Camille Boxhill

Camille Boxhill is a Jamaican-American writer currently based in South Florida. She earned an MA in Creative Writing with Distinction from the University of Bristol. Boxhill is an alumna of the 2022 Madeleine Milburn Mentorship Program and a 2022 Space to Write Project award recipient. She has also enjoyed support and recognition from Iowa Writers’ Workshop Summer Program, Renaissance House, and Hurston/Wright Foundation. Her debut novel will explore themes of multigenerational trauma, legacy, and identity, alongside elements of Jamaican folklore. Boxhill is represented by the Madeleine Milburn Agency.

Artist Statement

My work explores themes of multigenerational trauma, legacy, and identity—particularly for second-generation immigrants who may feel stuck in the in-between of two cultures. I’m also inspired by Jamaican myth, folklore, and religion and their entangled histories. My work sheds a new light on old stories, offering a modern take on Jamaican folktales and traditions. It doesn’t shy away from the ugly truths and darkness that is typically stripped from Disney/American fairytales. My current project, OBEAH, is a contemporary thriller sprinkled with social commentary and elements of magical realism inspired by Jamaican folklore. The story takes place in Jamaica and America: two very different worlds with vastly different rules. OBEAH shows the chaos that ensues when trying to apply the right rules to the wrong world. My work deals with hauntings—both imagined and real—and attempts a more nuanced approach to horror, which means something different for Black people. It’s driving while Black, shopping while Black, and the countless other routine tasks that take on different and more dangerous meaning. OBEAH builds on this fear, combining the magical and fantastical for a more chilling effect.