Words By Water, the Kinsale Literary Festival, have announced the programme of events for the 2022 festival, taking place from Thursday September 29th to Sunday October 2nd.
This will be the first full in-person programme the festival has held in three years and organisers are looking forward to welcoming readers and authors back to the town.
“Now we can return with a full programme this autumn, we hope to see many of you again and look forward to welcoming new faces,” committee member Ruth McDonnell said. “Whether you want to hear a favourite author speak, listen to some lively debate or learn about the craft of writing for yourself – we hope you find something to suit you in this year’s programme.”
The festival has a host of well-known faces appearing at venues around the town over the weekend. “We are very proud of the lineup of authors who are joining us this year and hope our audience are as excited as we are to hear from John Creedon, Sara Baume, Danielle McLaughlin, Olivia Fitzsimons, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald and many more,” Ms McDonnell said.
Events are taking place at a number of locations, including The Lord Kingsale, The Trident Hotel, The Methodist Church and Prim’s Bookshop.
On Saturday night RTÉ broadcaster John Creedon, author of the bestselling That Place We Call Home will be in conversation with Esther McCarthy of the Irish Examiner in The Trident Hotel. John and Esther will be discussing his first book and his latest offering A Treasury of Irish Folklore which is due in shops later in September.
The festival opens on Thursday night with Right Words - an evening of poetry and prose curated by Kinsale poet Matthew Geden.
Friday’s events include Olivia Fitzsimons and Danielle McLaughlin in conversation with journalist Shane Coleman and a discussion of crime fiction with Cork authors Tadhg Coakley and Catherine Kirwan.
In what should be a fascinating event on Saturday, there will be a screening of documentary films ‘This Is Nicholas’, about the author and documentary maker Nicholas Ryan Purcell's experience of living with autism. This will be followed by a discussion between Nicholas and Diarmuid Heffernan, who has worked for 13 years supporting people on the autism spectrum and currently works as an ASD consultant providing training/workshops.
In addition to welcoming authors from around Cork and further afield, the programme also includes a new event showcasing the work of local writers and a separate talk by a local historian.
“Championing local voices has always been important to us; Kinsale and its surrounding area is home to an abundance of literary talent,” Ms McDonnell said. “We are proud to be showcasing the work of Amy Cronin, Gráinne Murphy, Niamh Prior, Adrian Wistreich and Shannon Forde as part of the festival.”
This year’s programme also includes a workshop for young people being held in conjunction with local school Scoil Naomh Eltin and a number of other free events for children.
Elsewhere, author and University of Limerick professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald will lead a workshop on Time Management for Creative Writers on Saturday and on Sunday USA Today bestselling author Jean Grainger will share her knowledge of self-publishing. Booking is now open for all events, browse the full programme at www.wordsbywater.ie.