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...

 In a UNESCO City of Literature that boasts innumerable festivals all year round, you might think that all bases had been covered, but with the increasing popularity of genre festivals, this is not strictly true.  Crime writers have regularly appeared at the major Dublin literary festivals but crime writing has arguably been under-served thus far.  All this is about to change with the advent of Murder One, a new three-day long weekend crime writing festival...

Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre is delighted to announce that the second ECHOES will run from 5th – 7th October 2018. The full day (10.00am -5.00pm) of talks, discussions, readings and dramatisations will be on Saturday 6th October with ancillary events on the 5th and 7th October. The first half day session will look at the evolution of contemporary Irish women writers – where they are at today and the part that Maeve Binchy’s international...