Graham Norton, Richard E Grant, Alan Hollinghurst... 10 to see at West Cork Literary Festival
L-R: Graham Norton, Richard E. Grant
Booker-prizewinning author Alan Hollinghurst will be in conversation with Sue Leonard at the Maritime Hotel on Friday, discussing his new novel - a dark and luminous and deeply affecting novel which portrays modern England through the lens of one man’s acutely observed experience.
Richard E. Grant launched to fame in 1987 when he starred in the black comedy film and went on to star in a wide variety of films, receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance in in 2019. An avid reader, in 2021, he hosted the BBC’s literary travel series . The actor and writer will be in conversation with Rory O’Connell from Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday, discussing his memoir , which was published in May 2023.
John Creedon paints a colourful picture of a changing Ireland in where he shares his stories of friendship, fun, family, and folklore. Creedon will be in conversation with librarian and author Jackie Lynam to discuss the heart-warming and revealing journey into an Irish boyhood.
In November 2024, new editions of the beloved Irish classics and by Edith Somerville and Martin Ross were published, including prefaces by Connolly, who is Professor of Modern English at University College Cork. She will be in conversation with Dr Danielle O'Donovan, an architectural historian and lifelong Somerville and Ross fan from West Cork.
is the moving memoir of Academy Award-winning film director, screenwriter and author Neil Jordan. Reflecting on both the ghosts of his past and his personal triumphs, his memoir is an intimate account of one of Ireland's greatest storytellers. Jordan will be in conversation with Cristín Leach at the Maritime Hotel on Monday, July 14.
Eimear McBride will be in conversation with Cristín Leach discussing her novel . Set in London in 1995, the novel reintroduces Eily and Stephen, the couple from McBride’s earlier novel . A story of passion, possessiveness, and family, the novel explores a passionate love affair tested to its limits.
Cork-born ornithologist and naturalist Seán Ronayne will be in conversation with Mike Ryan in the unique setting of the National Learning Network’s outdoor amphitheatre on July 17. Ronayne will be known to many through the award-winning RTÉ documentary , about his project to sound record all the regularly occurring bird species in Ireland. His book won the Biography of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards.
is a collection of essays edited by Sonya Huber and Martha Bayne. A celebration of the life and legacy of Sinéad O’Connor, the book explores themes such as gender identity, spirituality, artistic expression, and personal transformation. Three contributing authors, Martha Bayne, Mieke Eerkens and Allyson McCabe, will be in conversation with the Irish Examiner's Eoghan O'Sullivan.
Wendy Erskine’s debut novel and Lisa Harding’s are two of the most highly anticipated novels of the year, one set in Belfast and the other in Dublin, and both raising important questions about class and social status. Erskine and Harding will be in conversation with Deirdre O'Shaughnessy at Marino Church on Friday, July 18.
One of the most treasured broadcasters and presenters in the UK and Ireland, Graham Norton is the author of five novels, , , , and , all of which became instant bestsellers both in the UK and Ireland. , and have all won the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction Book of the Year, and and were shortlisted for the same award. Norton will be in conversation with Ryan Tubridy at the Maritime Hotel on July 18.
- The West Cork Literary Festival takes place in Bantry from July 11 to July 18. Visit www.westcorkmusic.ie for more information.
