Irish literary journals pave the way for future writers
The Dublin Book Festival is an annual festival that celebrates Ireland’s authors, culture, language, and publications. It takes place for one week every year: 2024 was the 19th time the festival took place. It spreads across Dublin, with venues like Dublin Castle, the Iveagh Gardens, The Abbey Theatre, and more.
The Liberty had the opportunity to attend one of the final events of the festival last Saturday night. The small event held in the Printworks at Dublin Castle was dubbed ‘Leabharlann Beag [small library]– A Literary Journal Showcase’. The event consisted of 10 writers who had been chosen by their editors to read a short story that showcased the magazines or journals. It explored many genres, from comedy to young adults to Irish poetry, and more. Dublin Book Festival described the event as: “a small sample of the rich landscape of contemporary Irish indie publishing, in its broad range and diversity.”
Though every piece that was read out was fantastic, there were some that stood out more than others. One of these was a story, by Miriam Needham, set in Donegal focusing on two women chatting in a cafe. The story immediately got a big laugh from the audience when Needham gave her best impression of an older woman who did not care for a conversation (repeating yeah in a breathless tone). Needham was selected by the editor of New Irish Writing (HOWL).
The next striking story was Shane Murphy, reading Private Lives. The story follows an Irish secondary school student after the breakup of his parents’ marriage. A noticeable thing about the storytelling was how the main character always referred to his mother as ‘mam’ but called his father by his first name, ‘Patrick’. The short story follows the main character as he struggles through his sexuality; he starts a relationship with an older man. The audience were captivated by not only the story but also by the way Murphy presented it. He was chosen by the editor of The Pig’s Back.
The third and final piece made the biggest impression of all and was called Dog Days, read by Philip Arneill. As Arneill went on stage to present his piece, he joked that without the literary journal Sonder, his work “would probably still be on [his] Google drive.” Telling this small anecdote helped the audience settle in for the wild story that lay ahead. Dog Days is a short story about a man who starts to act like a dog. It follows him through the journey of acting human to being full blown rabid.
The story was full of vibrant vocabulary, with words like, ‘vigorous, agility, exhilarating, and valiantly.’ Arneill definitely closed the night out with a bang, he had the audience laughing and rethinking how good is human life compared to that of an animal. According to the Leabharlann Beag website the publication, Sonder, is described to feature, “short stories, creative nonfiction, and flash fiction by brand new writers.”
Though the festival is over, the Dublin Book Festival is something to look out for. Happening only for one week every year, it is an event that everyone should go to. It is suitable for all age groups and such a variety of events – there really is something for everyone!
Socialise
