Imagine the life Oscar Wilde might have had if he had chosen not to sue the Marquess of Queensberry. This is the premise behind John Boyne’s 16th adult novel, The Weight of Angels, and I’m very much looking forward to discussing it with him at a special event hosted by Dubray Books on Saturday, October 3, at 6.30pm, at 1 Windmill Lane, Dublin 2.
An audience Q&A and book signing will follow. Tickets €15, or €30 with signed copy, plus booking fee, from Eventbrite.
Write by the Sea, the boutique literary festival in Co Wexford’s Kilmore Quay, returns September 25-27. Now in its 11th year, it offers rich pickings for bibliophiles.
Seaside standouts: Laureate for Irish Fiction Éilís Ní Dhuibhne interviews Mary Costello about her novel A Beautiful Loan; poets Jane Clarke, Eoin Devereux and Moyra Donaldson read from new work rooted in very different places: a farm in Wicklow, working-class Limerick, the Ards Peninsula; and editor Molly Hennigan is joined by contributors Kate Phelan, Sinéad Gleeson and Arnold Thomas Fanning to read from An Asylum for My Affections: Sketches of Maeve Brennan. writebythesea.ie.
Dublin City Council’s Dublin Festival of History this September 26-October 11 opens with The Big Weekend – a packed two-day programme of talks, debates and panel discussion.
Among the many highlights, Sonja Tiernan will discuss the life of poet, pacifist and political activist Eva Gore-Booth; Kevin Rafter talks about his new book, Fearless!: Magill, Vincent Browne and Ireland in the 1980s; Antonia Senior tells the story of the Cambridge Five and their decades of espionage for the Soviet Union; and bestselling historian Katja Hoyer examines the Weimar Republic and its lasting cultural and political impacts. All events are free, but advance booking is advised. dublinfestivalofhistory.ie
Finally, eyes peeled for the Booker Prize shortlist reveal on Tuesday, September 22, and fingers crossed for Djamel White, the only Irish writer to figure on this year’s longlist. Chair of judges, classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard, will make the announcement at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
The six shortlisted authors will each receive £2,500 (€2,900) and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner will be announced on November 9.