Kinsale Literary Festival

Welcome readers and writers to Words by Water 2024! As always, we have a varied programme, with fiction, non-fiction, poetry, local interest, workshops and our children’s programme.

We are committed to keeping things affordable and are delighted that our €50 festival pass is back, if you fancy making a weekend of it and seeing where the mood takes you! (Excludes workshops and Saturday night’s headline event.)

The festival opens on Thursday with Davy Russell talking books and horses, followed by an evening of poetry and song, curated by Matthew Geden. Friday features Alice Taylor, acclaimed Northern Irish writers Jan Carson and Michelle Gallen, and finally the inimitable Dr Marie Cassidy talking real and fictional crime with Cork’s own Catherine Kirwan.

Saturday has something for everyone, from Dr Ethel Crowley’s tribute to her friend, Dervla Murphy, to the brilliant specificities of Irish settings in fiction, with Sinéad Gleeson, Nuala O’Connor, Noel O’Regan, Sheila Armstrong and Rónán Hession all discussing their recent highly acclaimed books. Saturday night brings us everyone’s favourite duo, Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn, for some engaging chat and fun. The festival closes on Sunday with our popular Local Voices event, featuring Michelle Dunne, Daragh Fleming, Lynda Marron and Michelle McDonagh.

Young readers can enjoy story time in the fabulous Kinsale Library with local writers Trish Kelleher and Nadine Hughes Campbell or take the story to the streets with Barry Moloney’s Kinsale Stories: A Walking Tour for Children.

Our workshops feature creative writing with bestselling author Fíona Scarlett, papermaking with local artist Caroline Smith and, back by popular demand, bookbinding with Elise de Beer. Places on workshops are limited so book early.

Browse our programme and book at www. wordsbywater.ie and find us on Instagram (@kinsaleliterary), Facebook (Kinsale Literary Festival, Words by Water) and X (formerly Twitter) (@wordsbywater) See you in October!

We are very grateful for festival funding from the Arts Council of Ireland and Cork County Council, as well as our ongoing local sponsorship from Lilly Kinsale.

Special thanks to Katherine Boucher Beug for our beautiful new cover design.