KEANE ON BOOKS

Cúirt International Festival of Literature, which opens on Tuesday week, will bring Faber Academy to Galway for the first time, to deliver a superb programme of workshops led by experienced authors and editors.

The Faber Academy, established in 2008, provides writing courses, manuscript assessment and mentoring and has seen its alumni secure major publication deals, win awards and begin their writing careers.

Authors Lucy Caldwell, Rafeef Ziadah, Una Mannion, Richard Skinner, Molly Hennigan and Daljit Nagra, among others, will lead a series of workshops catering to a wide range of interests and writers at different stages of their journey. April 2328; to book, see cuirt.ie.

The National Library of Ireland has announced a unique series of conversations titled ‘Celebrating Ireland’s Booker

Winners’. Starting on April 23 with Paul Lynch talking to novelist Belinda McKeon, it runs into May and June, with John Banville, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle interviewed respectively by Claire Kilroy, Nuala O’Connor and Rob Doyle. Tickets free from nli.ie

Co Wexford native Jennifer McMahon has been awarded first place in the public category of the 2024 All Ireland Scholarships (AIS) ‘Fresh Pages, New Stories’ Creative Writing Competition, for her entry, Beautiful Like Her.

Now in its fourth year, the competition was split into two categories for the first time: the existing AIS Alumni Association, plus a new public category.

Jennifer wins €2,000 and a place in UL’s Creative Writing Winter School – a residential professional development retreat. This year’s judging panel comprising Marian Keyes, Donal Ryan and Roddy Doyle was chaired by Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, the dynamic head of Creative Writing at UL.

Sponsored by JP McManus, the All-Ireland Scholarship is a third-level educational scholarship and is awarded to 125 of the highest-achieving students each year from the 32 counties. Madeleine Keane