By: Staff Writer
April 7, 2026
The Executive Director of The Caribbean Literary, Culture & Heritage Organization (CARICON), Steve Russell, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that Barbadian Akeem Chandler-Prescod won the third annual CARICON Poetry Slam.
This year’s CARICON theme, Speak Truth, Speak Life, saw eight other poets compete for the top prize with Chandler-Prescod outperforming eight fellow poets representing islands from across the Caribbean to claim the Golden Voice Award — and with its cash prize presented by the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Russell also said in a release: “The 2026 CARICON Poetry Slam featured competing poets representing eight Caribbean islands: Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Aruba, Curaçao, Saint Maarten, and Puerto Rico. Each poet performed a fully memorized original work in the competitive spoken word format, judged on content, delivery, and the power of their truth.
“The event was presented in partnership with Wintertuin Curaçao, the island’s leading cultural organization, and was preceded by a three-day program that included a welcome reception at Sandals Royal Curaçao, school visits with local Curaçao students, and a poets’ luncheon at the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort.”
Russell, who presented the Golden Voice Award trophy and prize envelope to Chandler-Prescod on stage at Teatro Aula Habaai in a packed house bore witness to a moment that was three years in the making — a Caribbean poet, on Caribbean soil, speaking Caribbean truth.
“Tonight proved what we have always known,” said V. Steve Russell. “The Caribbean voice does not need a borrowed stage. We built our own, and what happened here tonight — eight islands, three hours, one truth — is exactly why CARICON exists.”
FIRST PLACE — GOLDEN VOICE AWARD – Akeem Chandler-Prescod | Barbados (presented by Jamaica Tourist Board)
Publishing deal with Brer Anancy Press. A 3 Day All Inclusive Vacation to the Dominican Republic courtesy of the Dominican Republic Tourism Board
Scholarship to the CARICON Writers’ Retreat — October 2026, Martinique
SECOND PLACE — ISLAND VOICE AWARD – Kary Rios Santana | Puerto Rico presented by Curaçao Tourism Board
Scholarship to the CARICON Writers’ Retreat — October 2026, Martinique
THIRD PLACE — RISING VOICE AWARD – Keeron Isaac | Trinidad and Tobago presented by Caribbean Heritage Organization
Scholarship to the CARICON 2026 Annual Conference — Toronto, Canada
The 2026 CARICON Annual Conference takes place in Toronto, Canada, with a focus on Haiti as the featured nation. The conference will honor both the 2025 and 2026 CARICON Prize Laureates, including Lifetime Achievement honoree Earl Lovelace (2025). Rising Voice Award winner Keeron Isaac of Trinidad and Tobago will attend as a scholarship recipient.
The CARICON Writers’ Retreat returns in October 2026 in Martinique, continuing the organization’s French Caribbean rotation. Island Voice Award winner Kary Rios Santana of Puerto Rico will attend as a scholarship recipient.
Looking ahead, CARICON is proud to announce that the Fourth Annual CARICON Poetry Slam will take place in Guadeloupe, French Caribbean, in 2027. The announcement continues CARICON’s deliberate rotation across the Caribbean’s linguistic geography — from Kingston, Jamaica in 2025, to Willemstad, Curaçao in 2026, and now to the French Caribbean in 2027. Each host territory is not merely a venue but a statement: the Caribbean voice belongs to all of us.