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Diana McCaulay: Author, Founder of J.E.T.

Introduction to Diana McCaulay. 1:34 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Music: Simon Mathewson. Recorded via ZOOM 3/2/2026. Miami — Kingston.

DIANA McCAULAY is a much nominated and awarded Jamaican writer, environmental activist and a lifelong resident of its capital city Kingston. She has written six novels – “Dog -Heart”(March 2010), “Huracan” (July 2012), both published by Peepal Tree Press in the United Kingdom, “Gone to Drift” (February 2016), published by Papillote Press from Dominica and the UK and Harper Collins US, the self-published, “White Liver Gal” (May 2017), “Daylight Come” (September 2020) published by Peepal Tree Press. She has also written a children’s book, “Finny the Fairy Fish” (2020), published by Collins Big Cat. Her most recent release is “A House for Miss Pauline,” published by Dialogue Books in the UK and Algonquin Books in the US in February 2025.

McCaulay was a popular newspaper columnist for The Gleaner (1994-2001) and her short fiction has been published by Granta Online, Adda Stories, Eleven Eleven, The Caribbean Writer, Afro-Beat, Lifestyle Magazine and the Jamaica Observer’s literary supplement, Bookends. She won the regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2012 and again in 2022 and her short story, “Picking Crabs in Negril,” won the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival Elizabeth Nunez prize in September 2024.

In 1991, McCaulay founded the Jamaica Environment Trust (J.E.T.)

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 4 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:44 sec.

What was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

SELF-CONFIDENCE: 0:49 sec.

Was there a point at which you said to yourself, “I love telling stories and I want to start writing them down?”

DEVELOP A VOICE: 1:07 min.

Where did you go to school, and did your school support or suppress your talent?

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 2:33 min.

How did your writing career evolve?

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 1:58 min.

Tell us about your experience with journalism.

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:15 min.

What topics did you address in your opinion column?

CRITICAL THINKING: 1:25 min.

As a SCUBA diver, I know that Climate Change has drastically impacted the coral reefs of the Caribbean.

CRITICAL THINKING: 3:54 min.

What are some of the gravest environmental issues confronting Jamaica?

CRITICAL THINKING: 4:00 min.

Before the term “Climate Change” was coined, a dear longtime friend — the ultimate water person — told me that it was already to late too stop the degradation of our planet for the foreseeable future.

COMMUNITY VALUES: 2:48 min