Throughout the past couple of weeks, Writing.ie have featured a selection of Top Five picks when it comes to Books for Christmas. I’m sure these will draw you into a bookshop where you’ll blow your whole budget on books – but what should you watch out for next year? When All is Said by Anne Griffin (24th January) I loved this book so much, I’ve been raving about it to everyone. Genius concept, beautifully delivered.  Five...

A Night Before Christmas at the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, on 21st Dcember, will feature a selection of classic Christmas stories read by an all-star cast of Irish actors – Owen Roe, Michele Forbes, Cathy Belton and Phelim Drew – with music by Ellen Cranitch, Ciara Sidine and Conor Brady. Christmas is more than a season; it’s a state of mind. And that state is intimately connected to the seasonal music we love, from carol...

Every March something special happens in Ennis. Readers come together to celebrate their love of books. Highlights of the much anticipated 13th Ennis Book Club Festival programme are now on sale at glór Box Office with an unbeatable offer for early bird bookers.  An annual celebration of book clubs and readers, the Festival combines a unique mix of readings, discussion, music and chat. The 2019 Ennis Book Club Festival opens on Friday 1st March with...

Closing date for receipt of applications is December 18th 2018 The Oxford Dictionary defines a carer as “A family member who regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person.” The Mini-Writer’s Retreat for Carers Bursary aims to support writers who, due to their role as carer, find it difficult to find time for writing. You may be a son caring for an elderly parent, a working mother with school-going kids, a...

Murder One, a three-day long weekend crime writing festival that launched last weekend (2-4 November) was jam packed with interviews with Irish and international authors, panel events, and a free speakers corner where attendees could listen to readings from some of Ireland’s newest crime writers.  Murder One  featured all aspects of the genre from thrillers and spy fiction, to police procedural and supernatural, cosy mysteries to psychological suspense with more coming for 2019 – we...

Tickets are selling fast for Murder One, Ireland’s international crime writing festival taking place in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre 2nd-4th November and Murder One have just released a limited edition rover weekend ticket for attendees keen to see the full line up. There are currently only 25 available so don’t hang about! A stellar cast of crime and thriller writers will be appearing with a host international authors including Lynda La Plante, Peter James, Val McDermid, Mark...

Alison Spittle, Emilie Pine, Joe Duffy, Sophie Hannah, Andrew McMillan, Tara Flynn and Colm Keegan are among the big names set to take part in the 2018 Red Line Book Festival, which runs for seven days from Mon 8 Oct – Sun 14 Oct. An initiative of South Dublin Libraries and Arts, Red Line Book Festival brings local, national and international authors, alongside talks, workshops, theatrical productions and creative writing competitions, to venues across South...

Dublin Festival of History 2018 kicks off on Monday 24th September with thousands expected to attend free walks, talks, tours and exhibitions over the next two weeks. The Dublin City Council festival runs until 7th October and features 140 events in total, including many exploring themes of suffrage and women’s rights.  More than half the speakers on the programme are women, covering topics ranging from Hitler’s Valkyries to Victorian-era sex-workers.  Sports, music, gaming, slavery, the Romanovs...

Join the MURDER ONE team for Serial Thrillers, an evening of criminal conversation and the MURDER ONE festival official launch at Hodges Figgis Bookshop, Dawson Street Thursday 20th September 2018 6.30pm Free event, all welcome (there may be wine!)  Get a first look at the Murder ONE brochure! In 2017, crime fiction overtook general and literary fiction to officially  become the biggest selling genre in the book trade. What is it about serial killings, police investigations and...

Londoners, if you’re at a loose end on Tuesday the 18th, come along to this. Literary activism and art as a space for healing at the London Irish Centre with award-winning and best-selling authors Mia Gallagher, Lisa Harding and Sam Blake. If you’re not at a loose end – clear your schedule! The Broken Spiral In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the Belfast Rape Trial, anger and betrayal rippled through a very large...