[3] As the editor of two seminal anthologies, Bluefoot Traveller (1976) and News for Babylon (1984), he was in the forefront of championing West Indian/British writing.

In his own words: Settling in 1948 in Great Britain, Berry attended night school, trained and worked as a telegrapher in London, while also writing.

He became an early member of the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM), founded in 1966 by Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Andrew Salkey and John La Rose,[11][12] and in 1971 was its acting chair.

His A Story About Afiya, illustrated by Brazilian artist Anna Cunha, was posthumously published by Lantana in 2020 and named one of the New York Times Best Children's Books of the year.

[11] Berry died in London on 20 June 2017, aged 92, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease and having lived in care for his last six years.

[25][26] The 'James Berry Poetry Prize – "the UK's first poetry prize offering both expert mentoring and book publication for young or emerging poets of colour" – was launched in April 2021, organised by Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA) together with Bloodaxe Books, and supported by funding from Arts Council England.