Iron Balloons

Jamaica’s literary lion Colin Channer presents new fiction from the freshest young Jamaican authors and the Calabash International Literary Festival’s Extended Family.

Reggae’s rebel spirit blazes in this hot selection of short fiction from Jamaica’s Calabash Writer’s Workshop. Set in the Caribbean and the USA, the stories sweep across a range of moods and genres to create a narrative LP of fascinating voices. From the old lady who gives a “how to” speech on beating children, to the schizophrenic singer who thinks he’s Bob Marley, to the hotel maid who gets a sexual offer that she can’t refuse, the diverse mix of characters are linked by the fundamental principle that all clichéd conventions must be shouted off the page. In the proudly odd tradition of Jamaican music, the selections seek to entertain while asking daring questions that provoke new ideas into being.

New writing from: Colin Channer, Marlon James, Elizabeth Nunez, Kwame Dawes, Kaylie Jones, Geoffrey Philp, Rudolph Wallace, Konrad Kirlew, Alwin Bully, A-dziko Simba, and Sharon Leach.