Main Programme

Walk and explore the deeply historic and artistically inspiring grounds of IMMA at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, with poet and playwright Colm Keegan. Using the environs as muse alongside a series of prompts to stimulate the creation of new work, this workshop is suitable for poets or anyone with an interest in ways to kickstart […]

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How do we go on when the worst has happened? Claire Gleeson’s Show Me Where It Hurts (Hodder and Stoughton) and June O’Sullivan’s The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife (Poolbeg) are two beautifully written and deeply affecting debuts exploring loss, grief, motherhood, and the power of the human spirit to survive. Join the authors in conversation with […]

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In this two-hour workshop with author Juliana Adelman you will explore world-building, character and narrative voice in historical fiction using examples from novels and short stories. You will also generate story and character ideas through a series of prompts from historical sources. You’ll consider how to ground the reader in specifics without overburdening your text […]

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Join us as we celebrate the life and legacy of Seán Rocks, whose unwavering support of, and involvement with, the Dublin Book Festival spanned more than a decade. Seán’s invaluable contribution to celebrating and championing the arts in Ireland inspired countless audiences and artists alike. Authors Kevin Barry and Kathleen MacMahon, poet Paula Meehan, and […]

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Join an immersive walking tour where Liam Carson will be reading from Belfast Twilight (Salmon Poetry), a collection of haiku that explore landscape, nature, family life, and memory. Presented in haikai (or haiku sequences), it creates kaleidoscopic montages that evoke various worlds – from Belfast’s docklands at twilight to windswept islands off the west of […]

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Join us to explore two books illuminating great voices from Irish American history. Gratefully and Affectionately: Mary Lavin and the New Yorker (New Island) by Gráinne Hurley gives fascinating insight into Lavin’s 18-year working relationship with the publication, including her working relationship with its chief editor through the letters they wrote to each other. Gatsby: […]

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Join us to explore two immersive nature books, both a celebration of the beauty of nature and a call to action to safeguard it. In Nature Boy (Hachette Ireland) ornithologist Seán Ronayne charts his experience recording the sound of birds throughout Ireland, revealing a journey of self-discovery and connection, and the extraordinary healing power of […]

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Join three bestselling Irish contemporary fiction authors, Faith Hogan, Sheila O’Flanagan and Sophie White, as they explore the themes that define their work: resilience, relationships, personal transformation, and the rich tapestry of modern Irish life. The conversation will also delve into the changing face of women’s fiction, how these authors craft characters that readers around […]

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Join photographer and author Carsten Krieger on a guided photowalk through the grounds of IMMA at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Starting at the courtyard, you will move on through the formal gardens to the meadow, finishing up at Bully’s Acre and St. John’s Priory. Along the way, you will tackle a variety of photographic topics […]

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Join an illuminating afternoon of discussion celebrating Ireland’s nature and fascinating wildlife. In The Living and the Dead (Merrion Press), acclaimed wildlife author Conor W. O’Brien travels the country to tell the stories of our amazing lost wildlife and reveal the greatest conservation success stories. Wild Waterways (Merrion Press) by Robert O’Leary, with stunning photography […]

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Celebrate the darker season with Tramp Press! . Join us to launch the new anthology An Alternative Irish Christmas. . When shadows grow longer, when expectation weighs heavy, how do people in Ireland mark Christmas? A woman shops for a very particular Christmas dinner; a man tries to buy a puppy for his daughter; a […]

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Join us for a captivating afternoon around two men who experienced some of the most dramatic events in the first half of the 20th century. Dillon Rediscovered (Martello Publishing) by Kevin Rafter illuminates the life of Emile Joseph Dillon, a special correspondent at a time of shifting geopolitics and the birth of modern journalism. Swift […]

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