I am a London-based writer of Vincentian heritage whose new book WINDWARD FAMILY was published in February 2023 by Thread Books https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/alexis-keir/windward-family/9781909770713/ 

WINDWARD FAMILY is based on the lives of people from Saint Vincent who have left the island over generations, only some able to return, from the small child George Alexander Gratton in 1808 to my own parents in the 60s

WINDWARD FAMILY has been described as ‘a beautiful ode to migration, love, and all that we do for family.”  

Renowned Vincentian author H. Nigel Thomas described the book this way:

‘Brilliant writing. Informative. Profound. Thoroughly researched. This is a book written in lyrical cinematic prose. I reread many passages strictly for their beauty. It complements lived experience with history in its depiction of the Vincentian immigrant experience in Britain. But above all else, it valorizes family, community, humanity on the whole, and rejoices in the rituals that make it all possible.’

Other comments:

’A powerful meditation on what it means to belong.’ The Times Literary Supplement
’Deeply moving.’ David Lammy
’Honest, poetic and deeply researched excellence.’ Paterson Joseph

I began writing WINDWARD FAMILY when I was chosen as one of the 2019 cohort for the Spread The Word London Writers Awards. Subsequently I was selected to join the London Library’s Emerging Writers programme. My writing has also been published by The Caribbean Writer and The Selkie and I am a member of the Writers for Saint Vincent group which raised funds for the island following the 2021 eruptions of the La Soufrière volcano.