Born Fi' Dead, American author Laurie Gunst's controversial book about gang violence in Jamaica, has been translated into French. It was recently released in Europe by Thibault Ehrengardt, editor and publisher of the French reggae magazine Natty Dread.

Christine Barrow, professor of social development and professorial fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, has written a scholarly text that explores childhood, parenting and family in Barbados. The focus is on childhoods within families where one or both parents are absent.

Below the title of Dr Cynthia Wilson's latest book, Whispering of the Trees, is written 'A Memoir'. However, during the book's launch on Friday, July 12, Wilson made the fine distinction between writing personal memory and its use in otherwise deliberately constructed text.

Charlene Lee Sharpe, chair of the Department of History, Geography and the Social Sciences at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU), is a recipient of the Latin America Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU) Fulbright Scholarship 2010-12.