The Belize Book Industry Associating recently rebranded to the Belize Book Sector Network (BBSN) – and while on paper it may look like a simple name change, I don’t believe it’s just that.
It feels like possibility.
Honestly? It feels like a long awaited wish come true for us Belizean creatives.
And for those of us who write – whether we live in Belize or carry Belize inside of us from somewhere else – that matters more than people might realize.
For a long time, many Belizean writers have had to outsource their resources.
There has been countless books written with a full heart, but that had very limited publishing support. I’ve seen booksellers pitch tirelessly to retail spaces, without even a response back.
I’ve known of teachers searching for culturally relevant material for their classroom.
I’ve witness creatives (myself included) working on their art without a visible support system.
So, when I see something shift from “industry” to “sector network,” to me, it signals collaboration instead of isolation.
It tells me, as a creative:
I am not working alone.
I am a part of something connected.
I have support.
Like an ecosystem. If you know about ecosystems, you know they have symbiotic relationships. And those symbiotic relationships change everything. I know this because I have lived this before.
While I have been ghost writing (for the last twenty+ years) and blogging (for the last twelve years), I’m also a person who sews (as you can see since my blog is split into two sections *wink*). When the sewing industry was my entire personality, I built a sewing platform to connect people in that industry worldwide (it was successful, until covid happened and I had to shut it down). But I witnessed that creative industry evolve. And I saw first hand what happened when creatives started working together to build relationships.
I saw what happened when people shared information instead of gate keeping. When collaborations replaced competition and when shared resources meant everyone won.
It was undeniably successful.
Creatives grew faster than they ever imagined.
Their opportunities expanded further than expected.
Their audiences widened and confidence skyrocketed for everyone involved.
We had build symbiotic relationships that changed the trajectory of our success in the industry.
So when I see Belize strengthening its literary network in this way, I recognize the pattern, and I know just how successful it could be.
Especially because I’ve learned that structure doesn’t limit creativity, in fact it supports it. 100%.
And the best part? It creates influence.
Here’s what I mean: When the Belizean literary sector is organized and recognized:
– Writers have a clearer pathway to publishing success.
– Schools gain stronger access to Belizean literature.
– Bookstores can collaborate instead of compete.
– Literary partnerships become more realistic.
– International visibility and credibility becomes possible.
So, infrastructure builds legitimacy – legitimacy builds confidence – and confidence builds influence.
And suddenly, Belizean stories are not just existing on a computer hard drive somewhere, or written in a forgotten notebook, – they are now being encouraged and positioned to travel. Travel from the mind to the page, from there to schools, to homes, to library’s, stores, and even to places abroad.
This feels incredibly significant because as someone who writes from both my lived experiences and memory, I know how important literary ecosystems are.
Stories don’t just appear from the air. They are worked on for a long time (sometimes years). Written, and rewritten (probably more times that I care to admit). They are beta read, edited, edited again, published, distributed and finally placed into the hands of readers.
There are so many steps, so having a place to help will all that can only mean success.
And seeing Belize be even more serious about investing in its storytellers in this way, matters to me. Simply because it will allow the future generations of Belize to see themselves and understand themselves better.
Literature is archive. It’s preservation and its cultural memory.
And this is incredibly personal and important for me because I’ve said before (in blog posts or social media posts), that my main goal in life is to be a good ancestor. I know that sounds dramatic right? (Uff, it’s fine. I’ve accepted that about myself.)
But my truth is, I create with the hope that what I create will still matter, five, ten, even twenty years down the line.
My sincerest hope is that my future reader will see:
– Their language/dialect represented and honored.
– Their folklore respected.
– Their cultural ethnicity centered
– Their everyday struggles portrayed with nuance and with care.
Basically, they wont have to imagine themselves into someone else’s story, because they will already be there. And that kind of visibility shapes identity in ways we don’t often fully understand until we are adults wondering what we would have been like if we did. (Yes, speaking from experience here again.)
It makes me think about ten-year-old me – and it makes me feel hopeful and excited!
And as someone writing from both memory and imagination – from diaspora and devotion to my lee Belize – it feels grounding to know that Belize is strengthening the foundation for stories like my next book, Meera, could stand on.
Let me just end buy saying this:
There is something profoundly different about being supported and recognized by your own community.
Don’t get me wrong, publishing anywhere is an accomplishment. (My first book was published using a US retailer; and there is no shame in that)
But being seen, recognized, encouraged and celebrated by people who understand your cultural references without explanation… who recognize the places you describe… and who hear the cadence of your sentences and know exactly where it comes from… that really hits differently as a writer.
It’s not just validation, it’s profound recognition. For many of us who grew up not seeing ourselves in books, that kind of thing is truly healing.
As Belizeans, we deserve stories that recognize us. And now, more than ever, there is a structure to support them. YAY US!!
I have so many more thoughts as it pertains to being a writer in the diaspora – but I’ve written so much already, so I think I’ll save that for another post! Have a great week ya’ll!
