The Dublin Book Festival is just around the corner, with over 100 events taking place in venues across Dublin from November 5th – 9th. From fiction and poetry to history, nature and science, the festival celebrates the best of Ireland’s writers through a diverse range of dynamic events. Enjoy engaging author talks with some of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary authors, inspiring panel discussions, performances, storytelling, writing workshops, walking tours and more, as this year’s programme promises to be an unmissable event for book lovers.
The festival opening night in 1WML on Wednesday 5th November will be a live broadcast with RTÉ Radio 1 Arena. This year’s event celebrates The Dublin Review at 100, with a stellar line-up featuring Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Mark O’Connell, Patrick Freyne, Sara Baume and Brendan Barrington, and music on the night from Seán Mac Erlaine and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh.
Bartley’s Lounge at The Grafton Hotel is once again the DBF After Dark Festival Club, bringing three vibrant evenings of events, from lively conversations with debut authors and a new voices showcase, to poetry, music, and even eclectic DJ sets from Holy Show contributors, where the pens will be down and the volume up. The After Dark Club serves as an evening hub, a space for authors and audiences to kick back and unwind after a day of events.
This year’s programme includes two full days of events at two university campuses. On Wednesday 5th November at TU Dublin’s Grangegorman Campus, four panel discussions and one schools’ events explore pressing themes of sustainability, with speakers on the day including Catherine Cleary, Fintan Drury, John Gibbons, Anja Murray, Éanna Ní Lamhna and Randal Plunkett. At DCU St Patrick’s campus, on Thursday 4th, events covering poetry, fiction and music explore themes of class and the search for equality, connection and belonging. Hear from writers including Colm Keegan, Elaine Feeney and Fíona Scarlett.
This year’s Festival Hub is in the iconic IMMA Venues at the historic Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Across the weekend of Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November over 40 events take place, for both adults and children. A highlight of the festival each year, this year’s Dublin City Libraries Readers’ Day features Christine Dwyer Hickey, Miriam O’Callaghan, Joseph O’Connor and David Park in conversation about their latest books. The Festival Hub programme is packed with great fiction events. Head to Reimagining to hear authors Paul Perry and Hazel Gaynor discussing their vividly drawn reenvisionings of familiar stories, books that encapsulate the creativity and imagination that the festival celebrates. At Exploring Resilience, authors Claire Gleeson and June O’Sullivan will be discussing their deeply affecting debuts capturing the resilience of the human spirit in the most challenging of times. Crime fiction fans are also in for a treat as bestselling crime writers Marie Cassidy and Gill Perdue will be exploring The Lure of Crime Writing.
In Women Writing History, Evelyn Conlon and Sinéad Gleeson will be delving into writing that captures the impact of women activists in Ireland in recent decades. A favourite with the writing community and readers alike, Winter Papers, Ireland’s annual anthology for the arts, returns to the festival to launch Volume 11. For history lovers, events include Histories Uncovered where authors Kevin Rafter and Lin Rose Clark discuss their books illuminating fascinating life stories from history.
On Sunday 9th a full strand of events celebrate Science Week, with events looking at STEM Lives, the Science of Storytelling, nature conservation and restoration, and more. Speakers include Seán Ronayne, Ruby Free, and Professor Luke O’Neill. The grounds at IMMA provide ample space for adults and children alike to explore, and there are several walking tours lined up for audiences to join writers on. Join a poetry and music walking tour with poet Liam Carson and saxophonist Seán Mac Erlaine, or join poet and playwright Colm Keegan for a writing workshop on the go.
Families can immerse themselves in a full weekend of free events, and drop-in activities, at the Festival Hub at IMMA. Young readers can join some of Ireland’s best-loved authors and illustrators, including Ashwin Chacko, Máire Zepf, Alan Nolan and Dave Rudden, for readings, storytelling, draw-alongs, workshops, and more, while teen writers will have a chance to perform their own work at the Fighting Words Story Slam Open Mic.
The festival spreads out beyond the city centre. The RDS in Ballsbridge is hosting two talks this year. At Capturing Nature Conor W. O’Brien and Robert O’Leary will be delving into their nature books, while Gráinne Hurley and Patrick O’Sullivan Greene will be illuminating Great Irish Voices from history.
Head out to the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin where you can hear two panel discussions around nature as part of RTÉ lyric fm Culture File Debates. The Hare’s Corner will be a powerful exploration of making space for nature to thrive once again, while Do Bugs Need a Glow-Up considers the vital role insects play in supporting biodiversity.
The full programme of over 100 events, taking place 5 – 9 November, can be found at dublinbookfestival.com
Image Credits: Ger Holland
