5.2mm Spine International Literature Festival Dublin 2 International Literature Festival Dublin 2 0 1 0 5 May 1 5 May 1 6 1 6 –24 –24
ilfdublin.com You complete the story International Literature Festival Dublin 2015 May 16–24 ilfdublin.com
Lord Mayor’s Welcome A UNESCO City of Literature deserves a world-class literary festival and I’m very proud to welcome you to the seventeenth (and first!) International Literature Festival Dublin. This year’s festival is an all-new affair, with a new director and a brand new name, but one thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to delivering an exciting, surprising and wide-ranging programme of events that will have the city reading, talking, listening and debating over nine magical days in May. Whether you want to meet Australia’s greatest living writer, throw yourself into the LA Riots, plunge down the rabbit hole with Alice, find out what life is really like in Guantánamo, discover the secrets of a teenage superspy, make an appointment with the Book Doctor, or understand the crisis in Ukraine, You Complete the Story. I look forward to sharing it with you.
Christy Burke Lord Mayor of Dublin
Programme Director’s Welcome It’s a great privilege – and great fun – to shape the programme as the International Literature Festival Dublin sets off in new creative directions, and to present dispatches from Turkey, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Finland, South Korea and many more countries, alongside a celebration of Ireland’s finest contemporary writers. Translating literature from one language to another, or from one artform to another, offers a touchstone for the festival, whether in contemporary novels, in classics like Finnegans Wake, or indeed in poems written over a thousand years ago, on which Ireland’s literary heritage rests. I love the buzz of meeting writers from around the world, and I also value the space that literature festivals offer to listen, think, debate and celebrate. I look forward to meeting you here…
Martin Colthorpe Programme Director Event Venue Time Pg Event Venue Time Pg
Sat 16 May Lost in Music with Ryan Gattis The Liquor Rooms 5pm 19
Date with an Agent Belvedere House 10am – 5pm 58 Christian Kracht, Clemens Setz Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 20 & Carmen Stephan: Craft of Fiction Seminars Irish Writers Centre 10.30am –1.30pm 59 New Writing in German The Paper Princess The Ark 10.30am & 8 Maurice Riordan, Ciarán Carson Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 21 12.30pm & Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin: The Finest Music The Mouse who Ate the Moon: The Ark 11.30am 8 Petr Horáček The Only Jealousy of Emer Henrietta Street 6pm & 8pm 11
Picturing Stories with The Ark 2pm 9 Gavin Corbett & Lisa McInerney Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 22 Chris Haughton Dublin Book Doctor The Gutter Bookshop 2pm – 6pm 10 Wurm im Apfel Oscars Café Bar 8pm 19 & Hodges Figges Mon 18 May Blue is the Warmest Colour: Irish Film Institute 1.30pm 12 Sepideh Jodeyri Talk & Screening Petr Horáček The Ark 10.15am & 62 Elif Shafak Smock Alley Theatre 4pm 12 11.30am Rumble with the Romans: The Ark 11.15am 62 Sara Baume & Brian Dillon The LAB Gallery 6pm 13 Gary Northfield Claire-Louise Bennett & Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 13 Scéinséirí Stairiúla / An Siopa Leabhar 6pm 23 Christine Montalbetti Thrilling Histories The Only Jealousy of Emer Henrietta Street 6pm & 8pm 11 Ryan Gattis Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 24
John Gray Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 14 The Only Jealousy of Emer Henrietta Street 6pm & 8pm 11
Festival Club with Anna Jordan Oscars Café Bar 9pm 56 Poetry Ireland Irish Writers Centre 7pm 24 Introductions Series Sun 17 May Johann Hari Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 25 Heroes of the Wild: Nicola Davies The Ark 12pm 16 Tue 19 May
Trail Tales The Ark 1pm – 4pm 17 Guantánamo Diary O'Reilly Theatre 6pm 26
Book Clinic: Meet the Book The Ark 1pm – 4pm 16 Oliver Jeffers: Smock Alley Theatre 6.30pm 27 & Doodle Doctors Words and Pictures Bestselling Besties with The Ark 3pm 17 Poetry Ireland Irish Writers Centre 7pm 24 Judi Curtin & Sarah Webb Introductions Series Suzanne O'Sullivan Smock Alley Theatre 2pm 15 Cogaí / Wars Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 28
Alice in Wonderland: Smock Alley Theatre 4pm 18 Jon Ronson O'Reilly Theatre 8pm 29 150th Anniversary
Seminars/Workshops Children’s Events Fringe Events Event Venue Time Pg Event Venue Time Pg Wed 20 May Sat 23 May
Once Upon an If... The Ark 11.15am 62 Writing Art Criticism with The LAB Gallery 10am – 5pm 61 Paper Visual Art Journal Thought Stories: The Ark 6pm 30 Philosophy for Mindshift Irish Writers Centre 10.30am – 4.30pm 61 Young Audiences Story Weavers The Vagabond @ 11am & 3pm 44 The Big Book Club Show Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 31 St Patrick’s Park European Literature Night Various venues 6.30pm 32 Everyone’s a Translator: The Ark 11.15am 9 Sarah Ardizzone Paul Muldoon Liberty Hall 8pm 33 A Retelling of Alice in Wonderland The Vagabond @ 1pm 44 Thur 21 May St Patrick’s Park
Bodies That Can Never Tire: Henry Street 8am – 8pm 38 Mr Leon’s Taxi: Sarah Ardizzone The Vagabond @ 2pm 45 The Whole City Must Dance... St Patrick’s Park City Dreams with Bali Rai Central Library 10.15am 63 Dublin Book Doctor Books Upstairs & 2pm – 6pm 10 Dubray Books (ILAC Centre) Eun Hee-kyung Smock Alley Theatre 2pm 43 Killer Cats & Crummy Mummies: Pearse Street Library 10.30am 63 Anne Fine Azar Nafisi Smock Alley Theatre 4pm 46 Diarmaid Ferriter & Maurice Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 34 Walsh: Writing Revolution Anne Enright Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 47 Poetry Ireland Irish Workman's Club 7pm 24 Introductions Series Alas Awake 13 North Great 7.30pm & 9pm 39 George’s St, D1 Second Book Syndrome Irish Writers Centre 7.30pm 59 Anne Applebaum & Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 48 Alain Mabanckou Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 35 Peter Pomerantsev Cuisle / Pulse Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 36 Bodies That Can Never Tire RDS Concert Hall 8pm 49
Alexander McCall Smith Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 37 Festival Club with Nialler9 Oscars Café Bar 9pm 57
Alas Awake 13 North Great 9pm 39 Sun 24 May George’s St, D1 Festival Club with Isobel Anderson Oscars Café Bar 9pm 56 Sofi Oksanen Smock Alley Theatre 12pm 50 Fri 22 May Gerbrand Bakker Smock Alley Theatre 2pm 51
Diversity in Children's Literature The Ark 11am – 1pm 60 Dermot Bolger & Smock Alley Theatre 4pm 52 Christine Dwyer Hickey Peter Carey Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 40 Deirdre Madden, Selina Guinness Smock Alley Theatre 6pm 53 Cré Na Cille / The Dirty Dust Smock Alley Theatre 8pm 41 & Eoin McNamee: All Over Ireland Irvine Welsh Liberty Hall 8pm 42 Alas Awake 13 North Great 7.30pm & 9pm 39 Alas Awake 13 North Great 9pm 39 George’s St, D1 George’s St, D1 Only Himself: A Tribute to O'Reilly Theatre 8pm 55 Festival Club with Dylan Tighe Oscars Café Bar 9pm 57 Dermot Healy 10 DENMARK STREET GREAT Venues 8 1 How to Book / 1 13 North Great George’s St, Venues Dublin 1 2 Books Upstairs 5 Tickets to all events are available 17 D’Olier St, Dublin 2 online www.ilfdublin.com 3 Central Library Ilac Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1 17 Festival Box Office 4 Dubray Books In person & by phone 24 Grafton St, Dublin 2 (only from 9 May – 24 May) 5 Henrietta Street 3 14 Henrietta St, Dublin 1 B Filmbase 6 Hodges Figgis Curved St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 56-58 Dawson St, Dublin 2 9 Opening Hours 7 Irish Film Institute 11am – 6pm Mon – Sat 6 Eustace St, Dublin 2 12 – 5pm Sunday 8 Irish Writers Centre T +353 (0) 1 687 7977 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 E [email protected] 9 Liberty Hall 2 1 Eden Quay, D1 Festival Bookseller 18 19 The Gutter Bookshop 10 O’Reilly Theatre & B Belvedere House Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 7 Great Denmark St, Dublin 1 FISHAMBLE ST. 14 12 T +353 (0) 1 679 9206 16 E info@gutterbookshop 11 Oscars Café Bar 16-18 Fishamble St, Dublin 8 Festival Administration 11 12 Pearse Street Library Dublin City Council Arts Office 144 Pearse St, Dublin 2 The Lab, Foley St, Dublin 1 13 RDS Concert Hall 6 T +353 (0) 1 222 5455 Merrion Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 E [email protected] 4 14 Smock Alley Theatre Exchange St, Lower, Temple Bar, 15 Ticket concessions are available for students, Dublin 8 senior citizens and the unwaged. Subject to 15 St. Patrick’s Park availability. All sales are final. No substitutions Patrick St, Dublin 8 or exchanges. Online and phone bookings are 16 The Ark subject to a €1 booking fee. 11a Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 17 The LAB Foley St, Dublin 1 18 The Liquor Rooms 7 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2 20 19 The Workman’s Club 10 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2 20 An Siopa Leabhar 13 6 Harcourt St, Dublin 2
7 The Paper Picturing Stories Princess with Chris Haughton
€ Sat 16 & Date Sat 16 May Tickets 5 (Note: capacity Date Sat 16 May Age 4+ Sat 23 May € Time 10.30am & 12.30pm is limited to 30 for each Time 2pm Tickets 5 Venue The Ark performance) Venue The Ark Age 3 – 7
Monkeyshine Theatre Company presents The Paper Princess, a delightful show for younger Join Chris Haughton, author of the award-winning Shh! We Have children based on the book by Elisa Kleven. A little girl makes a paper princess but, before a Plan (Irish Book Awards), for a mixture of stories, pictures, she has finished, the princess blows away! Told using a miniature theatre with tiny lights, puppets, action and participation to delight young readers, and and accompanied by live music, this beautiful story follows the princess’ journey as she tries watch as he brings your ideas to life with live drawing. A favourite to find her way home. of art and design aficionados, as well as parents, Chris is the creator of picture books A Little Bit Lost and Oh No, George! Presented as a birthday party, the performance also includes an opportunity to make your own paper doll using crayons, sequins and stars, ready to be taken home after the show. A perfect way to celebrate National Drawing Day.
The Mouse Everyone’s a Who Ate the Moon: Translator with Petr Horácek Sarah Ardizzone
Date Sat 16 May Age 4+ Date Sat 23 May Age 6+ Time 11.30am Tickets €5 Time 11.15am Tickets €5 Venue The Ark Venue The Ark
When Little Mouse wakes one morning, she finds her dream has Join award-winning translator Sarah Ardizzone for this unique event. In this special come true. Outside her burrow, a piece of the moon has fallen from workshop, Sarah invites you to help her translate Marjolaine Leray’s witty picture the sky and it smells delicious. Peep through the cut-out holes in this book Un Petit Chaperon Rouge from the original French into English. But don’t worry beautiful and heart-warming tale from the much-loved Petr Horáček. – no knowledge of French is required! A fun and stimulating event for everyone aged After the reading, children can make their own little books to take six and up. home. Petr Horáček has won many awards for classics such as Suzy Goose and A New House for Mouse and was shortlisted for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012.
8 9
& Sat 23 May Sat 16, Sun 17, Mon 18
Dublin Book Doctor The Only Jealousy of Emer
Date Sat 16 May Date Sat 23 May Date Sat 16, Sun 17 & Mon 18 May Time 2pm – 6pm Time 2pm – 6pm Time 6pm & 8pm Venue The Gutter Bookshop Venue Books Upstairs & Dubray Books Venue Henrietta Street & Hodges Figgis Tickets €5 Tickets €10 / €8
Sometimes you just don’t know what to read next. But don’t worry – the Book Doctors Part of the Cúchulainn Cycle of five plays about the life and death of the mythic Irish are here to help! Drop into our bookshop ‘clinics’ for a consultation with one of our hero, The Only Jealousy of Emer continues Yeats’ experiments with Japanese Noh theatre highly trained book doctors, including Paul Howard, Sarah Bannan, John Banville, as a way of bringing onto the stage demons, ghosts and supernatural events. Gavin Corbett, Lisa McInerney, Eoin McNamee and Ryan Tubridy amongst others. Cúchulainn has killed his son and, in grief, attempts to fight the sea. Half drowned, Once they’ve taken the pulse of your reading habits, they’ll prescribe a brand new he lies in a state between life and death with his wife Emer and his mistress Eithne book-from cookery to crime-that’s guaranteed to be just what you need. Do take a watching over him. But, as these two women struggle to revive him, is something far chance on getting a great recommendation from a Book Doctor you might not know. more sinister about to occur? All proceeds go to Alone, the independent charity that works with older people in crisis. Produced by the City Arts Office in association with Yemi and Deji Adenuga for Presented in association with Dublin Book Doctor volunteers. Nigerian Carnival Ireland, the production is designed by Robert Ballagh, with costumes by Marie Tierney and choreography by Liz Roche.
Performers Oluwayomi Ogunyemi Yemi Adenuga Esosa Ighodaro Deji Adenuga Penelope Anyaji-Aniuzu
This production has been generously supported and forms part of the National Yeats 2015 programme.
10 11 Blue is the Claire-Louise Bennett Warmest Colour: & Christine Montalbetti Sepideh Jodeyri Talk & Screening
Sat 16 May Irish Film Institute Sat 16 May Smock Alley Theatre Date Venue Date Venue Sat 16 May Time 1.30pm Tickets €12 / €10 Time 6pm Tickets €10 / €8
When the poet Sepideh Jodeyri published a Persian translation of Blue is the Warmest This event brings together two writers whose experimental take on narrative is pushing Colour, a prize-winning graphic novel about a passionate relationship between two fiction in exciting new directions. Claire-Louise Bennett won the inaugural White Review young women, she faced a campaign of intimidation in her native Iran so fierce it Short Story Prize in 2013 and writes both fiction and creative non-fiction. Her debut drove her into exile in Prague. In this special event, Jodeyri joins LGBT activist collection of stories, Pond, has just been published. Christine Montalbetti is a professor of Ailbhe Smyth to explore the cost of freedom of expression in a country where literature at the University of Paris and the author of several scholarly works on narrative. homosexuality is illegal. The discussion will be followed by a special screening of Blue Her playful and digressive tales like Western (in which the story of a mysterious gunslinger is the Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche’s adaptation of Julie Maroh’s graphic novel, is continually sidetracked by the viewpoint of passing ants) are finally appearing in English, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2013. confirming her reputation as one of the most engaging experimental writers working today. Presented in association with the Irish Film Institute and Art for Amnesty. Presented in association with the Embassy of France in Ireland.
Elif Shafak Sara Baume & Brian Dillon
Date Sat 16 May Venue Smock Alley Theatre Date Sat 16 May Venue The LAB Gallery Time 4pm Tickets €10 / €8 Time 6pm Tickets €10 / €8
“the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach Western readers in years” Art critics don’t always make good novelists (and vice versa), and this event The Irish Times explores the challenges of combining the critical and the creative in writing. Sara Baume studied fine art at Dun Laoghaire before turning to writing, and The prolific writer and journalist Elif Shafak is one of the most significant voices in her debut novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither has been showered with the sort of contemporary fiction. An outspoken campaigner and champion of minority rights, she acclaim usually reserved for Booker Prize winners. Brian Dillon is a lecturer at is not afraid to tackle controversial subjects, from the Armenian genocide in The Bastard the Royal College of Art whose research into ruins produced a critical study, an of Istanbul, to honour killings in Honour. Her new book, The Architect’s Apprentice, is a exhibition at Tate Britain and the novella Sanctuary. His new novel, The Great spellbinding magic-realist tale set at the height of Ottoman power and telling the story Explosion, brings to life a forgotten tragedy that took place during the First of the great imperial architect Mimar Sinan through the eyes of Jahan, a young stowaway World War. who arrives in Istanbul with nothing but a white elephant in tow. Shafak discusses her new work with Brendan Barrington, editor of The Dublin Review.
12 13 Sat 16 & Sun 17 May
John Gray Suzanne O’Sullivan: It’s All in Your Head
Date Sat 16 May Date Sun 17 May Time 8pm Time 2pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €12 / €10 Tickets €10 / €8
“Gray forces us to face the mirror Anyone who has experienced joy or grief knows the extreme reactions that our bodies can have to our emotional state. But the phenomenon goes much deeper than we’re and see ourselves as we are” prepared to admit. Many physical illnesses begin in the mind. James Lovelock For twenty years consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan has worked with patients with psychogenic disorders – an experience that inspired her controversial new The acclaimed philosopher, sceptic and writer makes a welcome return to the book, It’s All in Your Head. In this event, O’Sullivan talks to writer Brian Dillon (author festival with his new book, The Soul of the Marionette, a characteristically provocative of The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives) about her book, asking why we continue to exploration of the nature of human freedom that ranges over everything from insist on the separation of body and mind – even at the risk of our health. cybernetics to fairground marionettes. Why do we flatter ourselves that we enjoy free will, Gray asks, when our actions are determined, directed and restricted by a whole range of forces: biological, social or metaphysical? Through a dazzling parade of writers, thinkers and ideas, Gray argues that instead of deluding ourselves about our true nature we should learn to embrace it.
14 15 Heroes of the Wild: Trail Tales Nicola Davies
Age 7 – 10 Date Sun 17 May Date Sun 17 May Age 3 – 9, family friendly Sun 17 May € Time 12pm Tickets 5 Time 1pm – 4pm Tickets Free (Drop in) Venue The Ark Venue The Ark
Did you know that a two-year-old child could crawl through the Become part of a knee-high board game (created by Spanish designers Milimbo) and arteries of a blue whale? Or that its heart is the same size as a smart create your own fairy tales. As you journey through a cardboard forest, watch out for car? Meet Nicola Davies as she shares the secrets of her work with The House of the Dwarf, Rapunzel’s Tower and The Lost Mountain. Solve the story animals from all over the world. Nicola is a trained zoologist, a puzzle and get to the Treasure Chest to make a wish. former presenter of BBC’s The Really Wild Show, and the award- Presented in association with Artsadmin and the Bamboo network, supported through the winning author of The First Book of Nature, The Promise and the EU Culture Programme. Heroes of the Wild series. Find out where she gets her inspiration, ask her all your questions and share stories about your favourite and not-so-favourite animals!
Book Clinic: Bestselling Meet the Book Besties: & Doodle Doctors Judi Curtin & Sarah Webb
Date Sun 17 May Age All ages Date Sun 17 May Age 8+ Time 1pm – 4pm Tickets Free (Drop in) Time 3pm Tickets €5 Venue The Ark Venue The Ark
Are you a young reader? Feeling uninspired by your bookshelves at home? Then pop Bestselling authors Judi Curtin and Sarah Webb have been friends for many years. along to the Book Clinic! Parents and children are invited to drop in for an informal Find out where they first met and how they help each other’s writing in this very special consultation with one of Children’s Books Ireland’s friendly panel of Book Doctors, event. They will also answer all your questions about their brand new books, so don’t forget ready to offer the best advice to the young readers in your family. to bring your best friend! First families meet the Doodle Doctors, specialists in making the waiting room more Judi Curtin is the bestselling author of the Alice and Megan series (including Alice to the fun! Then, when the Book Doctor is ready, the consultation begins. When the Book Rescue and Viva Alice!). She is also the author of the Eva series, including her latest book, Doctor has made their diagnosis he/she writes a prescription for your local library or Only Eva. Sarah Webb’s first book in her new children’s series, The Songbird Cafe Girls: bookshop, and every patient leaves with their own personalised Reading Passport! Mollie Cinnamon is Not a Cupcake, has recently been published. She is also the author of the Ask Amy Green series and many other children’s books.
16 17 Lost in Music with Ryan Gattis
Date Sun 17 May Venue The Liquor Rooms Sun 17 May Time 5pm Tickets €5
In the age of Spotify and iTunes, the mixtape – that personal collection of favourite songs – has all but vanished from our lives. But, for many writers, mixtapes are still central to their work: a source of inspiration and the soundtrack to their stories. In this one-off event for ILF Dublin, Ryan Gattis presents Lost in Music: a musical journey through his acclaimed new novel All Involved, a kaleidoscopic tale of race, revenge and Alice in Wonderland: loyalty set during the 1992 LA Riots (see page 24). Ryan plays the songs that feature in the novel – everything from Cypress Hill to The Supremes – and explains how they 150th Anniversary with inspired the characters and scenes. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Fiona Shaw & Vanessa Tait
Date Sun 17 May Time 4pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Wurm im Apfel Tickets €12 / €10
It’s 150 years since an obscure English writer called Charles Lutwidge Dodgson published the curious tale of a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Since then, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been through more than 100 editions, sold millions of copies worldwide, been translated into 174 languages, and is now widely acknowledged as a timeless classic. Join us for this special Date Sun 17 May Venue Oscars Café Bar, Fishamble St € event of live readings, debate and celebration, featuring Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Time 8pm Tickets 5 author of a new biography of Carroll, actress Fiona Shaw, who has recorded readings of the book for the BBC and Vanessa Tait, the great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the Wurm im apfel is a Dublin-based poetry organisation co-founded by Kit Fryatt and girl who inspired the Alice character, and the author of The Looking Glass House. Dylan Harris. Taking its name from a poem by the late German artist and writer Reinhard Döhl, Wurm presents fresh, unusual or experimental poetry to audiences all over Dublin and beyond. This special event for ILF Dublin offers an eclectic mix of music and experimental poetry from a wealth of talent, including performance poet Máighréad Medbh and sound/performance artist Vicky Langan.
18 19 Sun 17 May
Christian Kracht, Clemens Setz Maurice Riordan, Ciarán Carson & Carmen Stephan: & Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin: New Writing in German The Finest Music
Date Sun 17 May Date Sun 17 May Time 6pm Time 6pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School) Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €12 / €10
The German-speaking world is producing some of the most exciting writers working Three of our best poets join forces for this unique event exploring the ancient poems today. This special event brings showcases the depth of talent with three leading on which Ireland’s rich literary heritage rests. Maurice Riordan is the driving force writers from Austria, Germany, Switzerland. behind The Finest Music, a recent anthology that gathers Riordan’s own translations of medieval Irish poems alongside versions by everyone from Tennyson and Auden Through novels such as Faserland, Swiss novelist Christian Kracht has established to Heaney and Muldoon, as well as fresh interpretations by acclaimed contemporary himself as one of the foremost German-language writers, a master of irony, ambiguity poets like Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Ciarán Carson, both of whom join Riordan and suggestion. German writer Carmen Stephan’s first novel, Mal Aria, won a clutch onstage. Featuring readings in both Irish and English, lively debate and music from of prestigious awards, including the Jürgen Ponto-Siftung Literature Prize and the Ciarán Carson himself, this is an unmissable celebration. Buddenbrookhaus Debut, while Clemens Setz is an award-winning Austrian novelist, twice nominated for the German Book Prize, whose psychological thriller Indigo was Presented in association with Poetry Ireland. translated into English last year. This event is presented in association with the Austrian Embassy Dublin, the Goethe-Institut Irland and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ireland.
20 21 Sun 17 & Mon 18 May
Gavin Corbett & Scéinséirí Stairiúla / Lisa McInerney Thrilling Histories
Date Sun 17 May Dáta / Date Mon 18 May Time 8pm Am / Time 6pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Ionad / Venue An Siopa Leabhar Tickets €12 / €10 Áirithint / Tickets €5
“[Gavin Corbett is] a wonderful “[Lisa McInerney is] totally and Tá an-éileamh go deo ar fhicsean stairiúil le blianta beaga anuas agus tá an tóir chéanna air new voice” unmistakably the real deal” as Gaeilge agus atá air as Béarla. Bígí linn le haghaidh díospóireacht bhríomhar phainéil Joseph O’Neill Kevin Barry le Cathal Póirtéir mar chathaoirleach uirthi ina ndéanfar plé ar chuile rud ó Chath Fontenoy go húrscéalta bleachtaireachta atá spreagtha ag gnéithe áirithe den stair. I measc na bpainéalaithe beidh Liam Mac Cóil, údar Fontenoy, a bhí ar ghearrliosta na Comhairle This event brings together two of the most exciting and original new voices in Irish Ealaíona le déanaí le haghaidh an Laureate i gComhair Ficsean Éireannach, Darach Ó fiction to discuss their work with RTÉ’s Paula Shields. Scolaí, údar An Cléireach a bhuaigh Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin, Gradam Leabhar na Bliana “Every sentence throbs with power” wrote Emma Donoghue of This is the Way, i 2008 agus Seán Ó Dúrois, údar Rí na gCearrbhach agus Crann Smóla. Gavin Corbett’s award-winning debut. His new work, Green Glowing Skull, is a Historical fiction has stormed the bookshelves in recent years and is as popular in the Irish delirious comedy set in Manhattan, where a young Irish immigrant arrives with language as in English. Join us for a lively panel, chaired by Cathal Póirtéir, that will discuss dreams of reinventing himself as a tenor. everything from the Battle of Fontenoy to historically inspired detective novels. Panelists Lisa McInerney’s blog about life on a Galway council estate prompted The Irish Times include: Liam Mac Cóil, recently shortlisted for the Arts Council’s Irish Fiction Laureate to describe her as “the most talented writer at work today in Ireland”. Her first novel, and author of Fontenoy; Darach Ó Scolaí, author of An Cléireach which won Gradam Uí The Glorious Heresies, delivers on that promise with a darkly comic tale of five post- Shúilleabháin Book of the Year Award in 2008; and Seán Ó Dúrois (Rí na gCearrbhach boom misfits drawn together by murder. and Crann Smola). Curtha i bhur láthair i gcomhar le hÁras na Scríbhneoirí agus IMRAM. Presented in assocation with the Irish Writers Centre and IMRAM. 22 23 Ryan Gattis
Date Mon 18 May Venue Smock Alley Theatre Mon 18 May Time 6pm Tickets €12 / €10
In April 1992, the acquittal of three white police officers accused of beating black teenager Rodney King sparked frenzied rioting in South Central Los Angeles. Out of this chaos, novelist, lecturer and graffiti artist Ryan Gattis has woven one of the novels of the year: an adrenaline-fuelled story of race, revenge and loyalty that follows the intersecting lives of a huge cast of Chicano gangsters, drug dealers, Johann Hari graffiti artists, medics and Korean vigilantes over six terrifying days. Gattis explores how he came to write this coruscating portrait of a multi-ethnic city in revolt.
Date Mon 18 May Time 8pm Poetry Ireland Venue Smock Alley Theatre Introductions Series Tickets €12 / €10
“Johann Hari’s book is the perfect antidote to the war on drugs, one of the most under-discussed moral injustices of our time” Glenn Greenwald Date Mon 18 & Tue 19 May Date Thur 21 May Venue Irish Writers Centre Venue Workman’s Club To mark the 100th anniversary of the first drugs ban in the United States, award- Time 7pm Time 7pm winning British journalist Johann Hari set off on an epic journey across the world Tickets €8 / €5 (to book visit poetryireland.ie) and into the war on drugs. Meeting the people whose lives have been devastated – in different ways – by drugs, Hari made some astonishing discoveries: drugs are not what Since its establishment in 1989, Poetry Ireland’s Introductions Series has offered talented we think they are, and the war on drugs has very different motives from the ones we see emerging poets a chance to showcase their work. Many acclaimed poets have come on TV. The result was Chasing the Scream, a New York Times bestseller and a passionate through this series including Enda Wyley, Kerry Hardie, Alan Jude Moore, Pat Boran and and timely intervention into one of the most controversial questions of our time. Caoilinn Hughes. This year, the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series teams up with the Irish Writers Centre, The Workman’s Club and ILF Dublin to reveal 16 promising new voices over three cabaret-style evenings that also feature specially selected accompaniment from emerging musicians, singers and songwriters. Poetry Ireland in association with the Irish Writers Centre, The Workman’s Club and International Literature Festival Dublin presents Poetry Ireland Introductions Series 2015. 24 25 Tue 19 May Tue
Guantánamo Diary: Oliver Jeffers: Nancy Hollander & Larry Siems Words and Pictures
Date Tue 19 May Date Tue 19 May Time 6pm Time 6.30pm Venue O’Reilly Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €15 / €12.50 Tickets €8 / €5
“the most profound account yet written of “Jeffers’s illustrations delight, inspire and what it is like to be … collateral damage” surprise with their variety and ingenuity” The New York Times The Guardian
Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary is one of the global publishing events of the Born in Australia, brought up in Northern Ireland and now living in New York, Oliver year. Handwritten from his cell in 2005, and published after years of legal wrangling, it Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited all over describes the ordeal of a man who, despite never being charged, has spent fourteen years the world. Oliver’s picture books have been translated into over 30 languages and in the prison, subjected to endless forms of torture under Donald Rumsfeld’s “special include Lost & Found, Stuck, The Hueys, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Great Paper interrogation plan”. Caper, This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day the Crayons Quitwritten by Drew Daywalt, and his most recent book Once Upon an Alphabet. He won an Emmy in 2010 for his Larry Siems, the book’s editor, joins Nancy Hollander, Slahi’s attourney (and one of collaborative work with MacPremo, with whom he co-directed the U2 video Ordinary the few people to have got to know Slahi since his incarceration), to discuss how Slahi Love in 2013. For a unique insight into his life and work, join him for a whistle-stop wrote the book and what life is like in an institution that President Obama promised to tour around the world of Oliver Jeffers. close. The event is chaired by Carole Coleman, journalist and author, and RTÉ’s former Washington correspondent, who reported from Guantánamo shortly after it was opened and who challenged George Bush on the conditions at the prison in a live interview. Featuring live and recorded readings by actors and writers, Guantánamo Diary is one of the festival’s must-see events. 26 27 Tue 19 May Tue
Cogaí / Wars Jon Ronson
Date Tue 19 May Date Tue 19 May Time 8pm Time 8pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School) Venue O’Reilly Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €15 / €12.50
Damhsa, ceol, prós, íomhánna ar scáileán – léiriú ar an gcogaíocht agus ar an bhforéigean “my God, he is funny” síoraí, bunaithe ar chnuasach gearrscéalta den teideal céanna le Dáithí Ó Muirí. Páirteach The Observer ann tá Fearghus Ó Conchúir, rinceoir agus fear cóirithe rince, giotáraí agus cumadóir Enda Reilly, agus Margaret Lonergan a bheidh i mbun na n-íomhánna scáileáin. Coimeádaí an Jon Ronson is one of the most original (and funniest) investigative journalists tionscadail: Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge. working today. Whether hanging out with the Klu Klux Klan in Them, exploring Exploring the theme of unending war and violence, Cogaí is a stunning multi-media the US military’s fascination with the paranormal in The Men Who Stare at Goats, or show that fuses dance, music, prose and screen projections – and is based on the short attending a UFO convention with Robbie Williams in Lost at Sea, his work exposes story collection of the same title by Dáithí Ó Muirí. It features acclaimed dancer and the paranoid, the deluded and the bizarre. But in his new book, So You’ve Been Publicly choreographer Fearghus Ó Conchúir, guitarist and composer Enda Reilly and screen Shamed, Ronson tells the stories of ordinary people with ordinary flaws – people who, projections created by Margaret Lonergan. Curated by Liam Carson, IMRAM Irish after making mistakes, have found themselves at the centre of a social media storm. Language Literature Festival. The age of Twitter is often said to have democratised justice but what, asks Ronson, if ‘justice’ really means ‘the mob’? The event will be chaired by Today FM presenter Anton Savage.
28 29 Wed 20 May Wed
Thought Stories: The Big Book Club Show Philosophy for Young Audiences
Date Wed 20 May Date Wed 20 May Time 6pm Time 6pm Venue The Ark Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €5 Tickets €12 / €10
Philosophy will be introduced into secondary schools from 2017, and many argue for Ever wondered how to write the perfect thriller? Or perhaps you’re a culture vulture its formal introduction to primary schools. who knows a lot about books? If so, The Big Book Club Show is for you! Thought Stories explores the potential of literature to introduce philosophy and In the first part of the show, Irish Times Digital Editor Hugh Linehan talks to acclaimed critical thinking to children and young people, and will be of interest to parents, thriller writers Liz Nugent (Unravelling Oliver) and Sinéad Crowley (Can Anybody Help educators and literature-lovers alike. Me?), asking how they went about creating characters who do terrible things. Peter Worley is Co-Founder and CEO of The Philosophy Foundation and President In part two, The Big Book Club Quiz offers you a chance to test your literary knowledge of SOPHIA, the European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy against a team of experts captained by Hugh Linehan, and a crack book club squad with Children. He is also an award-winning author of The If Machine. captained by comedian and writer Colm O’Regan. Hosted with irrepressible cheek by Stephen Faloon, manager of the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, who likes to award bonus Anne Fine is one of Britain’s most distinguished writers for both adults and children, points for clever answers and whisk them away for mistakes, The Big Book Club Show twice voted UK Children’s Author of the Year. Anne was UK Children’s Laureate is a fast, fun and competitive night. You might even win a prize! from 2001 to 2003. She set up www.myhomelibrary.org, to inspire children to form their own home libraries. Dr Philomena Donnelly (chair) introduced Philosophy With Children into Irish primary schools in 1989 and since then has been an advocate of having philosophy in the form of Socratic dialogue present at all levels of education.
30 31 Wed 20 May Wed
Words on the Street Paul Muldoon European Literature Night
Date Wed 20 May Date Wed 20 May Time 6.30pm – 8.30pm Time 8pm Venue Various venues Venue Liberty Hall Tickets Free Tickets €12 / €10
Try a taste of contemporary European writing on a literary trail around hidden, and “the definitive 21st century poet” not-so-hidden, architectural gems from Parnell Square to North Great George’s The Irish Times Street. Listen to the best modern writing from 12 countries read by Irish (and a Scot) celebrities – Alexander McCall Smith, Síle Seoige, Aidan Power, Mary Kennedy New Weather, Paul Muldoon’s debut collection (published when he was just 20 and many more in places such as Belvedere House, Findlater’s Church, DARC Space, years old), prompted Seamus Heaney to describe him as “the most promising poet ICTU HQ. Pick up a programme from local libraries, venues and tourist offices. to appear in Ireland for years”. 42 years later, that promise has been amply fulfilled. www.dublincityofliterature.ie Muldoon is a master of language and form, a Pulitzer Prize-winner celebrated for his linguistic dexterity, his technical brilliance and his ability to make connections between the unlikeliest of things. All those skills are on display in this special event for ILF Dublin, in which Muldoon showcases One Thousand Things Worth Knowing, his acclaimed new collection that “anyone interested in new writing will want to read” (The Irish Times). Presented in association with Poetry Ireland.
32 33 Thur 21 May
Diarmaid Ferriter Alain Mabanckou & Maurice Walsh: Writing Revolution
Date Thur 21 May Date Thur 21 May Time 6pm Time 8pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €10 / €8
Three years into the ‘decade of centenaries’, and with the hundredth anniversary of the “one of the continent’s greatest writers” Easter Rising rapidly approaching, ILF Dublin brings together two leading historians The Guardian whose work offers fresh perspectives on the most dramatic years in Irish history. Diarmaid Ferriter’s “magisterial” (Irish Independent) new book, A Nation and Not a Novelist, poet and essayist Alain Mabanckou has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Rabble, draws on newly released archive materials to tell the stories of the ordinary International Prize 2015, and is one of the most celebrated Francophone writers of men and women who lived and fought in the revolutionary years, while Maurice our times, feted for his intoxicating mix of Congolese rhythms and Parisian slang. In Walsh’s Bitter Freedom restores the conflict to its international context, showing how a string of award-winning novels such as Broken Glass and African Psycho, Mabanckou the Irish revolution was at the forefront of a global movement for independence. displays a flair for exuberant satire that has led him to be dubbed Africa’s Samuel The event will be chaired by Catriona Crowe. Beckett. Fresh from the World Voice Festival in New York, Mabanckou reflects on his work in the company of award-winning translator Sarah Ardizzone, and talks about The Lights of Pointe-Noire, a memoir about his return to the Congo and a tender reflection on the meaning of home. Presented in association with the Embassy of France in Ireland.
34 35 Thur 21 May
Cuisle: Tionscadal Dordfhilíochta / Alexander McCall Smith Pulse: The Poems and Bass Project
Date Thur 21 May Date Thur 21 May Time 8pm Time 8pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School) Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €12 / €10
Oíche speisialta ina mbeidh filí ag léamh/rapáil/caint is gan de thionlacan acu ach “McCall Smith is a literary phenomenon” dordghiotáir. I measc na bhfilí beidh Marcus Mac Conghail, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, The Daily Telegraph Liam Ó Muirthile, agus Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. Is iad na hoirfidigh ar an ngiotár ná Martin Brunsden (a sheinn le leithéidí Sinéad O’Connor, P J Harvey agus It’s 15 years since The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency introduced the world to Precious Iarla Ó Lionáird), Neville Lloyd agus Eoin O’Brien. Coimeádaí an tionscadail: Ramotswe, Botswana’s leading (in fact, only) female PI. Since then her creator, Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge. Alexander McCall Smith, has become one of the UK’s best-loved authors, selling over A magical night in which poets read/rap/talk to the sole accompaniment of bass 20 million books, launching several successful new series (including Scotland Street), guitars, both acoustic and electric. Poets include Marcus Mac Conghail, Ailbhe and becoming perhaps the second most famous resident of Edinburgh’s New Town Ní Ghearbhuigh, Liam Ó Muirthile and Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. The bass (where JK Rowling also lives). In this special event, McCall Smith comes to Dublin players are Martin Brunsden (who has played with Sinéad O’Connor, P J Harvey to talk about the characters and themes that have won him millions of readers all over and Iarla Ó Lionáird), Neville Lloyd and Eoin O’Brien. Curated by Liam Carson, the world. IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival. Presented in association with the British Council.
36 37 & Sun 24 May Thur 21, Fri 22, Sat 23
Bodies That Can Never Tire Alas Awake The Whole City Must Dance – The Whole City Must Bid!
Date Thur 21 May Date Thur 21 & Fri 22 May Time 9pm Time 8am – 8pm Date Sat 23 & Sun 24 May Time 7.30pm & 9pm Venue Henry Street Venue 13 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1 Tickets All Welcome Tickets €12 / €10
The first of two events in honour of WB Yeats’ 150th birthday – and inspired by his Drawing on contemporary choral work, collage, improvisation, live electronics famous lines, ‘That he follow with desire/Bodies that can never tire’ – Bodies That Can and installation this ambitious project is an abstract homage to one of literature’s Never Tire: The Whole City Must Dance – the Whole City Must Bid! is an all-day dance great works of abstraction. The acclaimed composer and performer Seán Mac marathon taking place on Henry Street, one of Dublin’s major shopping streets. Erlaine presents a new site-specific setting of Finnegans Wake for improvising choir, woodwinds, electronics and film. Part of Dublin’s bid to be European Capital of Culture 2020, this event extends an invitation to Dublin’s dancers to mix contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, tap, jazz (and Presented as a theatre-style promenade piece, audiences will be led through an everything in between) in an exuberant celebration of movement, creativity and dance. abandoned Georgian residence in a heightened environment conjuring the world and All dance groups, amateur or professional, in any form, are welcome. Groups wishing to epoch of Joyce’s Dublin. participate should contact [email protected]. More details will be available online at These innovative artists will work with the poetic elements of the book, without an www.dublin2020.ie. overt attempt to translate the text, creating an atmospheric sound-and-image world Bodies That Can Never Tire: The Whole City Must Dance – the Whole City Must Bid! is a both immersive and beautiful. collaboration between Dublin2020, International Literature Festival Dublin, Dublin Clarinets, electronics, composition: Seán Mac Erlaine Dance Festival and Dublin Town. Vocals: Dorothy Murphy, Georgia Cusack, Sue Rynhart and Tuula Voutilainen Free Event – all donations and fundraising proceeds go to Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Film: Donal Dineen; Lighting: John Crudden; Producer: Jen Coppinger
Photo: Dublin Youth Dance Co. Photographer Karla Holden. Presented with support by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, Rough Magic Production Support and James Joyce Centre.
38 39 Fri 22 May
Peter Carey Cré Na Cille: Tionscadal an Chadhnaigh / The Dirty Dust: The Ó Cadhain Project Bi-lingual event
Date Fri 22 May Date Fri 22 May Time 6pm Time 8pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School) Tickets €12 / €10 Tickets €10 / €8
“Carey can do anything” Is dóigh le cách gurb é Cré na Cille príomhúrscéal na Gaeilge. Faoin bhfód atá na The Independent carachtair ach leanann siad leo ag cabaireacht agus ag tabhairt amach an t-am ar fad, an chúlchaint chéanna a bhí ar siúl acu i dtír na mbeo. Is é atá sa seó ilmheánach dhátheangach seo ná an leagan spleodrach fódúil a rinne Alan Titley den úrscéal, Peter Carey is one of only three writers to have won the Booker Prize twice. In a career The Dirty Dust, agus Graveyard Clay, leagan sofaisticiúil den úrscéal a rinne Liam Mac spanning forty years he has turned his hand to a remarkable range of genres, from Con Iomaire i gcomhar le Tim Robinson agus a fhoilseofar go luath. Chum Colm historical fiction (The True History of the Kelly Gang) to futuristic burlesque (The Unusual Ó Snodaigh ceol le haghaidh an léirithe, míreanna a sheinnfidh sé féin. Margaret Life of Tristan Smith), infusing every novel with ferocious energy and wit. He talks to RTÉ Lonergan a bheidh i mbun na n-íomhánna ar scáileán. Coimeádaí an tionscadail: Arena presenter Seán Rocks about Amnesia, his rapturously received new book, tells the Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge. story of Felix Moore, a down-at-heel journalist commissioned to write the biography of ‘Angel’, a cyber-activist on trial for unleashing a virtual ‘worm’ that throws open the doors Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille is consistently ranked as the most important novel of prisons all over the world. in Irish. Its characters all lie dead in the graveyard, but continue the banter, backbiting and petty gossip that characterized their lives. This multi-media bi-lingual show features brilliant English versions by Alan Titley, from his just-published translation The Dirty Dust, and by Liam Mac Con Iomaire, who has collaborated with Tim Robinson on their forthcoming version, Graveyard Clay. The show features music composed and performed by Colm Ó Snodaigh, and screen projections by Margaret Lonergan. Curated by Liam Carson, IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival.
40 41 Fri 22 & Sat 23 May
Irvine Welsh Eun Hee-kyung
Date Fri 22 May Date Sat 23 May Time 8pm Time 2pm Venue Liberty Hall Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €12 / €10 Tickets Free (booking essential)
“you never know what you’re going to get with Eun Hee-kyung is one of Korea’s most distinguished writers, long celebrated for her unique voice, sophisticated cynicism and biting humour. In a career spanning twenty Irvine Welsh, other than guaranteed intelligence” years she has published three acclaimed novels and several short story collections, The Observer exploring themes such as the impossibility of true human communication. She has received many of South Korea’s highest awards, including the Yi Sang Literary Award, Irvine Welsh has created some of the most memorable characters in recent British and with works translated into English, French, German and other languages, is fiction, including Begbie, the charismatic psychopath of Trainspotting; Bruce rapidly gaining admirers in the West. Eun joins Martina Devlin to read from her Robertson, the cross-dressing alcoholic police detective in Filth; and Lucy Brennan, work and explore some of the themes that inspire her. the crazed fitness trainer of The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. In his new novel, A Decent Ride – packed with his usual razor-sharp dialogue, black humour and zest for breaking Presented by the Korean Embassy in Ireland and Literature Translation Institute of Korea taboos – Welsh reintroduces one of his most popular characters: ‘Juice’ Terry Lawson, in association with International Literature Festival Dublin. the uncontrollably libidinous drug dealer, taxi driver and self-styled “gonzo porn star” first encountered in Glue, who finds himself investigating the whereabouts of a missing beauty. Welsh discusses Lawson’s return with journalist and broadcaster Sinéad Gleeson.
42 43 Sat 23 May
The Vagabond @ St Patrick’s Park
Date Sat 23 May A Retelling of Alice in Wonderland Time 11am – 4pm Time 1pm Venue St Patrick’s Park Tickets Free (booking essential) Gather around the hearth to hear a story inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with live music and some beautiful The Vagabond, Monkeyshine’s wondering venue, is coming to surprises. This promises to be a magical experience for people St Patrick’s Park, bringing with it some beautiful stories old of all ages. and new. The Vagabond is a place for families to gather and enjoy some of the simple things in life: stories, music, nature and good company. Enjoy wonderfully relaxed, free family events throughout the day in the quiet heart of the city. Situated beside the Mr Leon’s Taxi: Sarah Ardizzone impressive St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the park also boasts a Time 2pm children’s playground, café and literary parade. Mr Leon, the flamboyant taxi-driver created by French illustrator Barroux, travels the world without ever leaving his Story Weavers: home city of Paris. But, as a special favour to The Vagabond, he’s Find your own Wonderland driving his taxi to Dublin. Now it’s your turn to step inside and spin us a short yarn about your own taxi ride – real or imaginary. Time 11am & 3pm The big question is: where are you going? Hop in and tell Mr Leon where to take you, and watch you journey being illustrated Join the Story Weavers as they prepare to weave a story. There’s before your eyes. a basket for everyone to gather inspiration and then it’s back to the Story Tent to weave a brand new story! Where might you find your own magical opening into wonderland? Presented in association with Dublin City Council Parks and Landscapes Service.
44 45 Sat 23 May
Azar Nafisi: Anne Enright The Republic of the Imagination
Date Sat 23 May Date Sat 23 May Time 4pm Time 6pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €12 / €10
“her words are essential” “Anne Enright is the perfect writer for our times” Marjane Satrapi Nuala Ní Chonchúir
In 1995 Azar Nafisi left her job as a lecturer in Tehran to become a private tutor, In January, when Anne Enright was chosen as the first Laureate for Irish Fiction, teaching controversial literary classics to a small group of students from her home. few people were surprised. Since The Portable Virgin, Enright has built a reputation She turned that experience into Reading Lolita in Tehran, an uplifting exploration of as a writer of astonishing range, equally at home writing a bestselling memoir of the power of fiction that won a clutch of literary prizes and sold 1.5 million copies motherhood (Making Babies), a bawdy historical novel (The Pleasures of Eliza Lynch) worldwide. Her latest book, The Republic of the Imagination, focuses on classic American or a coruscating dissection of the boom years (The Forgotten Waltz). Her Man Booker fiction, and the imaginative freedom that great novels can provide in the twenty-first Prize-winning novel The Gathering explored the grief of one family at their brother’s century. She discusses her writing with Selina Guinness. wake, and her new novel, The Green Road, considers another gathering of sorts, when the children of an ailing matriarch return home for a final Christmas together. Programmed in association with Art for Amnesty.
46 47 Sat 23 May
Anne Applebaum & Bodies That Can Never Tire Peter Pomerantsev: Faultline: Russia & Ukraine
Date Sat 23 May Date Sat 23 May Time 8pm Time 8pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue RDS Concert Hall Tickets €12 / €10 Tickets €20 / €18
“[Iron Curtain is] exceptionally “[Nothing is True and Everything “That he follow with desire important, wise, perceptive, is Possible is] a riveting portrait of remarkably objective” the new Russia” Bodies that can never tire” Antony Beevor Tina Brown In WB Yeats’ great play, An Baile Strand, Cuchulain is asked to take an oath to defend the country. Against his will he agrees and sings the oath, including the lines above. Being half With relations between Russia and the West at their worst since the end of the Cold man, half god, Cuchulain himself is a ‘body that can never tire’, but in these lines Yeats War, ILF Dublin brings together two leading writers to examine the geopolitical fault focuses on the artist’s inner drive to satisfy dreams, visions and supernatural impulses. lines exposed by the crisis in Ukraine. These ‘bodies that can never tire’ are different for everybody and fuel ambition, obsession Historian and Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum is one of the world’s and revolution. They are central to artistic creation. leading intellectuals and an acknowledged expert on the Soviet era. Her bestselling In celebration of Yeats’ 150 birthday, ILF Dublin presents the second of two special study Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2004 events inspired by Yeats’ words. Bodies That Can Never Tire gathers some of Ireland’s and her latest book, Iron Curtain, has been hailed as a masterpiece by reviewers. most remarkable figures – from community activists to hip-hop artists, social justice Peter Pomerantsev spent many years working as a TV producer in Moscow and his campaigners to poets – to explore what Yeats’ vision means to them. Featuring readings, book, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, delivers a devastating (and strangely music, poetry and dance, Bodies That Can Never Tire is a unique celebration of the legacy of entertaining) critique of the Putin era. Ireland’s great national poet in aid of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.
48 49 Sun 24 May
Sofi Oksanen Gerbrand Bakker
Date Sun 24 May Date Sun 24 May Time 12pm Time 2pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €10 / €8
“a literary phenomenon” “an assured and mature new voice ... in European fiction” The Times The Guardian
Sofi Oksanen has long been celebrated in her native Finland. But it was her With just two novels (IMPAC-winning The Twin and The Detour, which won bestselling novel Purge, a dazzling tale of two generations of Estonia women grappling the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize), Dutch novelist Gerbrand Bakker has with Soviet occupation and the sudden freedoms of the 1990s, that shot her to established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary European fiction. international fame. She talks to award-winning Soviet historian Anne Applebaum His work – spare, unsentimental and rooted in sensory descriptions of place – often about When the Doves Disappeared, a new novel that tells the gripping story of two maps the territory of grief, and his new novel, June, is no exception. When Anna cousins – principled freedom fighter Roland and slippery Edgar – whose paths cross Kaan, grandmother of the Kaan clan, retreats into the family hayloft with a bottle in the 1960s, when Edgar is a communist apparatchik desperate to conceal his past. of Advocaat and stubbornly refuses to come down, her protest gradually exposes the impact of one terrible day, forty years before, on three generations of lives. Bakker discusses June with journalist and broadcaster Mick Heaney.
50 51 Sun 24 May
Dermot Bolger & Deirdre Madden, Selina Christine Dwyer Hickey Guinness & Eoin McNamee: All Over Ireland – New Irish Short Stories
Date Sun 24 May Date Sun 24 May Time 4pm Time 6pm Venue Smock Alley Theatre Venue Smock Alley Theatre Tickets €10 / €8 Tickets €10 / €8
“Christine Dwyer Hickey is as “Bolger combines the subtlety of a To mark the launch of All Over Ireland, a new anthology of Irish short stories, ILF diverse and original a talent as poet with the artistry of a master Dublin brings the book’s editor, Deirdre Madden, together with two contributors – one could hope to find” storyteller” author and lecturer Selina Guinness and novelist Eoin McNamee – to explore the The Irish Times Joseph O’Connor unique challenges and opportunities of the form. The short story, VS Pritchett once said, is “exquisitely difficult” to write, yet it’s a form at which Irish writers excel. In the age of tablets and ebooks there may never have been a better time to be a short story This event pairs two major Irish writers whose new work explores the simmering writer, but what does it take to write a great one? The event is chaired by Stephen tensions and suppressed desires of the suburbs. Matterson, professor of English at Trinity College Dublin. Dermot Bolger is one of Ireland’s best-known poets, playwrights and novelists. Tanglewood, his first novel for ten years, follows the mounting tensions in two marriages when neighbours agree to build a townhouse on shared land. Acclaimed novelist and short story writer Christine Dwyer Hickey’s last work, The Cold Eye of Heaven, won the Irish Novel of the Year in 2012. Her latest, The Lives of Women, takes place in the 1970s, when suburban teenager Elaine takes her first fateful steps into the adult world.
52 53 Only Himself: A Tribute to Dermot Healy including Kevin Barry, Anthony Cronin, Roddy Doyle, Anne Haverty, Martin Hayes, Jennifer Johnston, Neil Jordan,
Patrick McCabe & Timothy O’Grady Sun 24 May
Date Sun 24 May Time 8pm Venue O’Reilly Theatre Tickets €15 / €12.50
When a young Dermot Healy sent some poems to Seamus Heaney, he soon received a phone call in reply. ‘Do you know how good you are?’ Heaney asked, before publishing them all. Over the next thirty years, Healy amassed an astonishing body of work celebrated for its unique voice and style: thirteen plays, five collections of poetry, an acclaimed memoir, The Bend for Home, and five novels, including A Goat’s Song, often cited as “one of the great Irish novels of recent times” (The Guardian). Dermot Healy died in June of last year, aged sixty-six. In this special tribute, Timothy O’Grady, in collaboration with ILF Dublin, gathers leading artists including Kevin Barry, Anthony Cronin, Roddy Doyle, Anne Haverty, Martin Hayes, Jennifer Johnston, Timothy O’Grady, Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe to reflect on one of the most original voices in Irish writing. Featuring music from Martin Hayes and friends, Only Himself is a unique “[Dermot Healy] speaks out of a world celebration of the writer’s life and work. I never knew existed ... I don’t know how Presented in association with Bealtaine and Poetry Ireland. he makes this world mythical, but he does” Neil Jordan
54 55 Sat 16, Thur 21, Fri 22 & Sat 23 May
Festival Club @ Oscars Café Bar Dylan Tighe Date Fri 22 May Time Doors 9pm Venue Oscars Café Bar, 16-18 Start Performance starts 9.30pm Fishamble Street, Dublin 8 “an exquisite songwriter” Tickets Free (booking essential) The Irish Times
Playwright, actor, musician: there’s not much Dylan Tighe Anna Jordan can’t do, and few people were surprised last year when his Date Sat 16 May debut album, Record, was met with a chorus of acclaim. Tighe’s assured songwriting encompasses everything from acoustic Anna Jordan and Dennis Cassidy have collaborated over the numbers to experimental soundscapes, all tied together by his years on many musical ventures, but Selk is the first time they hushed, warm vocals and dark lyrics. His live performances have have worked together solely as a two piece. With Cassidy the earned rapturous receptions everywhere from the Liverpool anchor man and drummer of Dublin’s jazz and hip-hop collective Philharmonic to the Irish Arts Centre in New York. Followed by Mixtapes from the Underground and Jordan a unique vocalist a dj set from Siobhán Kane. and lyricist, the results are apart from much of what you’ll hear elsewhere in the country at the moment.
Isobel Anderson Lyrical Ballads with Nialler9 Date Thur 21 May Date Sat 23 May
Since the release of her debut album in 2010, Isobel Anderson Good songwriting isn’t just about the tune, it’s about the lyrics has been carving out a distinctive career with intimate folk songs as well but, too often, today’s bands find their music let down by whose gentle melodies belie lyrics with real bite. Her albums their words: unfortunate combinations of the obvious, the clichéd have attracted an illustrious following, including Lauren Laverne and the absurd. In this unique event for ILF Dublin, celebrated and Jamie Cullum, and she has performed live everywhere from dj Nialler9 introduces some of his favourite bands whose turn Glastonbury to Belfast’s Open House Music Festival. Followed by of phrase is as sharp and compelling as their tunes. Interspersed a dj set from Billy O Hanluain. with dj sets from Nialler9 himself, Lyrical Ballads is a unique celebration of the songwriter’s craft.
56 57 Date with Craft of Fiction an Agent Seminars
Date Sat 16 May Venue Belvedere House Date Sat 16 May Venue Irish Writers Centre Sat 16 & Thur 21 May Time 10am – 5pm Tickets €50 Time 10.30am – 1.30pm Tickets €20 / €18*
Last year, our Date With An Agent initiative drew submissions from talented writers These back-to-back seminars, aimed at seasoned writers and curious readers, will get to all over the world and culminated in an information-packed event at Dublin Castle. the heart of crafting fiction. This year – again in association with The Inkwell Group and Writing.ie – Ireland’s Christine Montalbetti and one other author will each deliver a one-hour lecture on largest ever literary talent-spotting initiative returns, poised to discover the stars of the different aspects of writing; aspects they feel play a strong role in their work, be it future. We’re looking for 75 aspiring writers who will pitch their work to one of five character development, plot, dialogue or pace. leading literary agents, but this year we also have a limited number of tickets available to the rest of the day for writers not yet ready to pitch or who just want to find out The seminars are designed to enlighten emerging writers and enrich technical aspects more about how the business works. With an agent panel, an editor author discussion of their work, giving all writers present a chance to soak up the authors’ knowledge and and an editorial panel, as well as Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin discussing what to submit, experience. Each lecture will be followed by a brief Q&A. how and who too, if you want to get published this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity. Participating agents: Simon Trewin, Partner and Head of Literary at WME London; Clare Wallace, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency; Sallyanne Sweeney Literary Agent at Mulcahy Associates, London; Julia Churchill, Second Book Literary Agent at AM Heath, London and Paul Feldstein of The Feldstein Agency. Syndrome with Kathleen MacMahon, Running Order 9.30 Registration Liz McManus & Donal Ryan 10.00 – 11.30 Agent Panel with Q&A 11.30 Coffee Break
12.00 Pitching begins Date Thur 21 May Venue Irish Writers Centre € € 12.00 – 13.30 Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin on Getting Published Time 7.30pm Tickets 10 / 8* 13.30 – 14.30 Lunch 14.40 – 15.40 Mary Costello in conversation with Francis Bickmore The book industry loves a debut novelist; the thrill in finding that fresh new voice. But Chair: Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin what happens when the sheen of first fiction wears off and the pressure is on to draft a 15.45 – 16.45 Editorial Panel: Patricia Deevy of Penguin Random House novel to rival, or even better, the first? and Paula Campbell of Poolbeg Press discuss what editors Broadcaster Pat Kenny talks to Kathleen MacMahon, Liz McManus and Donal Ryan are looking for and how to increase your chances of success about the challenges of publishing that second manuscript. Kathleen MacMahon’s 16.45 Wrap up second novel, her follow-up to This is How it Ends, is being released this summer; 23 17.00 Finish years have passed between Liz McManus’ first and second novels; and award-winning author Donal Ryan famously had his second manuscript published ahead of his first. * To book tickets for these events please visit www.irishwriterscentre.ie
58 59 Mindshift: The Connected Writer – Getting the Gig, Doing it Well Irish Writers Centre supported by WORDS Ireland Fri 22 & Sat 23 May Irish Writers Centre Date Venue Sat 23 May Time 10.30am – 4.30pm Tickets €60 / €50*
This professional development day, supported by WORDS Ireland and aimed at established writers, will help you to improve your skillset for readings, panel discussions and interviews, and to connect with – and even wow – audiences. Sarah Webb (writer and Children’s Curator of Mountains to Sea Book Festival), Martin Colthorpe (International Literature Festival Dublin) and Keith Acheson (Belfast Book Diversity in Children’s Literature Festival) discuss knowing your USPs, connecting with curators, and ‘getting out there’. with Sarah Ardizzone, Siobhan Parkinson, Doireann Ní Bhriain tackles preparation for the gig and onstage presence, while Martina Bali Rai & Alexandra Strick Devlin looks at maintaining momentum. *To book tickets for this event please visit www.irishwriterscentre.ie
Date Fri 22 May Time 11am – 1pm Venue The Ark Writing Art Criticism Tickets €5 with Paper Visual Art Journal (PVA) Diversity can be explored from many angles. In this special event, we explore ways to support excellence in children’s literature, while broadening our perspective on how children and cultures are represented.
Siobhan Parkinson is an award-winning Irish writer/translator, publisher (Little Island) Date Sat 23 May Venue LAB Art Gallery and former Laureate na nÓg. Time 10am – 5pm Tickets Free (booking essential) Sarah Ardizzone is an award-winning translator, festival curator and journalist reporting on multicultural and multilingual issues. This is the first of two day-long workshops at the Lab on writing art criticism, the Raised in a Punjabi household in Leicester, author Bali Rai writes about teenage lives in second of which will take place on Saturday 20th June. Led by PVA editors and art multicultural, multi-racial communities in inner-city Britain. critics Nathan O’Donnell and Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll, these workshops will combine theory and practice, including reading and discussion sessions as well as Alexandra Strick is a consultant in books and disability issues. She is co-founder of creative writing exercises. Participants will be encouraged to engage as critics with Outside in World (the UK organisation dedicated to books from around the world) and the two exhibitions on show at the Lab. These will be open and welcoming sessions, Inclusive Minds. exploring some of the major questions facing the writer on visual art. Presented in association with Children’s Books Ireland.
60 61 School Events @ City Dreams The Ark with Bali Rai
Mon 18 & Venue The Ark Date Thur 21 May Class 5th – 6th 20 May Wed Tickets €5 / €4.50 (booking required, contact [email protected]) Time 10.15am All bookings for library Venue Central Library events arranged locally Petr Horácek: The Mouse who ate (ILAC Centre) the Moon Bali Rai is an award-winning author of books for children and teenagers about
Date Mon 18 May teenage lives in multicultural, inner-city Britain. Join him as he talks about what an Time 10.15am & 11.30am author goes through to write novels, the creative process and his passion for Liverpool Class Jnr & Snr Infants FC (but we won’t hold that against him!).
Peep through the cut-out holes in this beautiful and heart-warming tale from the award-winning Petr Horáček. After the reading, children can make their own little books to take home.
Rumble with the Romans: Killer Cats and Gary Northfield Crummy Mummies: Date Mon 18 May Time 11.15am Anne Fine Class 3rd & 4th
Join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as they gear up to be gladiators in this fun-packed event with celebrated cartoonist Gary Northfield (creator of The Beano’s Date Thur 21 May Class 3rd – 5th
Derek the Sheep). Time 10.30am All bookings for library Venue Pearse Street Library events arranged locally Once Upon an If Conference Room Date Wed 20 May Time 11.15am Longlisted for a UKLA Book Award 2015, On Planet Fruitcake Class 3rd – 6th is the latest book from award-winning author (and former UK Children’s Laureate) Anne Fine. Join her as she talks about her A highly interactive workshop using telepathy, magic necklaces work and where she gets her ideas and shrinking machines! Peter Worley takes his young audience on a number of short philosophical adventures, but don’t worry: they’ll come back in one piece!
62 63 Thanks International Literature Festival Dublin is a programme of the City Arts Office, part of the Culture, Community & Recreation Department of Dublin City Council (Chief Executive Owen P. Keegan, Assistant Chief Executive Brendan Kenny). The work of the Arts Office is made possible by the support of the Lord 4 Star Boutique Hotel, two minutes walk from Grafton Street Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, and the members of Dublin City Council. Noel Hayes, Ursula Donnellan, Michael Noonan, Leo Fitzpatrick, Ross Styles, Mary Weir: Dublin City Council. Sarah Bannon, Members & Executives of the O cal Host Hotel to the International Literary Festival of Dublin Arts Council. Elaina Ryan & Aoife Murray: Children’s Books Ireland. Jane Alger, Elizabeth Cuddy: Dublin UNESCO City of Literature. Terry Wogan, Mary McLaughlin & all the team: Dublin City Libraries. Bill Shipsey. Claire Looby, Laurence Macken: The Irish Times. Aisling O’Gorman & Mitzi D’Alton: The Ark. Cormac Kinsella: Repforce Publicity. Declan Heeney: Gill Hess Ltd. Maureen Kennelly & Jane O’Hanlon: Poetry Ireland. Valerie Bistany, Amy Herron & Brendan MacEvilly: Irish Writers Centre. Lorraine Allis & Anne McKiernan: Brooks Hotel. Amy O’Hanlon: Fringe Festival. Cliona Dukes & all the team at Smock Alley Theatre. Liz Kelly: Age & Opportunity. Sinéad Gleeson. Vanessa O’Loughlin: Writing.ie. Darragh Doyle. Ju Yearn Sun: Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Barbara Ebert: Goethe-Institut Ireland. Ralf Hospodarsky: Austrian Embassy. Norbert Arnold & Deirdre Sweeney: Embassy of Switzerland in Ireland. Nicky Childs: Arts Admin UK. Discover Story Centre. Irma Grothuis. Emma Worley. The Philosophy Foundation. Kate McBride. Laura McNaughton. Sheena Barrett. Jen Coppinger. Liam Carson: IMRAM. Timothy O’Grady. Clare Fox. Iida Simes: Finnish PEN. Stephanie Muchint: Embassy of France in Ireland. Una Carmody. Gillian Clarke. Iseult Byrne. Julia Discover the Difference at Brooks Hotel Carruthers & Carina McGrail: Dublin Dance Festival. Ronan Flood: Oscar Café Bar. Brooks Private Cinema Hosts movie nights forthnightly
Whiskey Tasting Sessions at Jasmine Bar
Francesca’s Restaurant featuring an innovative irish menu
Executive Director General Manager Design & Website Ray Yeates Aimée van Wylick Zinc
Programme Director Administration Copywriter “Brooks exemplifies the hotel-ness of an hotel, offering not just a welcome, but a real sense of well-being” Martin Colthorpe Vicky Kearney Alistair Daniel McKenna's Guides Catherine Neville Family & Children’s PR Maura Carty Programmer Kate Bowe PR Ltd. Brooks Hotel, Drury Street, Dublin 2. Sinéad Connolly Marketing Assistant Tel: 01 670 4000 Email: [email protected] Photographer www.brookshotel.ie Caoimhe Connolly Michael Nolan Festival Bookseller Festival Host Hotel Festival Network Supplier We would like to thank our 2015...
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