Florenz Webbe Maxwell

Florenz Webbe Maxwell

Florenz Webbe Maxwell was born in Bermuda. She received her inspiration to write while a student at the Central School (now Victor Scott Primary). Her poem, A Song of Central), written at age 12, was later put to music by David Knights, another student at Central and became the School Song.

In 1972 she won first place for the Council on Interracial Books for Children Award for her manuscript “The Rock Cried Out.” Her manuscript, “Girlcott” won second place in the 2016 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature. While a librarian, she served the Coretta Scott, the Newbery and the Americas Award (CLASP) awards. She has also served as a Writer in Residence at the Bermuda College where she taught a course in creative writing. She was also head of Children’s Services at the Bermuda National Library.

She is the author of The Spirit Baby and Other Bermudian Folktales and her writings have appeared in I Wish I Could Tell You: Bermuda Anthology of Children Literature and Young Adult Fiction and Take This Journey With Me: Bermuda Anthology of Memoir and Creative Non-Fiction. As a retired librarian, Ms Maxwell is still in demand as a storyteller, especially for Bermuda folktales.

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