Dublin Book Festival

In honour of International Women's Day 2022 here is a story of one woman - exiled to a nunnery, written out of history and more or less forgotten...until now.   Nadine O'Regan is in conversation with author JR Thorp to discuss her stunning debut novel Learwife

Festival Director, Julianne Siron chats to Roisin Dwyer about Submissions for Dublin Book Festival 2022 which open on the 1st March. 

Join Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan as she chats to some of Ireland's most exciting new writers including John Patrick McHugh, Dagogo Hart & Megan Nolan... 

Join us for a fascinating conversation with President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins as he discusses his latest book Reclaiming the European Street: Speeches on Europe and the European Union (Lilliput Press –  Ed. by Joachim Fischer and Fergal Lenehan) with author, journalist and lecturer Paddy Woodworth.

Recorded at DBF20201: Professor Luke O’Neill and Mark Henry in conversation with Aoife Barry

Renowned immunologist, Luke O’Neill has become one of the most well-known and trusted voices throughout Ireland’s COVID-19 pandemic. His new book of lockdown diary entries Keep Calm and Trust the Science (Gill Books) takes us on a roller-coaster ride through one of our country’s most dramatic and difficult years.

Mark Henry’s new book In Fact: An Optimist’s Guide to Ireland at 100 (Gill Books) is a much-needed uplifting read after such a challenging year. Using facts and stats, Henry’s book is packed with positive news to hold onto; tracking our progress over the last 100 years through 100 undeniable national achievements, highlighting that, while there is still much to be done, Ireland is in a better place now than it has ever been.

Play It Forward Fellowships is a programme aimed at nurturing and amplifying the talents of writers whose voices and stories have traditionally been underrepresented in Irish literature and publishing.

Lucy Caldwell and Cauvery Madhavan, programme ambassadors, will kick off the evening in a conversation traversing the changing face of the Irish literary landscape over the past decade and the need to advance new perspectives around diversity, inclusion, access and opportunity. The inaugural cohort of fellows — Gonchigkhand Byambaa, Sara Chudzik, Neo Florence Gilson, Majed Mujed and Sarah Fitzgerald — will read a selection of their work in a special showcase.

Play It Forward is a joint initiative between Skein Press and The Stinging Fly, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

The Freedom to Write Committee of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is honoured to celebrate the life and work of the renowned poets, Varavara Rao (India) and  İlhan Sami Çomak (Turkey), on the occasion of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer.

Varavara Rao was arrested in August 2018 after an event in support of the struggle of the Dalits –  or Untouchables – for human rights. Imprisoned many times over the years for similar activities, Varavara Rao is currently on release on an interim bail agreement granted on health grounds. Still in serious ill health, the 82-year-old poet will be back in court soon for a decision on his future.

İlhan Sami Çomak was arrested in 1994 and charged with membership of the banned PKK Kurdish militia. He has always denied the charges against him and has said his ‘confession’ was obtained under torture 26 years ago when he was a young student. He remains Turkey’s longest-serving student prisoner. İlhan has written eight books of poetry from solitary confinement, and his autobiography has just been published. His only company during all his time in prison has been a pet bird.

Benjamín Labatut in conversation with Rick O’Shea

Sometimes the greatest discoveries bring the greatest destruction

Join Dublin Book Festival for an evening with Chilean author Benjamín Labatut as he discusses his novel, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2021, with broadcaster and national literary connoisseur Rick O’Shea.

Described by Philip Pullman as ‘a monstrous and brilliant book’, When We Cease to Understand the World is a fascinating and revelatory insight into how the world’s greatest minds can wreak the greatest havoc. Thrusting us into the troubled lives of such scientific luminaries as Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, this book explores the sometimes blurred lines between genius and madness; how some of science’s greatest discoveries revolutionise our world for the better, while others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. Merging fact and fiction to great effect, Labatut shines a bright and powerful light on some of the most brilliant minds in this history of science and mathematics.

Join Dublin Book Festival in association with Culture Ireland, as they bring a blend of traditional and contemporary Irish culture to Blue Metropolis. Presenter Breda Brown sits down with multi-award winning author and director Neil Jordan and author Nuala O'Connor with musical interludes from the enchanting duo Clare Sands & Susan O'Neill. Filmed in the beautiful, bookish surroundings of Kevin Street Library in central Dublin.

Colin Black in conversation with Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin

Tune in from the comfort of your own home where Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin will be talking to author Colin Black about his new book Gas Man: Observations of an anaesthetist (HarperCollins Ireland). Learn what happens between you conking out and waking up after an anaesthetic. Anaesthetist Colin Black will bring you on his journey, both funny and sad; where his every day on the frontline is a heady cocktail of severe pressure, poignancy, and profound social awkwardness.