Carlow Penfest literary festival
Now in its second year, preparations are underway for Pen Fest 2012, the annual Carlow County Library literary festival.
The focus of this years festival is on emerging writers and will feature workshops and talks by experts in the literary field. A number of different genres will be covered throughout the weekend including
Writing poetry for Beginners with Iggy McGovern on Friday, 14th September at 7 p.m. in Carlow Library
Iggy McGovern is a physicist who also writes poety and is an Associate Professor in the School of Physics at Trinity College. He has had two collections of poetry published. The King of Suburbia was published by The Dedalus Press in 2005 and won the inaugral Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for Poetry. A second collection, Safe House, was published by Dedalus in 2010.
Screenwriting for Beginners with Ferdia Mac Anna on Saturday, 15th September at 11 a.m. in Carlow Library
Ferdia Mac Anna has worked as a television producer/director, journalist, magazine editor, screenwriter and scriptwriter, as well as songwriter and singer for many years. He has taught at various colleges and institutions and he currently lectures in Screenwriting and TV and Radio Broadcasting. He is perhaps best know for his three novels, The Last of the high Kings, The Ship Inspector and Cartoon City. His memoir, The Rocky Years is in development for a TV drama series. He has written one poem
Author, director and film maker Bob Quinn will give a talk entitled “Atlantean: from film to book and back again“on Saturday, 15th September at 4 p.m. in Carlow Library
Bob Quinn is primarily known as an independent film-maker, and has made more than 100 films, including Listen (1978); Self-Portrait with Red Car (1976); Poitín (1978); Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoire (1975); Atlantean (1985); and Budawanny (1987). He has received many awards, and two of his films are in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He is also the author of Atlantean – Ireland’s North African and Maritime Heritage; Smokey Hollow, a novel; Maverick: A Dissident View of Broadcasting Today; and The Atlantean Irish: Ireland’s Oriental and Maritime Heritage. He is a member of Aosdána, and lives in Connemara.
Writing for Children with Herbie Brennan on Sunday, 16th at 2 p.m. in Carlow Library
A professional writer whose work has appeared in more than fifty countries, Herbie Brennan is enjoyed by children and adults alike. Herbie has an well-established career writing for the children’s market — from zany picture books to teenage fiction and from game books to school curriculum non-fiction. His teenage novel, Faerie Wars, also rocketed to international success. Herbie lives in an old County Carlow rectory with his wife the author, painter, therapist and crystal expert Jacquie Burgess.
An Evening with Carlow Writers’ Co-Op on Sunday, 16th at 4 p.m. in Carlow Library
Carlow Writers’ Co-Op are a group of Carlow based writers who meet every two weeks to share and explore all styles of writing. Established for a number of years and closely affiliated with Carlow County Library Service, the group will provide an evening of readings to close Pen Fest 2012.
Stay tuned to the Pen Fest page for news of workshops, lectures, participants and booking. For further information contact John at jshortall@carlowcoco.ie or phone 059 9129713. Details can be found here.