Claudette Cynthia Beckford-Brady

Born: 4th December, 1956
Lennon’s Ville,
Old Harbour, St. Catherine,
JAMAICA, W.I.

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For the first seven years of my life I was raised by my great-grandmother in the country district of Gravel Hill, some nine miles from the town of Old Harbour. In 1964 I left to join my parents in Gloucester, England.

I was educated up to Secondary level and left school in 1973, having achieved five C.S.E.s (Certificate of Secondary Education), three of them Grade Ones.

On leaving school I worked in various Administrative and Clerical positions, before moving to London in 1976, where I joined the Civil Service, and found my niche in Personnel. In 1981 I left the Civil Service and went to London Borough of Lambeth, and over the course of eight years, moved from Clerical Assistant to Personnel and Training Officer.

I was plagued by ill-health as a result of Sickle Cell Disease, which has resulted in the loss of sight in my right eye, and the surgical removal of my left hip. The English climate was not conducive to my good health or my Sickle Cell condition, and in 1990 I made the decision to return to Jamaica.

I began entering the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) Literary Arts Competition in 1991, where I achieved several awards in the Short Story category. Listed below is a summary of my awards.

YEAR:	STORY TITLE	AWARD

1991	NAA GAA INGLAN’	SILVER MEDAL
	RETURNED RESIDENT	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

1992	REMINISCENCES	BRONZE MEDAL
	SITUATION VACANT	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
	INVASION	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

2000	MARSE DOUGAL’S DILEMMA	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

2005	MISS AFRICAN GEM	GOLD MEDAL &
		OUTSTANDING WRITER’S TROPHY

2006 (Novel)	SWEET HOME, JAMAICA	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
	RENT-A-DREADS	CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
	VEXTATION	SILVER MEDAL
	FI-WI MANGO DEM	GOLD MEDAL &
		SPECIAL WRITER’S TROPHY

I have had several pieces of short fiction published locally, and my first novel “SWEET HOME, JAMAICA” was published on 14th May 2007 by Pegasus Elliot McKenzie Limited in the UK.