Pull up a chair and enjoy the literary readings and discussion that we’ve lined up for you in the 2024 Literary Lounge.
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The first of our three events in this year's Lounge begins at 12.30pm (ends 1.30pm) with poets Jane Clarke and Catherine Gander.
Jane Clarke is the author of three poetry collections, The River (2015), When the Tree Falls (2019) and A Change in the Air (2023) published by Bloodaxe Books. She edited the illustrated anthology Windfall: Irish Nature Poems to Inspire and Connect (Hachette Books Ireland, 2023). Jane’s awards include the Ireland Chair of Poetry Travel Award 2022, the Hennessy Literary Award for Poetry 2016, and the Listowel Writers’ Week Poem of the Year 2016. Her most recent collection, A Change in the Air, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection 2023 and the T.S. Eliot Prize 2023.
Catherine Gander’s poetry has been published in several places, including Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry London, On the Seawall, Palette, and Firmament. She is the co-author of the poetry pamphlet Sea Between Us (Nine Pens Press 2022, with Georgia Hilton and Anna Kisby) and her debut pamphlet Matches was published in February 2024 by Verve Poetry Press. An academic and critic, Catherine is also the author and editor of several academic books, and the co-founder of the Poetry & Poetics series with Karl O’Hanlon at Maynooth University. She has won awards from the Irish Research Council and the Irish Writers’ Centre to work on diversity and mentorship programmes in poetry criticism, and to develop her own writing.
At 3.15pm (ends 4.15pm), debut authors Maggie Armstrong and Catriona Shine will share with us their writing story to date, reading from their first books.
Maggie Armstrong’s work has been published in the Dublin Review, Stinging Fly, Banshee and elsewhere. She has worked as a theatre critic and as a reporter for various newspapers. In 2023 her story ‘Dinner and a Show’ was longlisted for an Irish Book Award. She grew up in Dublin, where she still lives. Old Romantics is her first book.
Catriona Shine is a writer and architect who grew up in Limerick and now lives in Norway. Her debut novel, Habitat, longlisted for the McKitterick Prize 2022 and a Sunday Times, Irish Times and The Journal Most Anticipated Book of 2024, was published by The Lilliput Press in March 2024. Her writing has appeared in The Dublin Review, Aesthetica,Channel, Southword, Nanjing Daily and elsewhere. Awards and shortlistings include the Penfro First Chapter Prize, IAFOR Vladimir Davidé Haiku Award, Hemingway Shorts Competition, Sean O’Faolain Short Story Prize, and Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. She is a recipient of a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council.
Headlining the Literary Lounge at 6pm (ends 7.20pm) is Irish-Canadian novelist, Colin Barrett, who will read from his widely acclaimed debut novel, Wild Houses. Colin will be joined by Philip Kenny, writer, artist, performer, and autistic advocate.
Colin Barrett grew up in County Mayo. His stories have been published in The Stinging Fly, Granta, Harper's and the New Yorker. His first book, the short story collection Young Skins, won the Guardian First Book Award, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His second collection, Homesickness, made the New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year and was a Book of the Year in Oprah Daily and the Irish Times. His debut novel, Wild Houses, was published earlier this year.
Philip Kenny is a Dublin based writer and poet. He is the recipient of the Arts Council’s Disability Connect Award and has received a number of commissions, including from the Lab Gallery and the Arts & Disability Ireland Curated Space. His spoken word performance Ode to Sweeney’s was produced in 2020. A freelance autistic advocate, Philip has given talks in a variety of contexts on the lived experiences of autism and difference. His new video work Myriad adds to his explorations of this subject. He is a graduate of Maynooth University.