Books are My Business: Eimear O'Herlihy, West Cork Literary Festival

Eimear O’Herlihy is from Cork and is festival director at the West Cork Literary Festival

Sat, 17 Jun, 2023 - 14:00

Marjorie Brennan

How did you became festival director at the West Cork Literary Festival?

I've been an avid reader since I was a child and I have worked in the arts since I left UCC almost 30 years ago.

I have worked across different art forms, in the National Sculpture Factory, for Mercier Press, Cork Film Festival, and the Everyman Theatre.

When this opportunity came up, it felt like my dream job because I had worked in arts production for so long and also love reading.

Bringing those two things together really was the dream and I had been a big fan of the festival as an audience member for many years.

It was lovely to get involved at such a level.

What does your role involve?

I’m responsible for the programme and the logistics around that.

So I choose all of the writers that are in the programme, and I arrange or negotiate fees and terms and conditions with them.

I prepare all of the text and everything that goes into the brochure and the website, and then I work with the team in West Cork Music and in the festival office on all of the logistics around bringing the brochure into reality and onto the stage.

It sounds like a huge undertaking…

Yes, I mean, obviously Bantry is such a beautiful place and people are very happy to come here.

Logistically, it can be difficult.

It’s great that things are opening up again since the pandemic and there are more flights coming into Cork.

But we are finding that for our own reasons, and because of the environmental concerns of authors, some people are reluctant to fly.

So we’re always looking at alternative ways of getting to Ireland and also drawing on the amazing wealth of talent that is here already.

What do you like most about your job?

Getting paid to read books is obviously a huge perk of the job and having access to so many books in advance of their publication date.

It has really broadened my own reading as well.

Then actually getting to meet all of those authors in person and to be part of these amazing events, seeing the authors interact with audience members, and knowing that we have helped people to discover new authors.

What do you like least about it?

The fact that I can't invite every author that I love.

It’s a testament to the festival that when an author takes part, they really want to come back.

I really want them to come back as well but we only have a certain budget and a certain number of slots.

So there are some difficult decisions.

Three book recommendations?

Gosh, I could give you three boxes maybe. At the moment, I’m reading Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai, she’s a Canadian/Japanese/Irish writer who will be at the festival.

It's absolutely gorgeous, just so beautifully written. I’ve really gotten into nature writing and place-based writing since I started this role as well — there’s a gorgeous new anthology The Language of Trees by Katie Holten.

She is an artist as well and her 'Tree Alphabet' is part of the permanent collection at the Crawford Gallery. I’m really excited about that event.

Poetry is something else I have gotten into a lot more as well and poetry events lend themselves really beautifully to literary festivals.

There's a gorgeous new collection, Was It For This, by Hannah Sullivan, she’s a UK poet but her family has links to Bantry. It's lovely to have her coming to the festival as well.

What author is number one on your wish list?

I have invited Margaret Atwood about 15 times and my fingers are crossed that eventually she will just give in so I will stop asking.

So obviously persistence is a good quality to have in your job.

Yes, you have to be shameless in your asks. And you have to be quite a sleuth.

I've gone to great lengths to find a way to get to somebody and make a personal connection and it has paid off.

We had Gloria Steinem in 2016, that was an absolute standout event in my entire career.

That was from an email that I sent entirely on spec.

I didn't even think I'd get a reply much less that one of my heroes would turn up.

And we're also very lucky that our neighbour Graham Norton comes to us every second year. May he continue writing forever because that is always a wonderful event.