Unlike traditional fixed-location events, the mobile format enabled direct engagement with over 200 children and young people across western Jamaica.

The Jamaica Book Festival (JBF) has launched an innovative mobile book fair to deliver bibliotherapy to communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa, demonstrating how publishing initiatives can support disaster recovery.

Held on 16 December, this marked the organisation’s first outreach activity since the Category 5 storm struck the island in late October 2025.

Outreach Model Reaches Underserved Communities

Unlike traditional fixed-location events, the mobile format enabled direct engagement with over 200 children and young people across western Jamaica.

The programme comprised three distinct components: a Youth Forum at Heinz Simonitsch School in Montego Bay, a literacy pop-up at Flankers Primary & Junior High, and a community outreach visit to the Cornwall Regional Hospital paediatric ward.

This multi-site approach ensured access for those unable to travel, particularly important given infrastructure damage that left a third of Jamaica without electricity and displaced over 1,000 people into shelters.

Youth Forum Connects Students with Industry Professionals

The forum brought together students from Green Pond High School, Mt. Alvernia High School, and Spot Valley High School for targeted literary enrichment. Highlights included a “Meet the Author” session with P.D. Lennon and a creative career talk by Denar Brown, exposing young people to publishing pathways.

The initiative, co-conceptualised by JBF Marketing Director Joel Nomdarkham, illustrates how industry practitioners can actively mentor future generations of readers and writers.

Strategic Partnerships Drive Impact

The programme’s delivery relied on robust collaboration between the cultural sector and corporate Jamaica. Partners included the N.C.B. Foundation, National Baking Company, Universal Service Fund, Sandals Foundation, and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.

This public-private partnership model demonstrates how publishers and literary organisations can leverage diverse stakeholder support to maximise community reach with minimal resource duplication.

Industry Leadership in Crisis Response

Founded by Latoya West-Blackwood, former chair of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica, the mobile fair exemplifies how publishing professionals can adapt business models to address urgent social needs.

While the main Jamaica Book Festival has been rescheduled to early 2026 following hurricane damage, this mobile iteration proves that bibliotherapy and literacy promotion need not pause during recovery periods.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.