Leading Irish and International Writers for Cúirt 2018

Leading Irish and International Writers for Cúirt 2018

23 – 29 April, 2018 | Galway

Cúirt International Festival of Literature has announced highlights of the 2018 festival, which runs from April 23 – 29 in Galway. The 2018 programme has been curated by the new Programme Director for Cúirt, Emily Cullen. The full festival line-up will be announced next February.

Contributors to the 33^rd Cúirt International Festival of Literature include:

• Recent winner of the ‘Novel of the Year’ prize (for Midwinter Break)at the 2017 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards, Bernard MacLaverty
• Forward Prize Winner and poet, Sinead Morrissey will present poems from her Forward prize-winning collection, On Balance
• Winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry,Pakistani-born British poet and artist, Imtiaz Dharker
• Irish writer, scholar and leading international authority on the literature ofIreland, Professor Declan Kiberd

Now in its 33^rdyear, this week-long international literary event takes place in Galway every April. Regarded as one of the oldest and most recognised literature festivals in Europe, the Cúirt programme includes poetry and prose readings, discussion events, spoken word, poetry slams, music, theatre and visual art exhibitions. Over the past three decades, Cúirt has hosted dozens of Nobel prize-winners, Poet Laureates and prize-winning authors from all over the world.

The new Programme Director for Cúirt, Emily Cullen, commented that: “The Cúirt Festival has a long tradition as a vibrant place of ideas and debate at the heart of a cultural capital. It has always facilitated an intimacy with leading Irish and international authors and the 2018 edition will continue in this vein, featuring world writers in translation, essayists and conversations with song writers and artists. A commitment to the promotion of Irish language writers is also a significant feature of the Cúirt festival in a city with a unique bilingual status. I’m looking forward to sharing the full festival line-up with audiences in the new year.”

Highlights just announced for the 2018 Cúirt festival include recent winner of the coveted Novel of the Year prize at the 2017 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards, Bernard MacLaverty, who will read from his novel, Midwinter Break.

Pakistani-born British poet and artist, Imtiaz Dharker, will read from her new poetry collection Luck is the Hook, which will be published in March 2018. Dharker is an award-winning poet and also an accomplished artist; all her collections are illustrated with her drawings, which form an integral part of her books. An exhibition of her drawings will be on display during the festival. Scholar, writer and leading international authority on the literature of Ireland, both in English and Irish,Professor Declan Kiberd, will discuss hisrecent book After Ireland: Writing the Nation from Beckett to the Present.

Cúirt International Festival of Literature would like to acknowledge the support of the Arts Council and Galway City and County Councils, and the support of Fáilte Ireland. Cúirt International Festival of Literature takes place in Galway from April 23 – 29, 2018. The full festival line-up will be announced in February. Tickets for all festival events will go on sale in 2018.