I spent last Friday and Saturday in Listowel at Writers’ Week as a guest of the New Writers’ Salon, which was organised and run extremely successfully by Noel O’Regan and Victoria Kennefick. And what a great weekend it was!
On Friday night we had stories from Madeleine Darcy, Noel O’Regan and Eimear Ryan, and poetry from Cal Doyle and Kerrie O’Brien. On Saturday night myself and Elizabeth Reapy read stories while Victoria Kennefick, Jennifer Matthews and Stephen James Smith provided the poetry. There was an open mic slot each night that was hugely oversubscribed and a few people went away disappointed. The crowd was large and attentive on both nights and the staff at the venue Scribes were exceptional on both nights. Not only that, but all of the readers were a great bunch of people and it was a pleasure to spend some quality time in their company.
Jackie Kay talks to the organiser of the New Writers’ Salon, Noel O’Regan, at the Writers’ Week Blog, and you can find transcripts of most of the interviews with major writers including Colm Tobin, Colum McCann and Audrey Niffenegger on her blog also.
The buzz in Listowel was amazing and I hope to be back in Listowel for Writers’ Week in the future!
