Some Festival Picks for Cork
The Cork World Book Fest is going from strength to strength. One of the great things about this festival is the amount of free events and the fact that those you pay into are usually priced at the very reasonable amount of €5 or €6. There is also diversity with events for children, young adults and the more mature readers and writers alike. This year the festival has wide ranging readings and workshops with politics, poetry and comedy all getting an airing.
There is lots to take in, in the 2016 festival, running from Tuesday 19th right up until Saturday 23rd April. We’ve picked a few of our favourites.
Tuesday 19th – Winter Pages 1
We think that Kevin Barry reading his “Cork” story from the first volume of this new anthology or stories, photographs and essays will be well worth going to, to get you started on the festival train. Kevin and Olivia Smith will be asking “How do you do what it is you do?” This event is takes place in the City Library at 8.30 pm and it’s free!
Wednesday 20th – Novels – Fact and Fiction
Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s Miss Emily “reimagines the private life of poet Emily Dickinson through her own voice and through the eyes of her family’s Irish maid”. Described by the Irish Times as “a lyrical and thoroughly readable novel with a compelling storyline”, Miss Emily has gained a well deserved following. Rob Doyle’s Here are the Young Men is a sometimes hard, but gripping read. His new collection This is the Ritual “splices fiction with non-fiction in this collection of 10 new stories”. Rob Doyle’s writing is very different in voice and style so it will be interesting to see an event where these two writers are featured. This event will be introduced by Jean Brennan, the Arts Officer of Cork City Council. The event takes place in the City Library at 8.30pm and is also free. No excuse not to go!
Thursday 21st – Women in the Muslim World
Rod Nordland & Maram al-Masri will talk with Theo Dorgan and “put a human face on the ongoing debate about women’s rights in the Muslim world”. Nordland is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist and Al-Masri is one of Syria’s finest poets. It will also be interesting to see poet and translator together as Dorgan was responsible for the English language version of Al-Masri’s latest collection Barefoot Souls. This is bound to be a thoughtful and enlightening event. It’s on in the Triskel Arts Centre and admission is €5/€6.
Friday 22nd – Debbie Thomas Creative Writing Workshop
Debbie Thomas will be in the Children’s Library at 10 and 11am on Friday to read and help creative people find their voice. “Debbie worked for ten years in Bangladesh and South Africa as a development journalist for aid agencies and newspapers. Now a children’s writer, Debbie is passionate about encouraging confidence and creative thinking in young people, believing everyone is uniquely creative”. This event is free but booking is essential.
Saturday 23rd – Agents, Authors & Publishers
A must for the aspiring writer. There are day long events and panel discussions with, as the title suggests, agents, writers and people in the book industry. Events run from 10am to 4pm. All are free but you must book in advance.
These are just some of the Selfpublishbooks for the Cork Book Fest. For a full range of events see the Cork City Libraries World Book Fest. Most events are free, but make sure to book for both free and paid entry events, as they will fill up quickly. Enjoy the festival!
