You know those dreams you have where it’s your Irish exam in the Leaving Cert and you’ve turned up in your underpants? Welcome to my actual world for the last few weeks as first-time literary curator of the Waterford Writers Weekend, part of this year’s Imagine Arts Festival.
Now that we’re in the last week running up to it (the festival runs this weekend, from October 20th – 22nd) here are a just a few reasons I think you should head down to Waterford for the day or the weekend to have a look around the festival I built…
Firstly on the Friday, we kick off with events including creator of RTE TV’s Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope Stefanie Preissner, a live Waterford Whispers News Newsageddon and the man who gave us Ross O’Carroll Kelly – Paul Howard.
Saturday is jam-packed with hotelier and TV presenter Francis Brennan, former FG Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and some of Ireland’s finest crime authors in Jane Casey, Sam Blake, Alex Barclay and Sinead Crowley. As well as that, there’s a particularly brilliant event on social and political poetry with Elaine Feeney, Karl Parkinson and Sarah Clancy and some local Waterford poets as well.
We finish off on Sunday with our Secular Sunday Service at Midday, with readings from Sinead Gleeson, Rob Doyle, Doireann NiGhriofa and more, my panel with three of Ireland’s brightest new first-time authors Sally Rooney, Eithne Shortall and Ciaran McMenamin and our last event, with the brilliant author of Unravelling Oliver and Lying In Wait – Liz Nugent.
For the kids, you have to bring them to great free events with Dave Rudden and Judi Curtin (ask your kids who they are – they’ll know!) and you get the chance to meet the guys behind Irelandopedia.
If you want something a bit more practical we have Couch to 100K - a fiction-writing workshop with Wexford’s Cat Hogan (They All Fall Down / There Was A Crooked Man) and a poetry workshop with award-winning poet, editor and teacher Dave Lordan.
Top that off with two publishing panels – one for people into self-publishing with Hazel Gaynor and Eamon Ambrose as well as Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff (Tramp Press) telling you, in no uncertain terms, just what not to do when you’re approaching a publisher.
I mean there may well be some post-event socialising, as I hear that happens at these sort of things…
Just come down to Waterford - tons of events are free and just turn up, some are ticketed and you’ll need to get them in advance. If you see me haring from event to event do grab me and say hello.
It all kicks off on Friday, October 20th - you’ll find everything you need to know here. Rick O'Shea's new afternoon show on RTÉ Gold begins on November 6th.
