THE GUYANA Annual magazine is going digital.
Having made that declaration, the publishers have no intention of getting rid of the magazine in its printed format. The magazine will retain its printed format for lovers of print who hanker after the personal engagement of handling a book, separating oneself from the world for personal entertainment, relaxation and elucidation. Electronic literature has many advantages over the printed page, even though the printed page will maintain its place as mentioned above. E-books are ‘greener’ than paper-based books, environmentally-friendly, save trees. E-books defy time and space, in that they can be accessed almost instantly, and be read by scores of people simultaneously. Importantly, e-books have the capacity to increase the sale of paper-based books. Together, these two forms of accessing literature will improve literacy and enhance scholarship, all for a better living and for a better world.
This move to place the magazine onto the Internet is part and parcel of the success of the magazine, which is constantly re-inventing itself by subjecting its format to numerous modifications over the 95 years of production. A recent modification includes the renaming process, instituted in order to give the magazine a perennial appeal. That naming process moved the title from the Chronicle Christmas Annual to the Guyana Christmas Annual, and now The Guyana Annual.
The magazine is still a general family yearend magazine with all the trimmings of the Christmas season, but the ambit of coverage is wider, and the shelf-life is longer. The ambit of coverage is wider means that the package now includes the works of local writers, Guyanese writers in the Diaspora and others writing on Guyana.
The other modifications included the establishment of four new literary competitions, namely: ‘The Martin Carter Essay Prize’ and ‘The Egbert Martin Poetry Prize’, specially designed to encourage writing by children under 11 years of age, and ‘The Henry Josiah Writing Story for Children’ and ‘The Rajkumari Singh Writing Poetry for Children’ providing suitable reading material for children.
Mention must be made here that these four competitions supplement the original four categories, namely: Open Story, Open Poetry, Youth Story and Youth Poetry.
The Guyana Annual, formerly known as The Chronicle Christmas Annual, was resuscitated in 1998 by Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh. The Chronicle Christmas Annual, launched in December 1915 “in the midst of the turbulence of the First World War…would continue, albeit in fits and starts, for at least another 75 years,” with the last issue, before it was resuscitated, published in 1992.
This 2011 issue under production, the 13th consecutive issue since the magazine was revived, will be accessible on the Internet. Please go to www.guyanaannual.com (work in progress), or facebook@guyanaannual.com (up and running).
The closing date for entries and other submissions is Friday, October 29, 2010. Entries can be submitted Online to submit@guyanaannual.com . Other places to submit include Guyenterprise Ltd at Lance Gibbs and Irving Street, Queenstown, and Envisage Marketing & technology Company, 118N Cowan Street, Kingston.   
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