Calabash organisers Colin Channer and Justine Henzell look over the press kit for the 2008 launch of the festival last Wednesday at the Red Bones Blues Cafe in St Andrew.

BOASTING a stellar line-up of local and international authors and performers, the 2008 leg of Calabash International Literary Festival might very well turn out to be the best staging of the annual three-day festival yet.

Launched last Wednesday at the Red Bones Cafe in St Andrew, the renowned literary festival of readings, discussions, open mike segments and live music staged annually at Jake's in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, will this year be held over the Labour Day weekend, May 23-25.

St Lucian Nobel Prize winner, Derek Walcott, will headline the festival this year and leads a superb international posse, which includes American Pulitzer-winning poets Natasha Trethewey and Yusef Komunyaaka. Chris Abani (Nigeria), Valzhyna Mort (Belarus) and Jackie Kay (Scotland) are the other foreign poets on the line-up, while the fiction world will be represented this year by Canada's Lawrence Hill, Gerard Donovan (Ireland), Juan de Recacoechea (Bolivia) and Cuba's Achy Obejas.

Jamaica's strong contingent will be led by acclaimed poet and author Lorna Goodison, radio's Beverley Manley and philanthropist Rosie Stone, who will read passages from their new memoirs. Novelists Erna Brodber, Beverley East and Margaret Cezair-Thompson will read from their new books. Jamaican-born writer Thomas Glave will read and discuss selections from his new anthology of gay and lesbian writing from across the region, while poet Andrew 'Kei' Miller will read from his new collection.

Other exciting features for Calabash '08 include a 75th anniversary reading of Claude McKay's Banana Bottom, a screening of the late Perry Henzell's second feature film No Place Like Home and performances from reggae legend Bob Andy, Rootz Underground, Ibo Cooper, Seretse Small and Chalice.

Speaking at Wednesday's launch, Calabash founder and best-selling author, Colin Channer, said the Calabash festival continues to offer the rare opportunity for Jamaicans to have a close experience with some of the world's best authors.

"We continue to work hard to stage the festival annually with international standards. So if something is slightly off it's not good enough because people come expecting the best. They want a great experience and that's what we work to provide each year," Channer told Splash. He adds that for this year's staging of the festival, he's most looking forward to Walcott's long-overdue appearance, the screening of Henzell's film and the impressive number of Jamaicans who will participate.

According to Channer, it is always the intention of the organisers, which includes Justine Henzell and Kwame Dawes, to make the festival experience better each year, despite the many challenges.

"We are always trying to find ways to make the Calabash experience a more satisfying one. It is extremely crucial for us to present the best each year."

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