Meet Celeste Mohammed. Celeste is a Trinidadian lawyer-turned-writer and the author of “Pleasantview”(Ig, Jacaranda, 2021; Ouida, 2022) which won the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, the 2022 CLMP Firecracker Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the UK Society of Authors McKitterick Prize for Fiction. Keep flying the Trini flag high in your novels, Celeste!

1. How do you like your Doubles? 

With slight everything

2. Which spot/place in T&T would you recommend as a must-visit to a first-time visitor to T&T?

The Pitch Lake. I mean, it’s one of the wonders of the world, I think. And also the subject of one of my forthcoming books.

3. What was your first job? 

Stocktaker in a supermarket (got fired because I can’t do Math to save my life)

4. What is your favourite Trini word?

“Meen”…as in “Meen care too much for them other words…Meen business with you, nah!”

5. What’s one of your pet peeves? 

Young men addressing me as “Aunty”.

6. How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled with milk and cheese. In fact, nobody can cook scrambled eggs to please me.

7. Name one of your favourite local brands? 

Chief Brand Products. Consistent quality of spices and condiments. The lime-pepper is life.

8. Tea or coffee? 

May I please have both? LOL! It depends on my mental state. Tea is for relaxing, coffee is to get hype.

9. Favourite local fruit? 

Oh my…it’s a toss up between pommerac, plum or chennette.

10. Favourite type of mango? 

Julie, bien sur.

11. What would you say is one of the biggest milestones of your career to date? 

Winning the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature in 2022. BTW the first in-person Bocas Lit Fest is happening this month end. Everyone’s invited!

12. What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs? 

I’ve never seen a get-rich-quick scheme pay off in the long run. There’s no substitute for hard work and patience.

13. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A writer. I took the scenic route, but I got here.

14. What’s your favourite local snack? 

Tambran balls with REASONABLE pepper

15. If you could change your career, what would you change it to? 

Been there, done that. But if I had to change again, I’d love to be an architect or interior designer.