Impac awardwinning author Jon McGregor is participating in Dublin’s annual European Literature Night, on Thursday, May 15th, at 6.30pm, in the Reading Room at the National Library of Ireland, with the support of British Council Ireland.
McGregor is a novelist and short story writer based in Nottingham. His novels include So Many Ways To Begin and Even the Dogs, which won the 2012 Impac Dublin Literary Award. His most recent book was the story collection, This Isn’t the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You. McGregor has also just been named by The Guardian as one of the “top 10 writers to see live”, so now is your chance!
European Literature Night will be happening in cities across Europe on May 15th.
In Dublin you will get the chance to sample outstanding contemporary European literature read in English by 10 Irish celebrities and McGregor in unusual venues around Nassau Street, many of which are not usually open to the public. Readings will be held every half an hour from 6.30pm to 9pm and will last 15 minutes each, allowing you time to wander from venue to venue, grab a drink en route and generally enjoy a spring evening in Dublin.
Irish celebrities include: Maria Doyle Kennedy, Anne Doyle, Phelim Drew, Joe Duffy, Bryan Murray, Aengus MacGrionna, Aoibhinn McGinnity, Blathnaid Ní Chofaigh and Fiachna Ó Braonáin.
Other venues include: Alliance Francaise, Buswell’s Hotel, Europe House, Freemason’s Hall, Hodges Figgis, Mansion House, National Library of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians, Royal Irish Academy, St. Ann’s Church and No 5 South Leinster Street.
MacGill Summer School
The 34th Annual MacGill Summer School & Arts Week will take place in Glenties, Co Donegal, from July 20th to 25th. In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, the programme will look at the political and administrative reforms needed in contemporary Ireland to meet the economic challenges that lie ahead.
The summer school will also remember Seamus Heaney as the anniversary of his passing approaches. A week-long tribute, Seamus Heaney – The Loss and the Legacy, will take the form of an analysis of the Nobel laureate's work, with talks and readings from the different phases of his creative activity. It aims to celebrate the uniqueness of his talent, as well as his enormous contribution to world literature and to public life on the island of Ireland. More details about the programme and speakers will be available over the coming months on www.macgillsummerschool.com.
West Cork Literary Festival
New workshops have been added to the line-up for this year's West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, which runs from July 3rd to 6th. Limited to 25 participants, The Business of Writing seminar will appeal to those keen to publish their work.
A programme of free events includes: readings by Eimear McBride, Richard Skinner, Louise Welsh, Carmen Bugan, Audrey Magee and Rose George in Bantry Library; a series of readings by new writing talent in Bantry Bookshop; Open Mike sessions; and the launch of the popular Fish Anthology.
Daytime highlights of ticketed events include a talk by Alberto Manguel on the power of the reader, The Gift of the Garden with Alice Taylor, Walking Ireland with Christopher Somerville, and a panel discussing the Business of Publishing with leading figures from the industry. For the evening events, the keynote speakers are Ben Okri, Sir Jonathan Miller, Anne Michaels, Paula Meehan, Blake Morrison, Hugo Hamilton, Jennifer Johnston and Karen Joy Fowler.
