Ireland's longest-established literary festival will be opened this year by the novelist John McGahern.
Details of the programme for Listowel Writers' Week, which runs from June 2nd to June 6th, were announced at the ESB headquarters in Dublin last night.
The festival chairwoman, Ms Joanna O'Flynn, who is a daughter of the late John B. Keane, listed the highlights of this year's event including workshops, dramatic productions, seminars and exhibitions.
She also spoke of the eclectic mix of art and "craic" that make the week such a unique event in the Irish literary calendar.
Participants will include Michael Dibdin, Douglas Kennedy, Máire Cruise O'Brien, Patrick McGrath, Paul Durcan, Hugo Hamilton and Christine Dwyer-Hickey. Others expected to attend include Senator David Norris, Vincent Browne and Tom Hickey.
"There will be a diverse range of workshops available for the would-be, emerging and or established writer, while the festival caters for simply everyone," David Marcus, president of Listowel Writers' Week, said.
Also in attendance at yesterday's event were the authors shortlisted for the €10,000 Kerry Group Irish Fiction award.
They are: Gerard Beirne, author of The Eskimo In The Net; Gerard Donovan, for Schopenhauer's Telescope; Evelyn Conlon, for Skin of Dreams; Clare Kilroy writer of All Summer; and Paul Murray, author of An Evening of Long Goodbyes.
Frank Hayes, of the sponsoring Kerry Group, said the company was delighted to be associated with something which brought pride and prosperity to north Kerry.