New award for sports writing
A new award recognising the best in Irish sports writing has been announced by Setanta Sports. Sports books published in 2015 by Irish authors, or with an Irish subject matter, will be eligible for the award, which is supported by Publishing Ireland. The winning author of the Setanta Sports Irish Sports Book of the Year will receive a €1,500 cash prize, a trophy and €10,000 worth of TV advertising on Setanta Sports. All shortlisted entries will feature in a television show to be broadcast by Setanta.
Setanta are making an initial four-year commitment to the awards scheme. The judging panel will be chaired by Mark Duncan and made up of sports editors and producers from the print, broadcast and online media. The judges for 2015 are Adrian Barry (Newstalk), Dave Courtney (Independent Group), Neil Fullerton (Irish Daily Mirror), Robbie Irwin (RTÉ), Tony Leen (Irish Examiner), Malachy Logan (Irish Times), Adrian Russell (The42.ie) and Jack White (Irish Daily Mail). Entries will be sought in September, a shortlist announced in November, with a winner chosen in December.
Books of Kells
One more weekend until Hay Festival Kells, with the full programme now available on the festival website. It runs from June 25th-28th and Marian Keyes, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle are among the Irish authors appearing at various events across the weekend. Others to watch out for include bestselling author Lynda La Plante, Booker winner Ben Okri and the poet Paul Durcan. Home-grown literary talent Sara Baume, Michael Harding, Colin Barrett and Paul Murray are also among the line-up.
For music fans, Brian Eno will be among the guests, talking “freeganism and food” at an environmentally themed event. Cinema is also covered, with Lenny Abrahamson (Adam and Paul, Garage, Frank), Ed Guiney of Element Pictures (The Guard, What Richard Did), and writer Malcolm Campbell discussing the “creative triangle” of writer, director and producer. Cartoon Saloon will give a visual presentation on the process involved in creating an Oscar-nominated animation feature film, including clips from the soon to be released Song of the Sea.
History and politics also get a platform with a range of interesting discussions. A debate on potential tensions surrounding commemorative events north and south for 2016 will include contributions from Mitchel McLaughlin, speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP MP, and historian Ronan Fanning.
Author and journalist Martina Devlin will speak on the history of witch hunts in Belfast, which informed her latest novel The House Where it Happened, while journalists Natasha Fennell and Róisín Ingle discuss their recent book The Daughterhood. Elsewhere Derek Landy will read from his popular Skulduggery Pleasant series of children’s books, while children’s writer Erika McGann, author of the Grace series (The Demon Notebook) will conduct a workshop for 8-10 year-old readers.
De Paor poetry reading
Galway based writing group Over the Edge will host the poet Louis de Paor at this month's gathering in Galway City Library. De Paor will be joined by Carlos Reyes, Alan McMonagle, Brian Kirk, Anne Tannam and Eamonn Wall for a special showcase reading of contributors to the poetry publication Skylight 47. The free event takes place from 6.30 - 8pm on Thursday, June 25th. Further details here.
Science meets literature
Ireland's Laureate for Fiction Anne Enright will share her insights on creating fictional homes as part of an exhibition run by the Science Gallery at Trinity College. As curator of HOME\SICK, Enright will discuss the process of writing, and how the essence of home is often contained in the finer details. Joining the Booker winner for the discussion is specialist in graphics, Annie Atkins, who will speak about her approach to creating fictional homes in film. Her work includes Wes Anderson's fictional State of Zubrowka in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Stephen Spielberg's upcoming blockbuster Bridge of Spies. Chaired by the journalist and broadcaster Sinéad Gleeson, the event takes place from 6pm on Thursday, June 25th in the Paccar Theatre in Trinity. Tickets are €5 and can be purchased through the Science Gallery website.
Galway Arts Festival
Always a lively weekend in the music and arts summer calendar, the theatre line-up for this year's Galway Arts Festival has some real gems. Premiere productions include new work by Frank McGuinness, Hofesh Shechter, Amy Conroy and Enda Walsh. Directed by Joan Sheehy, McGuinness's The Match Box stars Galway actress Cathy Belton, who makes her long-awaited festival debut. Other highlights include two world premieres – HotForTheatre's Luck Just Kissed You Hello, written by Amy Conroy, and A Girl's Bedroom, written and directed by Enda Walsh. Lessness by Samuel Beckett stars Olwen Fouéré and reunites the creative team behind the acclaimed riverrun. Theatre installations, collaborations with the RTÉ National Symphony, a 100ft flying sky-whale and lots of recognisable names on the music billing are also part of the extensive programme. The festival runs from July 13th-26th, with full information on events at http://www.giaf.ie/.
West Cork literary line-up
Michel Faber, David Nicholls, Rachel Cusk, Neel Mukherjee and Graham Norton are among the guests announced for this year’s West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry. The programme, which runs from July 12th-18th, also features a number of Irish authors with recent releases or new books on the way. Belinda McKeon, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Paul Murray and Louise O’Neill will read at various events throughout the week.
Other highlights include an evening with Nick Davies, who exposed the phone-hacking scandal in Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire; a literary brunch hosted by the travel writer Dervla Murphy; and readings on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay. Literary agent Lucy Luck will share her expertise on the publishing industry, with Julia Churchill giving an agent’s perspective on the children’s literature genre. Anna Kelly, commissioning editor at 4th Estate, will be editor in residence at the Festival. John Boyne, Tessa Hadley, Carlo Gébler, Anthony Sattin and Deirdre Kinahan are among those facilitating workshops on novel writing, investigative reporting, playwriting and poetry.
Local author Sara Baume and her publishers from Tramp Press, Sarah Davis-Goff and Lisa Coen, will host a discussion on The Myth of Overnight Success. Declan Meade of Stinging Fly Press shares his experience of working as an editor and publisher. Irish Times cartoonist Martyn Turner looks at what it means to be a political cartoonist in the modern age. John Fitzgerald and Thomas McCarthy will present an afternoon of poetry, while Irene O'Mara coaches writers on how to be better public readers. The Children's Festival features Sarah Crossan, Shane Hegarty, Judi Curtin, Sarah Webb, Yasmeen Ismail and the return of the Book Clinic. www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie.
Patrick Kavanagh competition deadline
The closing date to enter the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award 2015 is Friday, July 24th. The annual award is for a first unpublished collection of poems in English. Now in its 45th year, the award is open to poets born on the island of Ireland, of Irish nationality, or those who are long-term resident in Ireland. Previous winners include Eileán Ni Chuilleanáin, Paul Durcan, Thomas McCarthy, Peter Sirr, Sinead Morrissey, Conor O'Callaghan, Celia de Freine and Joseph Woods. The winner will receive €1,000, which will be presented on Friday, September 25th, at the opening of the annual Patrick Kavanagh Weekend in Inniskeen. www.patrickkavanaghcountry.com
Contact sarah.gilmartin@gmail.com with your literary listings
