ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR LITERARY FESTIVAL
WEXFORD Literary Festival taking place this year from May 19 to 21 was officially launched by radio presenter Alan Corcoran at a reception in Enniscorthy Castle
The festival which has unveiled a new logo and website was set up in Enniscorthy four years ago and has been steadily building its brand with the aim of becoming one of the top literary events in Ireland, tapping into County Wexford’s reputation for producing successful international writers.
The 2017 programme of workshops, readings and lectures features an impressive line-up of writers including Donal Ryan, Alex Barclay, Sinead Moriarity and Shane Hegarty and the Sunday Independent literary editor Madeleine Keane.
The festival will offer a number of literary prizes across various writing genres including the Children’s Book Trailer Award, the Wexford Literary Festival One-Act Play Competition, the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award and the Wexford Literary Festival International Poetry Award. The prize fund is €2,700.
The author Carmel harrington who is chairperson of the festival said the ambition is to become one of the best known literary festivals in the country.
‘ What you need to do in order for this to happen is to work on your brand,’ she said as she congratulated graphic desinger Brian Byrne and website designer Laura Kenny on their work in producing the new logo and website.
The festival was set up to celebrate the wealth of literary talent in Wexford but also to support and encourage emerging writers.
There was a brief tribute at the launch to the Enniscorthy-born writer Anthony Cronin who died recently with Carmel commenting: ‘I think he might approve of what we’re doing.’