A range of international talent is set to descend upon the scenic West Cork region of Ireland this July with the return of the now world-famous West Cork Literary Festival.
The town of Bantry is set to come alive with a 6 day festival from the 12th until the 18th July with a range of talent descending on the popular town for the event.
Top of the billing for this year’s festival is Michel Faber, who is now regarded as one of the finest novelists of his generation, as well as David Nicholls, Graham Norton, Rachel Cusk and Neel Mukherjee. A host of Irish authors with recent releases or new releases on the way including Belinda McKeon, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Paul Murray and Louise O’Neill will also read during the festival.
Other highlights of the West Cork festival a literary brunch hosted by the travel writer Dervla Murphy, readings on Whiddy Island as well as an evening with Nick Davies, who exposed the now famous phone-hacking scandal in Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire. Local West Cork author Sara Baume and her publishers from Tramp Press, Sarah David-Goff and Lisa Coen are also set to host a discussion one of the evenings on “The Myth of Overnight Success”.
There is also a range of workshops planned for the 6 day festival with novel writing, play writing, poetry and investigative reporting. Ideal for families, the Children’s Festival will also feature children’s book writers such as Sarah Crossan, Shane Hegarty, Judi Curtin, Sarah Webb, Yasmeen Ismail as well as the return of the popular Book Clinic.
The town of Bantry is very popular with people taking a trip to Ireland this year due to the range of festivals the town is hosting this Summer, including the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. The town itself is also steeped in Irish history as it was one the landing site of a French liberation force, consisting of 43 ships and led by Wolfe Tone in 1796. With a range of hotels near Bantry to choose from West Cork is the place to be this Summer.