Top 5 Replays from DBF ’21

Worried you missed some of the amazing chats at Dublin Book Festival last year? Well, fear no more, for we have compiled a list of our most popular events in one handy place just for you… 

1. When We Cease To Understand The World – Benjamín Labatut in conversation with Rick O’Shea
DJ and bibliophile Rick O’Shea chats to Chilean author Benjamín Labatut about his intriguing mix of fact of fiction – When We Cease To Understand The World from Pushkin Press. The novel crafts a world where groundbreaking ideas and huge leaps forward have the greatest consequences for those at the centre of them.
Rick and Benjamín get on so well, it’s like listening to friends just sitting around discussing how some of the world’s greatest minds can wreak the greatest havoc! This event was created in partnership with the Embassy of Chile in Ireland.

2. Crime In The City
Four authors from four UNESCO Cities of Literature come together to discuss the influence of their home cities on their writing and what led them to a life of crime. Join us in Dublin with Sam Blake as she chats to Vanda Symon in Dunedin, Awais Khan in Lahore and Lilja Sigurðardóttir in Reykjavík as they cross borders and time zones.
Murder One events are always popular at DBF and this one definitely added a little international flavour just when we needed it!

3. Ireland 1922 – Women in Independence, Debate and Civil War
One hundred years in the making – author and academic Marie Coleman is joined by a panel of three Irish historians to discuss the role and impact of women in Ireland 1922. Covering the Treaty, Civil War, Independence and more, this is an important discussion that sheds light on the women involved and draws on completely new sources to show how the war in 1922 influenced our understanding of modern day Ireland. Run in partnership with the RDS, this was an important and enlightening watch…

4. Reclaiming The European Street: Speeches on Europe and The European Union
As expected, this event was an absolute joy to attend as President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins took us on a journey through contemporary issues using his Europe-themed speeches as the lens. Joined by author, journalist and lecturer Paddy Woodworth, this event deals with wide ranging subjects from the book ‘Reclaiming the European Street: Speeches on Europe and the European Union’ from Lilliput Press and is of course filled with President Higgins’ inimitable intellectual rigour as well as a dash of the candid.

5. Sarah Winman at Dublin City Readers’ Morning
Award wining author Sarah Winman chats to Niall McMonagle abut her book ‘Still Life’ (HarperCollins) as part of a morning of book discussions in partnership with Dublin City Libraries.
This wonderful event gave us such amazing insights into Sarah’s writing process, discovering Florence and the real historical aspects featured in the book. But, what really seals the deal for its place in our Top 5 is a beautiful reading from Sarah herself.