Joseph O’Connor wins Irish Pen Award

LOOSE LEAVES:Joseph O'Connor (pictured) is to receive the 2012 Irish Pen Award – Irish Pen is part of the international organisation that celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression – to acknowledge his outstanding contribution to Irish literature.

In keeping with the tradition started at the WB Yeats dinner in 1935, the writer is presented with the award in the company of other writers at Pen’s annual dinner. It will be held on February 10th next year.

This way lies the future for ‘Tribune’ journalist

Congratulations to Gavin Corbett, who, while working at the now defunct Sunday Tribune, took time to attend the Faber Academy in Dublin where the authors James Ryan and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne spend long winter evenings teaching aspiring novelists the craft. His novel This Is the Wayhas been picked up, first by an agent who found it languishing in the slush pile and now, after a four-way auction, by a publisher, and he's bagged a two-book deal. This Is the Waywill be published by Fourth Estate in spring 2013.

Signature flourish sets books apart

"Signed books are special," says Barbara O'Connell, owner of Schull Books, in Co Cork, "because there's the feeling that the author has actually handled the book." With that in mind she hit on the idea of asking the 32 stallholders that have their books on sale at tomorrow's Dublin City Book Fair to make a special effort to bring along signed editions. The result is more than 100 books bearing the authors' signatures, including signed copies from Seamus Heaney, John McGahern, Roddy Doyle and Mary Lavin. The rarest signed book on offer is a copy of Bram Stoker's Mystery of the Sea.

The last poet president, Douglas Hyde, used to issue Christmas booklets from the Áras containing some of his new poems. It might be a bit early in his presidency to expect Michael D Higgins to have the time to do the same, but in the meantime there will be signed copies of his first three collections – The Betrayal(1990), A Season of Fire(1993) and An Arid Season(2004) – at the fair, which takes place at the Tara Towers Hotel, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, 11am-5pm.

The fine craft of curating a festival

Maureen Kennelly is the new curator of Mountains to Sea DLR Book Festival 2012. The freelance arts administrator will certainly bring a wealth of organisational and creative experience to the event, which is sponsored by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. She’s just wrapping up a busy year – she is currently project manager with the Crafts Council of Ireland for the Year of Craft. Earlier this year she was creative producer of DublinSwell, staged at the Convention Centre Dublin as the first major celebration of the Unesco City of Literature designation.

Kerry Group recognises a year of fiction

Entries are invited for this year's Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. The prize is a healthy €15,000, and it is open to work by an Irish author published between March 1st, 2011, and March 1st, 2012. Neil Jordan scooped last year's prize for his fine novel Mistaken. Entries to Máire Logue, Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award, Listowel Writers' Week, 24 The Square, Listowel, Co Kerry by March 2nd, 2012. There is no application form.