Cork World Book Fest
Cork World Book Fest is back in 2024 for our twentieth anniversary! The fest started back in 2005 when Cork was European Capital of Culture. Former City Librarian Liam Ronayne and Ann Luttrell, former Literature Officer at Triskel Arts Centre, decided to mark UNESCO World Book Day (which takes place every year on 23 April, the date on which both Cervantes and Shakespeare died) with Cork’s first ever World Book Day. The Library opened at 10:00 am on Friday 22 April and stayed open through the night and into the following day, 23 April. There were readings, music interludes, and exhibitions. Despite some concerns about the wisdom of staying open through the night, all went well.
As the following spring rolled around, those involved – both Library and Triskel staff – agreed that the experiment should be repeated. From 2006 on, this celebration of books and reading has been called Cork World Book Fest. It has grown in terms of the range of events included – sessions for wannabe writers, translations workshops, and full children’s programme – and in the languages and cultures featured, from Basque to Kurdish to Galician, as well, of course, as better-known languages such as Italian, French, Spanish and Catalan, not forgetting Irish. Writers in the English language have come from this country, United States, Canada, Australia, and well as Britain. Writers who attended Publishing Day events have gone on to become published authors.
The fest welcomes Irish and international writers to Cork for an extravaganza of books and writing this April, writers such as Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch, debut author Lynda Marron, Palestinian poet Marwan Makhoul and more.
For the full programme: visit corkworldbookfest.com
