Familiar faces to appear
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Crime writer Liz Nugent took part in a special event filmed in Bantry House last month for West Cork Literary Festival where she spoke to Kate O’Riordan about Kate’s TV drama ‘Smother’. Photos: Darragh Kane INSET: Kate O’Riordan. Darragh Kane PhotographyImage 2 of 5
Lisa Harding. Darragh Kane PhotographyImage 3 of 5
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Felicia Olusanya and Tolü Makay. Darragh Kane PhotographyImage 5 of 5
Kate O’Riordan. Darragh Kane PhotographyThere’s an all-star line-up planned for one of the Cork’s most popular festivals.
Poets, screenwriters, established and debutant novelists and podcasters are gathering this month for the West Cork Literary Festival online, which can be enjoyed from anywhere in the world.
Organisers behind the festival say that the line-up is diverse and inspiring.
The online programme includes American author Torrey Peters, singer/songwriter Tolü Makay and poet Felispeaks, screenwriter Kate O’Riordan, Galway novelist Gavin Corbett, American author and journalist Bonnie Tsui, author Christy Lefteri, and many more.
In addition to the online events, organisers are holding a small number of outdoor events in at a marquee outside Bantry House for the weekend of 10-12 July. Guests include Graham Norton, Cauvery Madhavan, Anna Griffen and Rachel Donohue, Rónán Hession, Alannah Hopkin, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe and Seán Hewitt, Lisa McInerney and Eimear Ryan, John Connell, and Louise Kennedy and Stephen Walsh, and The Book Doctor returns to St Brendan’s NS.
Festival Director, Eimear O’Herlihy said: “Programming a festival during a pandemic has proved to be incredibly challenging whilst also throwing up some really interesting opportunities – and the balance between the two shifts from day to day.
“I’ve really missed meeting writers and audiences and seeing them interact with one another and I’m craving the buzz of seeing visitors and locals alike enjoying the festival atmosphere in our town.”
Eimear added: “Over the past year we have focused on supporting writers and doing everything we can to provide them with paid opportunities whilst also connecting them with readers. It has been wonderful seeing people tune in from all over the world and being able to present literary events throughout the year rather than focusing everything on one week.”
Visit westcorkmusic.ie/LFprogramme to see West Cork Literary Festival’s 2021 programme and for bookings.
“We love seeing the country opening up again but of course this does mean that people are less likely to tune into online events and we are also hosting some outdoor in-person events in an ever-changing landscape. It’s been quite the year but we are still here and we are more committed than ever to supporting the work of Irish and international writers at all stages of their careers,” concluded Eimear.