publication,Nicolette Bethel, "The Caribbean Review of Books • A Bimonthly Review of Caribbean Literature, Art, and Culture" , Blogworld, 15 January 2011. to coincide with its sixth anniversary.
In November 2013, the CRB began a partnership with the Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago's annual literature festival, while maintaining its editorial independence."Caribbean Review of Books Is Back", CaribLit, 14 November 2013."Caribbean Review of Books returns", Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 18 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
References
External links The Caribbean Review of Books website Antilles: the weblog of The Caribbean Review of Books