Literati gather for Writers’ Week

LEADING figures in the literary world, such as Roddy Doyle, Colm Tóibín, Fergal Keane and Michael Longley, will be among the personalities attending Listowel Writers’ Week, which opens tomorrow night.

Five writers have been shortlisted from an entry of more than 50 for the top prize, the €10,000 Kerry Group Irish Fiction award, previous winners of which include John McGahern and William Trevor.

Contenders this year are: Colm Tóibín, The Master; Neil Jordan, Shade; David Park, Swallowing The Sun; Gerard Donovan, Dr Salt, and Ronan Bennett, Havoc In Its Third Year.