Interview with Jamaica Kincaid, Writer’s Symposium by the Sea 2026

Award-winning writer Jamaica Kincaid will be a featured guest at the 31st Annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea, "Writing Across the Divide."

One of the most decorated writers of her generation, Jamaica Kincaid is a writer with a clear, illuminating vision of humanity. Written in a deceptively simple and unadorned style, Kincaid’s books are informed by her status as an uprooted subject, born in the Caribbean island of Antigua, but living in North America. Kincaid deals with such universal themes as coming-of-age and the necessity of separation from parents and establishing identity.

After leaving Antigua for New York to work as an au pair, Kincaid studied photography at the New York School for Social Research and attended Franconia College in New Hampshire. A staff writer at The New Yorker from 1974-1996, she published her first book, a collection of pieces for The New Yorker called "At the Bottom of the River," in 1983. Her first novel, "Annie John," followed in 1985—the coming-of-age story of a willful ten-year-old growing up on Antigua. With thirteen translations, it is estimated it is the most translated book by an Antiguan author. Further novels include "Lucy," the story of a teenage girl from the West Indies who comes to North America to work as an au pair for a wealthy family; "The Autobiography of My Mother," a novel set on the island of Dominica and told by a 70-year-old woman looking back on her life; and "Mr. Potter" which follows the life of an illiterate taxi chauffeur.

Kincaid’s deeply personal and reflective style has made her one of the most influential voices in contemporary literature. She has received numerous awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction.

Tickets are offered in partnership with Warwick’s. Included in the ticket is live music, which begins at 6:15 p.m. when doors open for seating.

The 31st Anniversary Writer's Symposium by the Sea will be February 25-27, 2026, also featuring broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff and award-winning writer George Saunders. For more info, visit here: https://www.pointloma.edu/2026writers.

Jamaica Kincaid on Instagram