About the Festival
The Dublin Book Festival is one of Ireland’s most successful and vibrant book festivals, running since June 2006. The annual public festival showcases, supports and develops Irish publishing by programming, publicising and selling Irish published books, their authors, editors and contributors – all in an entertaining, festive, friendly and accessible environment that reflects the creativity and personality of the Irish publishing sector and its authors.
The Dublin Book Festival was established in 2006 by Publishing Ireland, the all-island trade association for book publishers, established in 1970, to celebrate all that is best in Irish writing and publishing. It has grown to become one of Ireland’s most successful and vibrant annual book events, with the assistance of a range of partners and the support of the Arts Council and other funders.
Participating authors in recent years include President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins, John Banville, Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle, Graham Norton, Claire Kilroy, Donal Ryan, Seán Hewitt, Cecelia Ahern, Wendy Erskine, Lucy Caldwell, John Boyne, Sarah Winman, Bill Whelan and Paul Brady.
Taking place in November, the festival programmes over 80 events across 5 days in venues throughout the city of Dublin, the 4th UNESCO City of Literature, including Dublin City Libraries, National Library of Ireland, Irish Writers Centre, The Gutter Bookshop, The National Botanic Gardens, Royal Irish Academy, Royal Dublin Society, Fighting Words and many more locations, with the main weekend festival hub at the historic Dublin Castle in the heart of the city.
The diverse programme covers everything from history, poetry and science to literary fiction, non-fiction, comedy, and a full family and schools’ programme. A festival hub is set up in our primary venue, which in 2023 will once again be The Printworks at Dublin Castle, where authors, publishers and audiences mingle over the weekend. The Winter Garden is a space where audiences gather to lounge on beanbags and read, browse the bookshop, enjoy the café and meet authors at book signings. We were delighted to be included in TravelMag’s Top 15 Unique Things to Do with Kids in Dublin for our full weekend of free, family-friendly events.
The intimate festival is a showcase of the exceptional homegrown talent and hardworking publishers from throughout the island of Ireland.
In 2023, we are delighted to welcome you back to The Printworks with a variety of author talks, poetry events, walking tours, creative events and more, celebrating the writers, publishers and illustrators from this island. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Festival Team
Julianne Siron
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
Róisín Russell
MARKETING MANAGER
Mathilde Murray
PRODUCTION AND ADMIN ASSISTANT
The Dublin Book Festival Board
Ronan Colgan (Chair)
Siobhan Tierney
Caoimhe Fox
Valerie Bistany
Johnny Harte