PROJECT Fusion Junction, a new international project for creative teens, kicked off at the 2025 Bocas Lit Fest.
The programme is in partnership with the Jamaica Book Festival and Fighting Words Northern Ireland, sponsored by the British Council.
In a news release on May 7, the Bocas Lit Fest said, Project Fusion Junction gives a diverse cohort of aspiring teen writers, illustrators, musicians and graphic designers — ages 14 to 18 — the opportunity to come together to create their own collaborative story in an ambitious jointly authored endeavour, culminating in a new multimedia online graphic novel.
The 2025 Bocas Lit Fest was held from May 1-4 in Port of Spain.
Participants for Project Fusion Junction will be selected from each territory through programmes run by the project partners: Fighting Words’ Write Club, applicants from the Jamaica Book Festival’s Young Writers Prize, and Servol with the Bocas Lit Fest. Selection will be based on applications demonstrating creative ability and/or potential as an emerging writer, artist, multimedia programmer, or musician (songwriter, composer, performer).
Professionals in the creative sectors of each country will be selected to work with the teens on a long-term basis and as guest facilitators for special workshops.
Attending the launch were Kathrine Johnson, project manager, cultural engagement at the British Council’s Kingston office; Latoya West-Blackwood, director of the Jamaica Book Festival; Jamaican High Commissioner to TT Natalie Campbell-Rodriques; and Vonroy Rochester, counsellor, Jamaica High Commission.
The release said, The British Council-supported opportunity aims to deepen skills in young people interested in creative career pathways such as fiction, new media, storytelling, art, illustration, music soundtracking, and web and graphic design.
Offering virtual and physical creative spaces and online collaboration, Project Fusion Junction also includes an international mentoring programme – a platform for conversations, workshops, and residencies that will be informed by professional writers, artists, musicians, and web and graphic designers from TT, Jamaica, and Northern Ireland. Experienced mentors will share ideas and skills from their creative careers to assist young people in navigating and exploring topical themes, issues, and stories of importance to them in each of the countries, with a focus on the importance of shared cultural expression and exchange.
The collaborative multimedia graphic novel will then be developed by 15 teenagers from each country, working closely together over the coming 12 months before the final online and published graphic novel and exhibition launches at the 2026 Bocas Lit Fest. Pop-up events and exhibitions will also take place in Jamaica and Northern Ireland.
Project Fusion Junction will also include significant adult figures in the literary and creative communities (representing literary fiction, crime writing, screen writing, illustration, graphic design, and music) in each country, to work with each
