Dromineer Literary Festival

Details of this year's Dromineer Literary Festival have been announced. It will take place from the 1st - 4th October 2009 at the Lough Derg Yacht Club, Dromineer, Co. Tipperary. Report in Irish Times here. The full details are on the festival website here. I attended last year and found it a very friendly affair. I attended the official opening, the prizegiving and reading of prizewinning entries and the workshop given by poet Tony Curtis.

Among this year's artists are Michael Harding author of the weekly "Displaced in Mullingar" column in The Irish Times. He is a novelist, playright and actor, and has recently worked with Siamsa Tire in Tralee on the production of 'Moriarty', a fusion of movement, music, song and spoken word based on the life of the late mystic and philosopher, John Moriarty. In this year's 'Meet the Author' session he will read from and respond to comments on his columns.

Vona Groarke is one of Ireland's foremost contemporary poets, has published numerous collections and is a frequent contributor to major journals. She is often to be heard on RTE radio's Sunday Miscellany. She is also a distinguished academic who has taught in Norway and the United States. She is currently on the Creative Writing Team at the University of Manchester. She will be giving a workshop at the festival.

The festival has poetry and short story competitions. Closing date 7 August, prizes 500 euro, 350 euro and 150 euro. Worth having a go!