Madam, – David Smith (August 22nd) suggests it might be time for a Dublin Book Festival. He is right in believing this is a good idea, although wrong in thinking this does not currently exist. The Dublin Book Festival, organised by Clé, the Irish Publishing Association, has been running successfully for the past two years, with the involvement of a great number of Irish publishers, authors and commentators, from Edna O’Brien to Michael D Higgins. Mr Smith suggests a central space, such as Trinity College – the Dublin Book Festival runs in Dublin City Hall, on Dame Street.
While a trip to Scotland to see the Edinburgh Book Festival would no doubt be worthwhile for publishers, a visit to the Dublin Book Festival in the spring of 2010 might be more pragmatic. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – David Smith (August 22nd) is quite right when he suggests that Dublin needs a book festival. Indeed Dublin has its own book festival, which was inaugurated last September. Books ’08 was held in Trinity College and the National Gallery and other ancillary locations.Buoyed by a very enthusiastic response from the books industry and the reading public, this year we are running Books ’09 over two weekends. From September 10th to 13th we have a vivid and varied programme covering literary fiction, popular fiction, crime and non-fiction. The authors attending include Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd, Michael Mansfield QC, Edna O’Brien, Marina Lewycka and John Banville. Again we are located in Trinity College and there will be lectures, readings, signings, workshops and seminars. The following weekend (September 19th-20th) is devoted to children’s books and will be held in the National Gallery where Roddy Doyle, Celine Kiernan and PJ Lynch among others will entertain a new generation of book lovers. – Yours, etc,
Madam, David Smith (August 22nd) laments the absence of a Dublin Book festival.
Our Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival, runs September 10th-13th, at various locations around the town of Dún Laoghaire. Mountains to Sea features authors from three continents while being rooted in the literary heritage and landscape of this beautiful part of Dublin. – Yours, etc,