Imam Baksh is a writer from Guyana. His novel Children of the Spider won first place in the 2015 CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature. His latest novel, The Dark of the Sea (Blue Banyan Books) is the winner of the 2018 Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature. Obsessed with girls, devoid of muscles and faced with hostile teachers and a reading disability, 15-year-old Danesh has been struggling to survive life in the lower bowls of the Essequibo high school system. In a community wracked by alcoholism, suicide and corruption, he sees no purposeful path for himself. Then, Medusa, a creature of savage beauty and determination, crashes into his life and reveals a whole new world beneath the muddy waves — a world full of wonder, adventure and the possibility of becoming a better person. But Danesh soon learns that the path before him is not an easy one and to get there he just may have to redefine what it means to be a hero. With clear Lovecraftian and mythical influences, Imam Baksh weaves a compelling tale that creates something completely new. The Dark of the Sea is a fantastical adventure that is buoyed by dark humor.
