There are literary festivals across the country each summer. And then there is Listowel Writers’ Week.
As it prepares to celebrate its 55th edition, the country’s oldest literary festival has released a first glimpse of what lies ahead. This is not the full story. It is the opening chapter, setting the tone before the plot gathers pace. The Irish contingent reflects the depth and range of current writing. Memoirist Katriona O'Sullivan, novelists Edel Coffey and Mary Costello, and Laureate for Irish Fiction Eílís Ní Dhuibhne will feature. Crime fiction will be strongly represented by Liz Nugent and Claire Coughlan, both publishing new work this year.
Award-winning broadcaster and novelist Fergal Keane will appear in Listowel, bringing the perspective of a reporter who has witnessed history and a writer now shaping it in fiction. Trade union leader Mick Lynch will travel from the picket lines of London to the streets of Listowel, where calm argument and strong opinion are equally welcome. Booker shortlisted novelist Andrew Miller joins a line-up that includes Anya Bergman, Keith Ridgway and Ardal O'Hanlon, whose latest novel A Plot to Die For is due for release. Hungarian poet and literary historian Gy?z? Ferencz will travel from Budapest, while Scottish poet and critic Tom Hubbard will deliver his Seamus Heaney lecture, The Emerald Passport: Seamus Heaney and Europe.
The Children’s Festival returns this year, placing young readers and aspiring writers firmly at the heart of the programme. It is an investment in the festival’s future audience and in the next generation of storytellers, those who will one day take their own place on the stages and pages of
Irish writing.
There will also be the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, one of the most respected prizes in Irish fiction, with former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set to announce the winner alongside novelist and commentator Andrew O'Hagan. The Pigott Poetry Prize remains a centrepiece of the week, and the shortlists for both awards will be announced shortly.
Chairman Ned O’Sullivan said the 55th anniversary is a moment of pride. “To reach fifty five years is a remarkable achievement. This festival was founded by people who believed that literature belonged in Listowel and that writers and readers should meet face to face. We are proud of that
legacy. The 55th edition celebrates those who built it and those who continue to sustain it.” Curator Máire Logue said the milestone promises an especially vibrant gathering. “This is an exciting year for the festival. Fifty five years is something to celebrate properly. We are looking forward to a great few days of seeing the town alive with writers, readers and conversation. It is a privilege to help shape a programme that honours the past while bringing fresh energy to Listowel.”
Listowel Writers’ Week was the first literary festival in Ireland to introduce creative writing workshops, and that tradition continues. This year’s workshops will be led by Catherine Dunne, John Connell, Victoria Kennefick and Enda Wyley. Workshops are currently on sale via the festival website and are selling quickly, with strong early demand reflecting the enduring appetite for serious engagement with the craft.
The 55th edition begins on 27 May. The full programme will be launched in the coming weeks. For now, this is the first page of what promises to # be a fitting chapter in a story that has been unfolding in Listowel for more than half a century.