Anne Enright and Claire Kilroy in conversation with Jessica Traynor
Join us for this special afternoon event as authors Anne Enright and Claire Kilroy discuss their latest novels with poet Jessica Traynor. The Wren, The Wren (Jonathan Cape) by Anne Enright is a multigenerational novel meditating on love, the inheritance of trauma and wonder, and the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Soldier, Sailor (Faber) by Claire Kilroy explores the clash of fierce love for a new life with a seismic change in identity, autonomy and creativity.
One of Ireland’s leading writers, Anne Enright lives in Dublin where she was born in 1962. The author of seven novels, two books of short stories and many essays, she is a winner of the Man Booker Prize (2007) and the Irish novel of the year (2007 and 2015). The first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015-2018) she is Professor of Creative Writing at UCD. Her novel The Wren, The Wren was published in September 2023.
Claire Kilroy is the author of four previous novels, including Tenderwire and The Devil I Know. She was awarded the Rooney Prize in 2004 and has been shortlisted for many other prizes, including the Irish Novel of the Year and the Kerry Group Prize for fiction.
Photo by: Brid O Donovan
Jessica Traynor is a poet, essayist, librettist, and poetry editor at Banshee. Her debut collection, Liffey Swim (Dedalus Press, 2014), was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award. Pit Lullabies (Bloodaxe, 2022) is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was an Irish Times book of the year, and a Guardian Best Summer Read of 2022. She is a Creative Fellow of UCD, and 2023 Arts Council Writer in Residence in Galway University. She is a judge for the 2023 Forward Prizes and a poetry critic for The Irish Times.