Cúirt to Host Digital Festival of Literature – Press Release

Cúirt is Bringing Literature Directly to You this Month

Cúirt International Festival of Literature is pleased to announce that they will be present a digital festival this month. It will be broadcast online, entirely free of charge, between Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 April.

Bringing Authors to Audiences

Events include Jan Carson and Kevin Barry in conversation with Peggy Hughes; Eimear McBride with Edel Coffey; Sara Baume in conversation with Sinead Gleeson; Elaine Feeney in conversation with Lisa McInerney; Roisín Kelly and Michael Gorman, Mary Costello and Alan McMonagle plus additional events with authors Anne Enright, Owudinni Mustapha and Carolyn Forché. All will be broadcast on the Cúirt YouTube channel.

In this challenging year for the arts and for authors around the globe, Cúirt wishes to continue to support the two groups that make the festival special; its authors and its audiences. Speaking about the festival, Director, Sasha de Buyl, said: ‘Books are, to quote Stephen King, a uniquely portable magic and we’re lucky in this time of shutdown that the ideas, voices and conversations that make our festival special can still be brought to our audiences. We have looked at how we can reshape a selection of our events into a digital format, spanning podcasts, video events and social media activity, so that audiences, no matter their preference, can engage with us.’

‘All events will be free to access, though audiences will be able to support the festival through donations if they so wish, and all events will be available to watch again after the event has finished. All donations will go towards the payment of our authors fees for the digital festival.’

A Global Audience of Literature Lovers

Although we can’t sit together in venues this month, there is no reason not to enjoy readings and interviews with some of your favourite Cúirt authors from the comfort of your home. Events can now be accessed by a global audience of literature lovers so spread the word to friends and family around the world.

More Cúirt events to follow

Some headline events will be rescheduled for later in the year with details to be announced. Once this crisis has passed, we can enjoy readings, workshops and interviews in person in the Town Hall Theatre, Nun’s Island, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop and other wonderful Galway venues. For now, add these dates to your diary, sit back and enjoy the company of these wonderful authors from your comfy couch, armchair or duvet. For updates, visit Cuirt.ie

NOTES TO EDITORS

Cúirt International Festival of Literature

Founded in 1985, Cúirt International Festival of Literature is one of the oldest and most recognised literature festivals in Europe. The festival celebrates national and international literary talent and promotes the written word in poetry, literary fiction, non-fiction and genre writing. Over the past three decades, Cúirt has hosted Nobel prize-winners, Poet Laureates and prize-winning authors from around the world. The Festival is supported by the Arts Council, Creative Europe and Galway City and County Councils. For Festival announcements and updates visit Cúirt.ie

Director, Sasha de Buyl

Sasha de Buyl is recently appointed as Director of Cúirt International Festival of Literature and the 2020 festival will be her first in post. Raised in West Cork, Sasha comes to Cúirt from Scotland, where she spent over ten years. Most recently, she was Manager of Scottish Books International, an international development organisation for literature. Prior to that, she worked in the Literature team at Creative Scotland, the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries, and was programme manager for Book Week Scotland, Scotland’s nationwide festival of books and reading.

Cúirt International Festival of Literature

Media contact, interview and image requests:

Tracey Ferguson PR | M: (086) 158-4342 | E: tracey.ferguson@gmail.com

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