LooseLeaves/Sadbh: A number of Prix Goncourt winners and a novelist who takes 9/11 as his theme are among the participants at this year's Franco-Irish Literary Festival.
Running in Dublin from April 15th to 17th, the theme of creativity in a fractured age is well summed up in the title of this year's event: Future Tenses, Futurs Imparfaits.
The 9/11 inspired novel Windows on the World by Frédéric Beigbeder (translated by Frank Wynne; Fourth Estate), which focuses on a family in the World Trade Center restaurant before the collapse of the North Tower, was among the six works of fiction recently shortlisted for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The prize is organised by the British newspaper to celebrate work in translation. The £10,000 prize, which is divided between author and translator, will be awarded in mid-April; announcing their shortlist, the judges described the Beigbeder novel as "almost unbearably moving".
French writers attending the Franco Irish Literary Festival will include novelist, short story writer and playwright Catherine Lépront, who is also the author of a biography of Clara Schumann, and author, visual artist and film director Alain Fleischer. Emmanuel Dongala, from Congo, who had to flee Brazzaville during the civil war in the Congo in 1997 is also coming. His collection of short stories Jazz et Vin de Palme (1982) was banned by the Marxist-Leninist Congolese government of the time; the ban was lifted only in 1990. Irish writers at this year's festival include Tom Paulin, Louis de Paor, Peter Fallon, Deirdre Madden, Rita Ann Higgins and Sebastian Barry.
The festival is organised by the Alliance Française Dublin and the cultural service of the French embassy.
Details from Christine Weld, tel: 01-6381441; e-mail business@alliance-francaise.ie
Take French leave
The Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris is offering writers a chance to have a residency there over the next 12 months. The centre is located in the College des Irlandais. Writers who have resided in the college since it reopened as the Centre Culturel Irlandais in 2002 include Moya Cannon, Liam Ó Muirthile, Mary O'Malley, Bob Quinn and Michael Harding. The residency includes a room in the college as well as a study. Applications are being considered for September to December of this year, and for January to March and April to July of 2006. Applicants must have a full-time involvement in writing, working and/or living in Ireland, or be professional French writers who are currently resident in Ireland or whose work has a clear link with Ireland. Writers of any other nationality with a body of work that has a strong Irish connection, and who would benefit from being in Paris, can also apply.
A short CV or literary biography, details of work published, teaching experience and participation in activities such as writers' workshops or literary festivals - plus a rationale for going to Paris, indicating the focus of the residency and any knowledge of French culture and language should be posted or e-mailed to: The director, Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris or hcarey@centreculturelirlandais.com by Thursday, March 31st.
www.centreculturelirlandais.com
Writers' workshop
It's not every day you get to work with an engaging contemporary Irish novelist and short story writer in the hallowed halls of Trinity College Dublin - all for free - but that's just what the school of English there is currently offering. It has invited submissions from the public for a creative writing workshop with the current Arts Council Writer Fellow at the university, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. To be held on seven Wednesday evenings, it starts on April 13th at 7pm.
Applicants should send their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, sample of work (maximum 10 pages of prose or three poems) and brief curriculum vitae (including details of workshops attended) to Writer Fellow's Workshop, Oscar Wilde Centre, School of English, 21 Westland Row, Trinity College, Dublin 2. by Thursday, March 31st. For further details, contact Lilian Foley, tel: 01-6082885 (mornings) or e-mail lifoley@tcd.ie
An Cailín Rua
Gaelic chicklit hits the shelves this weekend, right in the middle of Seachtain na Gaeilge, which runs until St Patrick's Day. An Cailín Rua is an Irish-language novella by Irish Times journalist Catherine Foley, which won first prize in the Oireachtas Literary Awards in its category. Billed as a romantic romp on land and sea, it is published by Comhar as part of a series which aims to provide easy-to-read material in simple Irish for adults and teenagers who want to build on the amount of Irish they already have. An Cailín Rua is the ninth novella in the series. Features of the book include a list of the difficult words at the foot of each page, and a glossary. It costs €6.80.