****** UPDATE: DUE TO LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS DUBRAY CAN NO LONGER DELIVER BUT DO VISIT THEM WHEN THINGS GET BACK TO NORMAL! ****** Dubray Books are offering 10 minute book consultations to help you find comforting, diverting reads for the weeks ahead. Call 01 280 9917 or your local store to chat about your reading preferences and they’ll ring back with a recommended list! Free delivery on orders over €20. Kids Literary Line A quick chat...

One of the key elements that became obvious from our work on the National Emerging Writer Programme (lots of free video for you to watch on You Tube) was just how useful writers groups can be, particularly if you find yourself self-isolating during the current crisis. Talking to writers, we know that groups can be tricky to find – Writing.ie runs a subscription based writers group via Facebook Writers Ink, which periodically opens for membership,...

Festival dates: Friday 6 – Sunday 8 March 2020 The full programme for the 14th Ennis Book Club Festival has been announced. The programme outlines a weekend packed with activities and events to inspire your reading, to stimulate discussion, to entertain you and give lots of opportunity to meet old friends and new.   There is also an exciting programme for younger readers. In a new departure for the Festival, it has commissioned writer Mia Gallagher to curate a special...

In 2020 the Society of Authors Estates team will launch a bi-monthly Twitter book club – #DeadGoodLit – to celebrate a selection of favourite titles from an expansive stable of works in our literary estates. They are privileged to act as literary representative of the estates of over 40 distinguished writers – many of whom were closely associated with the SoA as members, including John Masefield, Walter de la Mare, Bernard Shaw, Compton Mackenzie, Harley Granville Barker, St. John Ervine,...

A monthly literary cabaret takes place at Buswells Hotel on Molesworth Street, Dublin every third Sunday of the month at 7pm.  Leonor Bethencourt welcomes the audience warmly and comperes the evening with wit and charm. The show comprises scenes from theatre and from the movies, intermingled with musical and comedy acts, poetry and new writing. The theme of the show is different every month: from Forbidden Love, to Espionage, to Road Trips to Gothic Horror....

Ennis Book Club Festival dates: Friday 6 – Sunday 8 March 2020 The 2020 Ennis Book Club Festival will open on Friday 6th March with Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling featuring best friends and co-authors of the phenomenally successful series of Aisling books, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen. The books have been described variously as joyful, emotional, heartfelt, and hilarious, and ‘a loving ode to a certain type of Irish woman.’ Saturday morning will see the return of a firm festival favourite – 10 Books You Should Read this year with bestselling authors Ruth...

Writer Dave Lordan has published an open letter to RTÉ, signed by a growing number of artists in opposition to savage cuts at RTÉ and their implications for arts and culture coverage. Signatories so far include: Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny, Lisa O Neill, Raymond Deane, John Banville, Theo Dorgan, and Claire Kilroy. Said Dave Lordan: There is a big fight in RTÉ between the upper layers and the ground level workers about the...

This year’s Dublin Book Festival takes place at Smock Alley Theatre from 14th-17th November. There are many highlights to enjoy but here’s my pick of the Festival: Ireland’s Emerging Writers – With Adrian Duncan, Nicole Flattery, Ian Maleney, Lucy Sweeney Byrne In Conversation with Madeleine Keane Join lecturer and award-winning journalist Madeleine Keane in a discussion with four of Ireland’s most exciting emerging writers. Nicole Flattery, recipient of an Art’s Council Next Generation Artists’ Award, showcases her first collection: the...

A new monthly book subscription box is getting reading for a busy Christmas.  The Book Resort, which is based in Waterford in the south east of Ireland, is Ireland’s newest subscription box and is already getting plenty of Christmas orders. The Book Resort is offering a sweet and simple book and chocolate discovery experience. The Book Resort delivers a monthly box containing a brand new book, Irish chocolate and a small surprise to book lovers...

A gripping cast of crime and thriller writers have been lined up for Murder One 2019, taking place in Smock Alley Theatre 1-3rd November. Supported by Dublin Libraries and Dublin City of Literature, Murder One boasts an intriguing blend of crime fact and fiction that will appeal to writers and readers alike. Martina Cole, Steve Cavanagh, Lucy Foley, Hallie Rubenhold, Joseph O’Connor and Liz Nugent are among the host of Irish and international writers who...