Kevin Jared Hosein
Kevin Jared Hosein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1986 |
| Nationality | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Education | University of the West Indies, St. Augustine |
| Occupation | Author |
| Honours | Commonwealth Short Story Prize |
Kevin Jared Hosein is a Caribbean novelist who is from Trinidad and Tobago.[1][2] He is most well-known for winning the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the most global literary prize in the world, with his work, Passage.[1] He also won the regional (Caribbean) section of the Prize in 2015, with The King of Settlement 4.[3] His upcoming novel, Hungry Ghosts, is slated for publication as a major lead title in 2023 by Bloomsbury Publishing and Ecco Press.
Background and Education
As a young child, Hosein was not initially interested in reading, but more so in video games, especially those with story-heavy plots.[4] Later on in his childhood, he became deeply interested in reading and writing, with authors such as Stephen King and Cormac McMarthy.[3] Of Caribbean literature, the 1972 novel No Pain Like This Body, written by Harold “Sonny” Ladoo, had a large influence on his interest in reading and writing.[3]
Due to Literature not being offered as an option at his secondary school, he obtained a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of West Indies.[3]
Works, Awards, and Honors
In 2015, Hosein's entry to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, The King of Settlement 4, won the Caribbean regional arm of the prize.[5] Then in 2018, he won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, with his work, Passage. His entry won out of 5,200 entries from 48 countries, and he received £5,000 as an award on July 2, 2018, in Cyprus.[1] The team who nominated Hosein was composed of Damon Galgut, Sunila Galappatti, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Mark McWatt, Paula Morris, and Sarah Hall, who was the chair.[2]
Passage, his work that won him the prize in 2018, is written in Trinidadian Creole, and is about a forester’s quest to find a family living away from society, in the mountains of Trinidad, all while going through a midlife crisis. Among many of the themes it discusses, nature and the exploitation of such by humans are recurring.[1][3] The story contains many ecological details that are thanks to his biology and environmental science degree, and the time he has spent on trails in the forest. [3]
The first story he entered for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2013, The Monkey Trap, was featured in Pepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean.[3] It has also been shortlisted for the Small Axe Literary Prize.[6] He wrote a poem titled The Wait is So, So Long, which was turned into a short film that received a Gold Key at the New York-based Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.[5]
He has also written three books: Littletown Secrets, The Beast of Kukuyo and The Repenters.[1] The first book which he wrote and illustrated in 2013, Littletown Secrets, was awarded the title of Best Children’s Book of 2013, by the Trinidad Guardian.[5] Then came his book, The Repenters, which was shortlisted for the Bocas Prize and longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and the OCM Bocas Prize.[1][7] His most recent book, The Beast of Kukuyo, won second place for the Burt Award for Caribbean literature.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g newsamericas (2018-07-26). "This Caribbean National Wins The 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Caribbean and Latin America Daily News. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Anderson, Porter (2018-07-25). "Cyprus: Kevin Jared Hosein Named Global Winner of Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Ramlochan, Shivanee (2018-11-01). "Kevin Jared Hosein: a writer with a plan | Closeup". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Pires, BC (2015-06-14). "The beauty of the writing beast". Trinidad & Tobago Guardian. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Kevin Jared Hosein". Peepal Tree Press. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Kevin Jared Hosein". CODE's Burt Literary Awards. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ "Kevin Jared Hosein". Blue Banyan Books. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)