Recent News
June 30, 2026
2026 Great Reads from Great Places Selection
Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) Announcement
Published by CFVI / Library of Congress Center for the Book
On June 30, 2026, the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) named Danica M. David's Creative Callaloo: Art, Poems, and Recipes Inspired by the Virgin Islands book the official 2026 Adult "Great Read from Great Places" representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands. As the Library of Congress Center for the Book's affiliate in the territory, CFVI selected the work for its artistry in preserving and celebrating regional traditions. David will represent the U.S. Virgin Islands at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 2026. (CFVI
Creative Callaloo Visual Arts Scholarship
Annual $1,000 Student Financial Grant
December 15 · Administered by Danica M. David / Creative Callaloo
Each year on December 15, artist and educator Danica M. David opens the application period for the Creative Callaloo Visual Arts Scholarship. Funded entirely through sales of her book, the $1,000 grant supports U.S. Virgin Islands high school graduates pursuing college degrees in fields such as visual arts, graphic design, architecture, or fashion. Applicants must submit all completed materials before the firm deadline of February 1 yearly.
NOVEMBER 2022
The Bookcase: Featuring Danica M. David Interview
Hosted by Shawna Richards · WTJX / PBS — Season 2, Episode 4 (28 min)
In this half-hour public-television sit-down, host Shawna Richards talked with David about making her first book, which she wanted to be “a little bit more different and unique and creative” — a mix of art, poetry, and eleven recipes (two of them her own) built on lessons from her grandmother Esther Davis and great-grandmother. She credited her cousin, chef Mark Davis of Guan Manje, and poet Winifred “Oyoko” Loving as close collaborators, and explained that publisher Mario Picayo of Editorial Campana offered to put out the book after seeing her working on it. David also named her favorite recipe from the collection — a sweet hibiscus punch she first learned from the late “Miss Evans” at her high school — and described designing the entire book herself in Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, drawing on 25 years of painting.
MARCH 16, 2020
Danica David's Creative Callaloo Book Promotional Video
Published on YouTube
More than a year after the book's launch, Danica David released a short promotional video to introduce herself and the project directly to readers online. In it, she describes Creative Callaloo as a "gorgeous hardcover edition" blending her art and photography with Winifred "Oyoko" Loving's poems and Mark E. Davis's recipes. She also explains that it had "always been my dream to showcase Virgin Islands culture in a book," mentioning dishes like callaloo and Vienna cake as highlights readers would discover inside.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2019
10 Women from the Virgin Islands with Published Books
By the MINT Team · sottvi.news
This roundup of Virgin Islands women authors placed Danica M. David and Creative Callaloo alongside award-winning novelist Tiphanie Yanique and writer Karen Thurland. In doing so, it underscored the book's place within a broader wave of homegrown V.I. literature published in the late 2010s.
MAY 30, 2019
New Book Offers a Taste of Virgin Islands Culture
By Curtis Walcott · Virgin Islands Daily News
The Daily News profiled David as "a Crucian artist with an abiding love for Caribbean cuisine" who had "served up a literary dish certain to satisfy the palette of anyone craving Virgin Islands culture." The piece then introduced her as a visual arts educator at St. Croix Educational Complex High School whose new book compiled V.I.-inspired art, poems, and recipes into a single volume.
JANUARY 15, 2019
Artist's Book, 'Creative Callaloo,' Showcases V.I. Culture
By Anne Salafia · St. Croix Source
St. Croix Source reported on the book's release, celebrating Crucian culture "in words and art." David told the outlet, "I poured my heart and soul into this book," and added that she designed every page herself. She also said she studied color theory to make the food photography more appealing — "you'll notice I don't use much yellow in the food photographs," she said.
JANUARY 10, 2019
Creative Callaloo: Art, Poems and Recipes Inspired by the Virgin Islands
By Renee · Coldwell Banker St. Croix Realty
A local real-estate blog highlighted the newly released book as a gift idea for islanders, tourists, and Virgin Islanders living abroad. It also noted that signed hardcover copies could be ordered online or picked up at Undercover Books in Gallows Bay or the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts gift shop.
DECEMBER 17, 2018
"Creative Callaloo", First Book From Author And Educator Danica David, Is Set For A Thursday Launch
Staff Consortium · V.I. Consortium
Ahead of the official launch event at Undercover Books in Gallows Bay, the V.I. Consortium announced David had "just added 'author' to her credentials," describing the hardcover as "a true Virgin Islands stew of colors, words, and flavors." It also quoted history educator Ronald Hewitt, who said David "utilizes a multidiscipline approach and brings the Virgin Islands culture alive with beautiful, vibrant art, powerful poems and interesting recipes."
DECEMBER 7, 2018
Creative Callaloo Is Officially Published Milestone
Listing via Goodreads · Editorial Campana, NY
Creative Callaloo: Art, Poems, and Recipes Inspired by the Virgin Islands was published as an 80-page hardcover by Editorial Campana. It marked the debut book from Danica M. David, alongside contributors Winifred Oyoko Loving (poetry) and Mark E. Davis (recipes), and it was timed for the Christmas gift season, with Amazon and St. Croix's Undercover Books & Gifts both stocking early copies.
Artwork by Danica M. David
