UWI to train ghostwriters to keep memories of public, cultural figures alive

In a region rich with cultural heritage and unsung heroes, many stories remain untold.

A new course at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, hopes to change that by training writers to become the voices behind those stories.

Though not explicitly designated as a ghost-writing project, it was developed by renowned broadcaster and writer Clyde McKenzie as part of a micro-credential pilot of 15 courses and is deeply rooted in the mechanics and ethics of ghostwriting

Launching in January 2026, the programme includes flexible, non-credit created to boost critical thinking, classroom engagement, and future certification in literary education.

McKenzie, who has ghost-written works such as Reggae My Life Is with music manager Copeland Forbes, helped with the creation of the programme. The goal is to help educators, journalists, creatives, and aspiring authors document life stories especially of Caribbean public and cultural figures whose stories may potentially be lost.

“One of the things is that there is a growing sense that we need to preserve the stories of our icons,” McKenzie said. “And what has been happening is that many of them are fading away fast because some of these legends ... are going on in age.”

For McKenzie, the urgency is both professional and personal. He believes these icons offer more than entertainment as they provide great life lessons for younger generations.

“These lives that they led are filled with a great deal of inspiration,” he said. “How they managed to overcome their challenges, how they were able to innovate despite all the negative influences that surrounded them, and how they used their creativity to get them out of dire straits and help them to feed their family.”

DEMAND FOR WRITERS

Dr Lisa Tomlinson, senior lecturer and head of the Department of Literatures in English, is a key facilitator of the course. She said the programme responds to growing regional demand for skilled ghost-writers, especially among public figures who want their stories told but lack the time or tools.

“There’s no course like it right now that we know of,” Tomlinson said. “And there is a demand for ghostwriters, especially with the celebrity culture that we have. We’ve always had it, but we don’t do a very good job in Jamaica or in the Caribbean of documenting the lives and journeys of our artists, politicians, and other influential figures.”

Although open to anyone interested in memoir writing, the course was designed with non-flexible learners in mind. Typically running four to six weeks, the micro credential format offers targeted, practical training.

According to Tomlinson, the course is funded by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and supported by the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC).

“We developed these courses from scratch. We didn’t take existing courses and shorten them,” she said. “When it is first launched, it will be non-credited, just a certificate of completion. But once we see the demand and impact, we’ll work to make it accredited.”

The modules in McKenzie’s course include narrative structure, grammar and voice in Caribbean storytelling, and preparing for publication. Meanwhile a strong emphasis is also placed on preserving the authenticity of the subject’s voice.

“If you’re writing in the first person, that voice must be yours. That must be the person you’re writing … you have to make that distinction,” McKenzie explained. “You write in that person’s voice, and that means sounding like the way they would sound, but putting it in a literary form … You have to pay attention to language, spelling, things like authenticity.”

TRANSPARENCY

While ghostwriters are often anonymous, McKenzie said his projects usually involve shared credit through “as told to” bylines which adds an extra layer of transparency and integrity.

“You’re usually sharing the credits. But the important thing is to write in the subject’s voice,” he said. “People might think you’re not being authentic, and the writing is not real if the voice doesn’t align with the person’s lived experience.”

Tomlinson acknowledged the ethical discourse that surrounds ghostwriting, especially in literary and academic spaces.

“It can become controversial in the sense that it raises questions of transparency and ethics,” she said. “If a ghostwriter creates content that is published under someone else’s name, it brings up issues of intellectual honesty. Readers, especially in the context of memoirs, deserve to know who actually wrote the work.”

She emphasised that authenticity and cultural sensitivity are essential in Caribbean ghostwriting.

“In Caribbean writing, there’s always this issue about authenticity, who has the right to tell a story? If the ghostwriter doesn’t share the subject’s cultural or social background, it could be seen as misrepresenting their lived experience.”

Still, both McKenzie and Tomlinson believe the rewards far outweigh the risks.

“It can also boost the publishing industry,” Tomlinson said. “The more persons are trained in ghostwriting, the more Caribbean authorship can grow, in autobiographies, political and sports memoirs, business stories, even cultural history. It becomes a form of professional development that also supports the creative economy.”

She compared ghost-writing to Jamaica’s traditional eulogy writing.

“Sometimes the person reading the eulogy isn’t the person who wrote it. They get someone who’s better able to capture the essence of that person’s life. That’s ghostwriting, too,” she said.

For McKenzie, the course is ultimately about equipping writers to serve as cultural custodians.

“Caribbean people are able to write about our contemporaries with more sensitivity,” he said. “There’s something about you being a Caribbean person, writing about people from your region, from your country, that allows you to basically connect to these individuals because you share similar experiences.”

With enrolment expected to open later this year and the course launch next year, the team remains optimistic.

“The most important thing is for people to acquire the skills to tell stories. Because it’s all about that,” McKenzie said. “Somebody’s going to relate something to you in his or her own way, and you’re going to ensure that your representation of what that person has told you is appealing.”

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com