“First Draft: Ébauches & Banbòch” is a series of writing workshops conducted in a fun (banbòch!), supportive and professional environment. It serves as a platform for writers with French/Creole Caribbean ties and various levels of writing experience as they learn/sharpen effective writing techniques to give voice to stories about the Caribbean-American experience.

Marie-Ketsia Theodore-Pharel  will lead our workshop in English, French, and Haitian Creole.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel (Ketsia) currently lives in Homestead, Florida, with her husband and three children. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a Master’s degree in English from the University of Massachussetts. Her debut novel, Rope, was well received by Reader Views y Kirkus Reviews. Her short stories have appeared in various literary magazines, including Faultline: A Journal of Arts and Letters, The Caribbean Writer, y Compost Magazine, and in several anthologies, such as So Spoke the Earth (M.J. Fievre, ed.), Haiti Noir (Edwidge Danticat, ed.), and Butterfly Ways: Voices from the Haitian Diaspora in the United States (Edwidge Danticat, ed.). Her children’s books include Beauty Walks in Nature (2010), Songs from a Tower (2009), Keeper of the Sky (2007), One More Daughter, America (2006), Daughter of the House (2005), A Fish Called Tanga (2003), and I’ll Fly Away (1999).

ABOUT READCARIBBEAN
ReadCaribbean is a series of extensive readings and panel discussions highlighting the vibrant and diverse literary culture of the Caribbean. It is a Miami Book Fair Year-Round program created with the support of John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Green Family Foundation.