Launch of Dromineer Literary Festival brochure and programme
To celebrate the launch of the 2017 festival brochure and programme, the Dromineer Literary Festival committee hosted a poetry reading by Mark Roper at a cheese and wine reception at Nenagh Arts Centre on Friday, September 8th.
From its first event in November 2004, the Dromineer Literary Festival has grown into a much loved and warmly anticipated event on the autumn literary calendar. The festival has now an international reputation with entries to the 2017 writing competitions from Ireland, the UK, France, Canada, the USA, South America and Hong Kong. We are grateful to the Arts Council, Tipperary County Council Arts Office, Waterways Ireland, and to our local sponsors for their continued support.
Our 2017 programme reflects the diverse and rich talent of today’s international literary scene. With its breathtaking backdrop, daytime events will be held in Lough Derg Yacht Club in Dromineer and afloat on Lough Derg, and we also make a welcome return to the historic Nenagh Castle. The evening programme will be held in the intimate environment of Nenagh Arts Centre.
We are excited to have internationally-acclaimed poets Martina Evans, Martin Malone and Geraldine Mitchell reading at the Poetry Evening in Nenagh Arts Centre on Friday, 6 October. This event is a must not only for poets and poetry readers, but is a great introduction to the pleasure of poetry for those new to the art form. A key philosophy of the Dromineer Literary Festival is to celebrate the creativity of emerging writers; this year, Dani Gill will open the event with a reading from her debut collection After Love, published earlier this year.
At our Meet the Authors event on Saturday evening, 7 October, we will hear from multi-award-winning authors including the war photographer, journalist and short story writer Sándor Jászberényi, novelist and poet Martina Evans and novelist and short story writer Alan McMonagle. These exceptional authors will read and discuss their writing with Martin Doyle, Books Editor at The Irish Times.
We are delighted that, with the support of its Director, Ian Sansom, we have established an association between the festival and the Oscar Wilde Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Dr Sansom has put Arthur Seefahrt forward to join Amanda Bell and Edward O’Dwyer at the Launching Party, on Saturday afternoon in Lough Derg Yacht Club. Martina Evans will introduce the poetry of these three writers, two of whom, Amanda and Edward, have published new collections this year.
Award-winning writers Eileen Sheehan and John W Sexton are hosting our Transition Year writing workshops this year. Eileen and John have many years’ experience teaching this age group. They will introduce the pupils to writing techniques as well as inspire and enthuse the participants towards future writing.
On Saturday morning at Lough Derg Yacht Club, author Lisa Harding will facilitate a fiction workshop, and poet Martin Malone a poetry workshop, for all details please visit the festival website www.dromineerliteraryfestival.ie, or email info@dromineerliteraryfestival.ie
Competitions encourage new writing, and over the years many of our winners have become distinguished in their craft. The winning short stories and poems will be announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon at Lough Derg Yacht Club. This year our judges are Lisa Frank and John Walsh from the independent publishing house Doire Press. Poet and author Geraldine Mitchell will judge the Primary Schools Competition. This is a very popular event, so be sure to come early for a good seat.
On Sunday afternoon, 8 October, Andrew Tierney will talk about his first book, The Doctor’s Wife is Dead; a Victorian non-fiction drama set in his native north Tipperary during the period of the Great Irish Famine. This event will take place in the highly atmospheric and recently restored Nenagh Castle so dress warmly for this event. Please note this venue has no wheelchair access.
For the highly popular Afloat event on Lough Derg, we are delighted to have the talented award-winning short story writer Sara Baume interviewed by Lisa Harding. Both writers are graduates of the MPhil in Creative Writing at the Oscar Wilde Centre, Trinity College, Dublin. Places are strictly limited, so early booking is essential.
Our festival exhibition, entitled Nurture: Before Their Wings Fold, is by artist Yvonne Hennessy. Yvonne’s art is concerned with representing connection, biology and nature through visual art. The exhibition will be available to view and the work is available for purchase upstairs in Lough Derg Yacht Club and at Nenagh Arts Centre throughout the festival weekend.
The Dromineer Literary Festival is for everyone, and your support is central to its success. We look forward to a weekend sharing our common love of the written, spoken and visual arts.