“Read Caribbean Month,” dedicated to reading books written by Caribbean writers, kicked off on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
In 2018, Jamaican-born, Trinidad and Tobago-based Cindy Allman established the Book of Cinz platform on Instagram to encourage people to read, read more, read widely, and explore Caribbean literature. A year later, Allman announced June as “Read Caribbean Month” to encourage people to read books by Caribbean nationals/ persons of Caribbean heritage, books about the Caribbean, and books set in the Caribbean. It was selected as it is the official Caribbean-American Heritage Month in the USA. Those reading these books were encouraged to share their experiences with the #ReadCaribbean hashtag.
On Sunday, June 1, Series founder Cindy Allman kicked off 2025 with a message encouraging people to read books from the region while recommending sixteen recently published titles. Here is the call to action on her Instagram account;
Read Caribbean 2025! 📚In June, we celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month, and part of the celebration includes Read Caribbean month. Seven years ago, I thought, “why isn’t there a month on the bookish calendar where we Read Caribbean books? We are heading into year seven, and I am so excited for the books you will discover by visiting the #ReadCaribbean hashtag.Here are some Caribbean authors and their books you can start reading now!
- How To Say Babylon, @safiyasinclair
- How To Love A Jamaican, @alexiaarthurs
- Paradise Once, @senior.olive
- Ever Since We Small, @celestemohammed
- This Great Hemisphere, @askmateo
- People Person, @candicec_w
- Everyone Knows I Am A Haunting, @novelniche
- The Possibility of Tenderness, @jallenpaisant
- For Such A Time As This, @_shaniakilah
- Casualties of Truth, @laurenfsharma
- A House For Miss Pauline, @dianamccaulay
- God of Good Looks, @breemcivor
- Dark Laboratory, @taoleighgoffe
- Island Voices, @stephanieramlogan
- Some of Us Can Go Back Home, @yashika.graham
- Sturge Town, @kwame.dawes
The series has the recommended “30 Days, 30 Read Caribbean book recommendations” reading list you can get at the Read Caribbean Instagram account. If you are in a position to, get hold of a Caribbean read and share your experience on social media with the hashtag #ReadCaribbean
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