Graham Norton, Richard E Grant, Alan Hollinghurst... 10 to see at West Cork Literary Festival
The Maritime Hotel, Friday, July 11 at 8.30pm
Booker-prizewinning author Alan Hollinghurst will be in conversation with Sue Leonard at the Maritime Hotel on Friday, discussing his new novel Our Evenings - a dark and luminous and deeply affecting novel which portrays modern England through the lens of one man's acutely observed experience.
Richard E. Grant: A Pocketful of Happiness
The Maritime Hotel, Saturday, July 12 at 8.30pm
Richard E. Grant launched to fame in 1987 when he starred in the black comedy film Withnail and I and went on to star in a wide variety of films, receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me?in 2019. An avid reader, in 2021, he hosted the BBC's literary travel series Write Around the World with Richard E. Grant. The actor and writer will be in conversation with Rory O'Connell from Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday, discussing his memoir A Pocketful of Happiness, which was published in May 2023.
John Creedon: This Boy's Heart
The Maritime Hotel, Sunday, July 13 at 1.30pm
John Creedon.
John Creedon paints a colourful picture of a changing Ireland in This Boy's Heart: Scenes from an Irish Childhood, where he shares his stories of friendship, fun, family, and folklore. Creedon will be in conversation with librarian and author Jackie Lynam to discuss the heart-warming and revealing journey into an Irish boyhood.
Somerville and Ross: Claire Connolly
Marino Church, Sunday, July 13 at 3pm
In November 2024, new editions of the beloved Irish classics Experiences of an Irish R.M. and The Real Charlotte by Edith Somerville and Martin Ross were published, including prefaces by Connolly, who is Professor of Modern English at University College Cork. She will be in conversation with Dr Danielle O'Donovan, an architectural historian and lifelong Somerville and Ross fan from West Cork.
Neil Jordan: Amnesiac
The Maritime Hotel, Monday, July 14 at 8.30pm
Amnesiac is the moving memoir of Academy Award-winning film director, screenwriter and author Neil Jordan. Reflecting on both the ghosts of his past and his personal triumphs, his memoir is an intimate account of one of Ireland's greatest storytellers. Jordan will be in conversation with Cristín Leach at the Maritime Hotel on Monday, July 14.
Eimear McBride: The City Changes Its Face
The Maritime Hotel, Wednesday, July 16 at 8.30pm
Eimear McBride will be in conversation with Cristín Leach discussing her novel The City Changes Its Face. Set in London in 1995, the novel reintroduces Eily and Stephen, the couple from McBride's earlier novel The Lesser Bohemians. A story of passion, possessiveness, and family, the novel explores a passionate love affair tested to its limits.
Seán Ronayne: Nature Boy
National Learning Network, Thursday, July 17 at 2.30pm
Cork-born ornithologist and naturalist Seán Ronayne will be in conversation with Mike Ryan in the unique setting of the National Learning Network's outdoor amphitheatre on July 17. Ronayne will be known to many through the award-winning RTÉ documentary Birdsong, about his project to sound record all the regularly occurring bird species in Ireland. His book Nature Boy: A Journey of Birdsong and Belonging won the Dubray Biography of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards.
Nothing Compares to You: What Sinead O'Connor Means to Us
Marino Church, Thursday, July 17 at 8.30pm
Nothing Compares to You: What Sinead O'Connor Means to Us is a collection of essays edited by Sonya Huber and Martha Bayne. A celebration of the life and legacy of Sinéad O'Connor, the book explores themes such as gender identity, spirituality, artistic expression, and personal transformation. Three contributing authors, Martha Bayne, Mieke Eerkens and Allyson McCabe, will be in conversation with the Irish Examiner's Eoghan O'Sullivan.
Wendy Erskine and Lisa Harding
Marino Church, Friday, July 18 at 2.30pm
Wendy Erskine.
Wendy Erskine's debut novel The Benefactors and Lisa Harding's The Wildelings are two of the most highly anticipated novels of the year, one set in Belfast and the other in Dublin, and both raising important questions about class and social status. Erskine and Harding will be in conversation with Deirdre O'Shaughnessy at Marino Church on Friday, July 18.
Graham Norton
The Maritime Hotel, Friday, July 18 at 8.30pm
One of the most treasured broadcasters and presenters in the UK and Ireland, Graham Norton is the author of five novels, Holding, A Keeper, Home Stretch, Forever Home, and Frankie, all of which became instant bestsellers both in the UK and Ireland. Holding, Home Stretch and Frankie have all won the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction Book of the Year, and A Keeper and Forever Home were shortlisted for the same award. Norton will be in conversation with Ryan Tubridy at the Maritime Hotel on July 18.
The West Cork Literary Festival takes place in Bantry from July 11 to July 18. Visit www.westcorkmusic.ie for more information.
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