Jamaica Kincaid receives the Book Fair's honorary award The Mermaid despite her fear of water

- When I was three and a half, I could read everything and became something of a sensation in the neighborhood, she says.

This year, the author Jamaica Kincaid receives the Book Fair's honorary award The Mermaid. Ironic, the author herself thinks, because she is terrified of water.

Jamaica Kincaid was born on the Caribbean island and former British colony of Antigua. She had her big breakthrough in 1985 with the novel "Annie John" and often writes about colonialism and relationships between mothers and daughters.

Hear Jamaica Kincaid talk about how her mother taught her to read in the clip above or watch a longer interview in Sunday's Babel.