Douze Pointe! Graham Norton and more at DBF2020

Yes, we’re just a little excited about this.

Be it his portrayal of the manic Father Noel Furlong in Father Ted, the enchanting presentation style of his late night television hosting, or his… choice words… for the contestants of the Eurovision song contest every year, Graham Norton has become a much-loved public figure through his witticism and oratorical skills. But while  famous for his broadcasting work, we are thrilled to have Graham in the role of author for this year’s festival, a title that is absolutely not unearned. His 2014 New York Times bestselling debut Holding, as well as his 2016 Sunday Times bestseller A Keeper are masterfully crafted blends of the acerbic wit Graham is famous for and poignant sadness.

His forthcoming release, Home Stretch, follows suit, a darkly humorous and twistedly uncomfortable tale that we found far too engaging to let pass by the festival. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Eason Bookshops to bring Graham to Dublin for DBF2020, who will be joined ‘onstage’ by fellow broadcast personality Rick O’Shea for a discussion on Home Stretch and his experiences with writing fiction. Rick has been a presenter on RTÉ Radio for over fifteen years, and runs The Rick O’Shea Book club, Ireland’s largest book club. Hosting The Poetry Programme and The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1, he is no stranger to the Irish literary scene, and we are equally thrilled to have him join the festivities this season.

This will be one of the few ticketed events of the festival, and tickets can be bought either on our event page or directly from Eventbrite. There’s also some physical goodies to be found in the event package too, as purchasing one will also come with a signed copy of Home Stretch for you to enjoy helping you stay up to date with the discussion!

Graham joins an already stellar line-up of authors joining us this year. We’ve just updated our 2020 Programme page with all the latest info for what’s to come, including announcing our first group of guests:

Christine Dwyer-Hickey, playwright, novelist, and author of the critically acclaimed Tatty

Marian Keyes, Irish pioneer of the chick-lit genre and author of bestselling works such as This Charming Man and Grown Ups

Peter Donnelly, award winning illustrator and author/artist behind upcoming children’s book The Dead Zoo

Maeve Higgins, TV personality, comedian and author of the upcoming Maeve in America

Of course, we still have many, many more to be announced, and the site and our social channels will be updated regularly with more guests as we get closer and closer to the celebrations! To tide you over, why not check out our latest website content, including a Q&A session with fantasy writer Helen Corcoran or our review of festival guest Marian Keyes’ latest novel Grown Ups, or learn how you can get involved in our #AskAnAuthor program on social media. We hope you’re as excited for everything as we have been organising it. While we may be occupying a more virtual space than we have done in previous years, we can’t wait to see you there.