This Saturday in The Irish Times, Róisín Ingle will be discussing AI imitations of their writing with authors Marian Keyes, Paul Howard, and John Boyne. A list of notable depictions of artificial intelligence, ranging from The Terminator to Frankenstein, will be provided by Declan Burke. Arthur Mathews will delve into the life and demise of Kevin O’Higgins in his history piece titled Walled in by Hate: The Friends and Enemies of Kevin O’Higgins. An interview will be featured with Aimée Walsh, the Belfast-born writer of the critically acclaimed debut novel Exile.
A series of reviews will also be featured, including Christopher Kissane’s take on Spice: The 16th Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World by Roger Crowley, and Seamus Martin’s review of The Language of War by Oleksandr Mykhed. Other contributors include Edel Coffey, Declan Burke, Declan Hughes, Niamh Jiménez, Cauvery Madhavan, Sean Sheehan, Gemma Tipton, Eilís Ni Dhuibhne, Ruby Eastwood, and Sarah Gilmartin.
Liz Nugent is amongst the authors shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2024 with her recent novel, Strange Sally Diamond. Also shortlisted are previous winners Mark Billingham for The Last Dance and Mick Herron for The Secret Hours. Other authors vying for the title include Jo Callaghan, for In the Blink of an Eye, William Hussey, for Killing Jericho, and Lisa Jewell for None of This is True.
The prestigious Val McDermid Debut Award 2024 has announced its shortlist, which includes entries like Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley, Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey and several others. The winners will be unveiled at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, Yorkshire, on the 18th of July.
In other literary news, Cape Poetry will be introducing ‘Ash Keys: New Selected Poems’, a tribute to Michael Longley’s 85th birthday, happening on the 27th of July. As a preface, Olivia O’Leary will host a selection of episodes about Michael Longley’s poetic journey on BBC Radio 3, every evening from the 8th to 12th of July. The series will delve into various aspects ranging from Longley’s admiration for jazz and classical music, to examining his poetry; from nature to ageing.
Esteemed Irish author and current Laureate for Irish Fiction, Colm Tóibín, has launched a sequel to his bestseller, Brooklyn. His new book, Long Island, has been topping the bestseller charts for the last three weeks. He will engage in a discussion with Mary Conway, the City and County Librarian of Waterford, at Dungarvan Library at 7pm this evening. People who are interested in attending this event should however book it by calling Dungarvan Library on 058 21141.
IMRAM, a prominent Irish language literature festival, is offering an opportunity for artists and organisers to be part of their 2025 festival programme. They are particularly interested in receiving entries from underrepresented communities in Ireland, such as new Irish groups, Travellers and individuals with disabilities. IMRAM’s founder and artistic director, Liam Carson, expressed his eagerness to collaborate with creative minds from these diverse spheres for the upcoming festival.
Projects ought to stem from Irish language literature, with IMRAM backing the financial aspect, ranging from €500 to €5,000. Submission should comprise a summary of the project, information about the collaborating creators, a word limit of 1,000, and a rough cost approximation. The deadline is 31st July, and any applications should be sent to eolas@imram.ie. Where IMRAM and the creator agree it’s required, a coach can be provided.
In the realm of literature, Anne Casey has been honoured with the 2024 AAALS Creative Writing Poetry Prize by the American Association of Australasian Literary Studies. Her victorious piece, X-ray, is set to appear in the Antipodes. Casey wrapped up her PhD in archival poetry recently and has authored a collection of poems mapping the existences of the offspring of the Irish famine immigrants in Australia — a work soon to be printed by Salmon. She has found additional recognition, being named a finalist for the 2024 London Magazine Poetry Prize, earning significant praise in the Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition 2024, and winning both the American Writers Review Prize and Henry Lawson Poetry Prize.
Following a nationwide search, the Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme 2024 has assigned 39 writers, selected from a pool of 416 contenders, to receive subsequent mentoring over eight months from an esteemed chosen Irish writer. The programme which has been ongoing since 2017 has yielded several published authors such as Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Fíona Scarlett, Will Keohane, Alice Kinsella and Orla Mackey.
The Irish Heritage Trust and Poetry Ireland have recently commemorated the initiation of refurbishment activities at 11 Parnell Square East, Dublin. The project has significance as it foreruns a new era for the Georgian house, slated to morph into an inclusive cultural hub — aimed at promoting and sharing Irish poetry, heritage, and culture with the wider public. The restoration scheme, to be completed by next summer, will be overseen by McCullough Mulvin, conservation architects, and supervised by the Irish Heritage Trust, an independent, non-profit body in alliance with Poetry Ireland, the national poetry union. The systematic restoration will lead to a universally accessible edifice, highlighting the one-of-a-kind council chamber on the first floor invoked in Ivy Day in the Committee Room, a short story from James Joyce’s anthology, Dubliners (1914).