1st- 15th October Welcome to Kildare Readers’ Festival 2017 Liz Nugent and Louise McSharry in Cahoots with Rob Doyle As we welcome you to Kildare’s eight annual Readers’ Festival, we at Kildare County Council Library Friday Oct 13th | 8pm | Riverbank Arts Centre and Arts Service, are very proud to deliver an entirely free literary festival with the aim of connecting readers with authors and artists, to bring the very best from the world of literature to Kildare. The festival programme has something for everyone, including regular favourites such as Ten Books You One of two Writers in Residence recently appointed by Kildare County Should Read and our Sunday Morning Session with the wonderful Dermot Bolger. Council and Maynooth University, Rob Doyle, will get up close and personal with two of the most popular writers and personalities working We hope you will take time out during the month of October, and particularly over the weekend of in Ireland today, Liz Nugent and Louise McSharry. 13th-15th, to enjoy the literary and artistic delights, and avail of our pop-up festival book shop in Riverbank Arts Centre , as we look forward to your company in celebrating the written word. Louise McSharry is a radio broadcaster, journalist, and author of Fat Chance BOOKINGS . Louise was born in Dublin and grew up in Chicago before returning to Ireland when she was sixteen. She presents the new music We are committed to ensuring that our festival remains accessible to all, and so All Events are FREE show, The Louise McSharry Show, on RTE 2FM and regularly contributes of charge, though bookings are essential through the Box Office at Riverbank Arts Centre to publications such as The Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post, T: 045 448327 W: www.riverbank.ie ThePool.co.uk and DailyEdge.ie. * Please note there is a €1 charge for online bookings Liz Nugent is an award-winning writer of radio and TV drama. Her first Unravelling Oliver Please note that no booking is required for Paper Trail on October 1st novel, , was published in 2014 and went straight to the or An Féasta Liteartha on October 3rd. All welcome! top of the bestsellers list. It also won the Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Her second novel, Lying in Wait, was published in July Please note that the following Fringe event must be booked at the participating library: 2016 and also went straight to number 1. It won the RTE Radio Listener’s The Short Story with Sinead Gleeson, John MacKenna and June Caldwell Choice prize at the Irish Book Awards and was shortlisted for Crime Novel Lying in Wait Date: Friday, 13th October, 11am of the Year. was also chosen for the hugely popular Richard Naas Community Library E: [email protected] T: 045 879111 & Judy Bookclub Spring 2017 list and won the Reader’s Choice award for that season. Liz’s third novel, Skin Deep, will be published in the UK and Stay connected and we will keep you posted! Ireland in March 2018 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KildareReadersFestival Rob Doyle’s debut novel, Here Are the Young Men, was selected as WEBSITE: http://www.kildarereadersfestival.ie/ one of Hot Press magazine’s 20 Greatest Irish Novels from 1916-2016. His second book, This Is the Ritual, was a book of the year in the New Statesman, Irish Times and Sunday Times. The Sunday Independent called it ‘a masterstroke in experimental short fiction brimming with ideas, Our festival bookshop is provided courtesy of vulgarity and intelligence.’ Doyle’s writing has been published widely, Farrell & Nephew Bookstore, Newbridge in the Guardian, Vice, BBC World Service, Observer, Dublin Review, Irish Please note there are no card payment facilities available Times and elsewhere. He is the editor of the Dalkey Archive’s Anthology of Irish Literature to be published later this year. Ten Books You Should Read Cecil Day Lewis Literary Awards: Looking Back and Forth with Catriona Crowe and Manchán Magan Saturday Oct 14th | 1.30-3pm | Riverbank Arts Centre Saturday Oct 14th | 10.30am-12pm | Riverbank Arts Centre The CD Lewis Awards shine a light on Kildare’s finest literary talent. One of two Writers in Residence recently appointed by Kildare County Council and Catriona Crowe and Manchán Magan will each discuss five of their favourite books and why they Maynooth University, Sarah Maria Griffin will bring us on a journey with previous think you should read them! award winners Hazel Gaynor and Martin Malone. We will be introduced to the 2017 award recipients, Alan Dunne, Maura Mc Catriona Crowe is former Head of Special Projects at the National Archives Elhone and Evan Costigan and a hilarious reading from the play Mother and Documents on Irish Foreign Policy of Ireland. She is an Editor of , which Toddler by Margaret Rowe. published its tenth volume, covering the period 1951 – 57, in 2016. She Dublin 1911 is editor of , published by the Royal Irish Academy in 2011. Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The She is Chairperson of the Irish Theatre Institute, Honorary President of Girl who Came Home and A Memory of Violets. Her third novel The Girl from the Irish Labour History Society, and a former President of the Women’s the Savoy was an Irish Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Irish Book History Association. She has worked with ANU Productions on its award- Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Her forthcoming titles for 2017 are The Pals: The Irish at Gallipoli Sunder On winning piece, in 2015, and on , Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris (Co-written with Heather Webb). Corporation St., These Rooms and in 2016. Hazel lives in Kildare with her husband and two children. She contributes regularly to the broadcast and print media on cultural Martin Malone is the author of seven novels, a memoir, two short story and historical matters and has been granted honorary doctorates by collections, several radio plays and has also written for TV and stage. Us, his Maynooth University, Limerick University and University College, Dublin. first novel, won the John B Keane/Sunday Independent Literature Award and She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy. was shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Fiction Award. His second, After Kafra, was scripted for RTE TV. The Broken Cedar was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. He has written Literary Award and shortlisted for an Irish Fiction Award. His short stories have Angels & Rabies: numerous travel books in English and Irish, including, been widely broadcast and published. He is a contributor to the National Art a journey through the Americas Manchán’s Travels: a (Brandon, 2006), Gallery’s anthology, Lines of Vision: Irish Writers on Art. His most recent novel journey through India Truck Fever: a journey through (Brandon, 2007) and is Black Rose Days and his latest work is a collection of stories This Cruel Africa Baba-ji agus TnaG ( (Brandon, 2008). His Irish books include Coiscéim Station published by Doire Press. 2006) and Manchán ar Seachrán (Coiscéim 1998). He has written for the Guardian, LA Times, Washington Post and writes regularly for the Irish Times. Sarah Maria Griffin’s first novel Spare & Found Parts, was published by Greenwillow Books in October 2016 and will be released in Ireland and the Broken Croí/Heart Briste His bilingual play was nominated for 2 Irish UK in early 2018 by Titan. Her non-fiction has appeared on Buzzfeed, The Times Theatre Awards, the Fishamble New Writing Award and the Bewleys Rumpus, Guts and Winter Pages. Her collection of essays about emigration, Café Theatre Award. He was commissioned to write a bilingual play for the Not Lost, was published by New Island Press in 2013. She was the recipient Abbey Theatre in 2011, and wrote two other plays: Bás Tongue, produced as part of the Dublin Fringe of the European Science Fiction Awards Chrysalis Award in 2017. Festival 2011 at Project Art Centre and Focal Point produced by Team Theatre in 2014. His travel documentaries focusing on issues of world culture for TG4, RTE & Travel Channel were shown in 25 territories around the world. No Béarla, his documentary series about travelling around Ireland speaking only Irish sparked international debate. Last year he presented the 10- part Crainn na hÉireann series for TG4 and provided a weekly travel slot to Newstalk’s Right Hook Show. He lives in his oak forest in a self-made hovel in Westmeath. Writing and Creating Modern Irish Theatre: Writing Hidden Worlds: Phillip McMahon and Tom Swift in conversation Peter Murphy and Lisa Harding in Conversation th Saturday Oct 14th | 3.30pm-4.30pm | Riverbank Arts Centre Saturday Oct 14 | 6.30pm-7.30pm | Riverbank Arts Centre What are the unique challenges of writing and creating theatre? Peter Murphy is a writer and spoken word performer. He is the To help us answer this question Kildare Readers Festival have invited Phillip McMahon and Tom Swift author of two novels, John the Revelator (2009) and Shall We Gather to help us scratch the surface of this question and discuss how they write and create modern Irish at the River (2013), published by Faber & Faber in Ireland and the UK, theatre. and by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US and Canada. His fiction has been translated and published in Italy, France, the Czech Re- Phillip McMahon public, Holland, Germany, Serbia, Romania and the Commonwealth Phillip is one half of THISISPOPBABY, and was co-creator and co- countries, and nominated for the Costa, the Kerry Group Fiction curator of the THISISPOPBABY performance venue at Electric Picnic, Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.