Literature fans
Take a break from reading and listen to your favourite authors discuss their work. There’s something for everyone, writes Deirdre Conroy
GET your pen and diary out. Not your iPhone calendar. If you don’t write down this stuff on a page, where you can fiddle around and cancel less unique experiences, you are going to miss out on phenomenal fun this summer.
Book tickets with your lover, your mother, your gang and take off and immerse yourself in drama, drinkies and who knows what else. In our country of literary extremities, writers are coming from far and near to share their mind sets with us.
I’ve heard it said many times, “we all have a book in us” but how to write it? Getting started is where Borris (not Johnson!) comes into its own. Some festival dates overlap, many include the same writers, for example if you miss out on Michael Ondaatje in Dublin this month, you can meet up again at Dalkey next month.
The International Literature Festival Dublin comes of age this year and celebrates 21 years of gathering the world’s finest writers to debate, provoke and delight. The nine-day celebration from May 19-27 combines over 100 events in 36 city locations, with workshops, literary trails, advice from industry insiders, a spotlight on New Zealand writers and a bigger than ever Tall Tales programme for families and young readers.
This Wednesday there’s a pre-festival event, with globally acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Ruby Wax talks about her new book How to Be Human: The Manual; and you can hear a great storyteller, Neil Gaiman, all at the IFI.
At Liberty Hall there’s a post-festival event on June 16 with the renowned poet, novelist, editor and filmmaker Michael Ondaatje.
There will be war journalists, crime writers, poets and literary luminaries, including Orla Guerin, Caelainn Hogan and Samanth Subramanian, Liz Nugent, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Colette Bryce and Kayo Chin- gonyi, Alicia Kopf, Sara Baume, and Maggie O’Farrell to name but a few (ilfdublin.com).
In the south-west, the 47 th annual Listowel Writers’ Week is on from May 30-June 3. The market town hosts a famous literary fiesta with global writers and journalists, plus a rich schedule of music, theatre, comedy and entertainment for all ages. Award-winning novelists will include Edna O’Brien, Colm Toibin, Margaret Drabble, Anthony Horowitz, Alex Preston, Eimear McBride, Ruth Fitzmaurice, Carlo Gebler, Jon McGregor, Louise O’Neill, Julie Parsons, Alex Barclay, Lidia Yuknavitch, Sally Rooney, Mary Morrissy, Rachael English, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen.
As the Ennis Book Club Festival had to cancel this year due to Storm Emma, Listowel is hosting one of its events featuring Sally Rooney and Mary Morrissy on May 31. Evening theatre includes The Good Father, Unforgotten, After Sarah Miles and Ragman (writersweek.ie)
Back to the east, and the Borris House Festival of Writing & Ideas is in its seventh year, with over 60 speakers participating in 50 events from June 8-10.
The main event at Borris House, Co Carlow, seat of the High Kings of Leinster and home to the same family for more than 800 years, flows out into the picturesque Georgian village where every pub and restaurant hosts scheduled performances and impromptu gatherings.
The first evening has the highly elusive Donna Tartt on stage. Her first novel, The Secret History, which took over a decade to perfect, is one of my all-time favourites. Described by a previous participant, Ian McEwan, as “one of the most stimulating literary festivals in the world...” this year has a stellar line-up, including Margaret Atwood, Rachel Kushner, Alan Hollinghurst, Patrick McGrath, Kit de Waal, Elizabeth Strout, Philip Hensher and Hanan Al-Shaykh.