All seems to be set for this year’s staging of the Calabash Literary festival in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, this weekend.

Event organiser Justine Henzell told Splash that up to the time of reporting there were no last-minute cancellations, and all the advertised writers were either en route or already in Jamaica.

Henzell was most pleased with the Jubilation 50 theme of the festival which coincides with the celebration of Jamaica’s fiftieth anniversary of independence.

This will see a total of 52 Jamaican writers presenting their work over the three days of the festival, which is returning after a one-year break.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Henzell noted, the excitement brimming in her voice. “Jamaica is promoted as a nation of musicians and athletes, but we are also a nation of writers and poets. Some of them are Jamaicans who live abroad and are writing at the highest level. A number of the presenters are also nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize… it’s really amazing,” she continued.

As part of the Jubilation 50 theme, Calabash will also feature the works of writers from the United Kingdon, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Among the writers presenting at Calabash this year are UK-based Melissa and Sadie Jones — the daughters of Evan Jones, most noted for his work Song of the Banana Man; Kerry Young, Olive Senior, Colin Grant, Orlando Patterson, Alecia McKenzie and Kevin Young.