Minister Norton, Al Creighton meet on Guyana Prize impasse- sides appear optimistic; awards will be presented this year

Jul 21, 2018 News

There appears to be a glimmer of hope that the controversy over the delayed Guyana Prize for Literature awards may finally be coming to an end.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. George Norton met on Thursday with Secretary of the Guyana Prize Committee Al Creighton with the two sides reportedly seeking to hold the long-delayed literary award this year,
An official from the Minister’s office said that Dr. Norton and Mr. Creighton met “to determine the way forward with the Guyana Prize.”
One issue that is reportedly to be sorted out is whether the Guyana Prize falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Education or under the Ministry of Social Cohesion with the responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport.
“They are still looking at year-end (to host the award ceremony); they understand the impact it has on local writers,” the official told Kaieteur News.
Confirming that he had met with Minister Norton, Mr. Creighton said that the sides held “promising, constructive discussion,” that he hoped would lead to the holding of awards for the Prize this year.
The Guyana Prize for Literature Award is held every two years. But it was postponed last year, reportedly after funding was not released. Government and the Guyana Prize Committee had faced criticism over the postponement
Asked for an explanation, Norton had told Kaieteur News recently that he was checking on reports that the Guyana Prize “is not being run the way it should be.” He had said that, “a lot of money was invested” in the Guyana Prize… and if we spend money behind a prize, we would have to ensure that we get value for our money.” Minister Norton had also said that he wanted to discuss the issue with Cabinet, since he had been receiving negative comments about the way the handling of the Guyana Prize was organised.

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