Cork World Book Fest 2023

Tuesday 18 - Sunday 23 April Cork City Library | Grand Parade | Triskel 

We have such an exciting line-up for this year’s festival and we can’t wait for you to get as excited as we are! You can check out the programme online now or pick up a brochure in Cork City Libraries or Triskel. 

Official Launch & Opening Night Event

Launch of the 19th Cork World Book Festival by Cllr Deirdre Forde, Lord Mayor of Cork, followed by Opening night: David Constantine & Carys Davies, presented by Sarah Harte Frank O’Connor: 120 years Munster Literature Centre presented the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award between 2005 and 2015. It was the biggest short-story collection prize in the world at the time, and brought accomplished international writers in contact with new and emerging Irish short story writers. David Constantine and Carys Davis, both winners of the prize, are in conversation with Sarah Harte. Liadain O'Donovan, daughter of Frank O’Connor will be in attendance. David Constantine was for thirty years a university teacher of German language and literature. He is an editor of Hölderlin, Goethe, Kleist and Brecht, who has published a dozen volumes of poetry, two novels and six collections of short stories, the most recent of these (2022) being Rivers of the Unspoilt World. His “Tea at the Midland” won the 2013 Frank O'Connor Short Story Award. In 2020 he was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Carys Davies’s debut novel WEST was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, runner up for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize, and winner of the Wales Book of the Year for Fiction. Her second novel “The Mission House” was The Sunday Times 2020 Novel of The Year. She is also the author of two collections of short stories, Some New Ambush and The Redemption of Galen Pike, which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Her new novel, Clear, will be out in 2024. Sarah Harte is a prize-winning author. In 2020, she was a runner-up in The UK Bridport Short Story Prize. She was also longlisted for The Fish Short Story Prize. In 2019 she won The Bryan MacMahon short-story award. She was also highly commended for The Sean O'Faolain short-story prize. In 2018, she had two stories shortlisted for The UK Bridport Prize. In 2017, she was highly commended for The Manchester Fiction Prize. She has previously had two novels published by Penguin Ireland. She is a columnist with the Irish Examiner. Fiction at the Friary presents Rapid Fire Fiction Rapid Fire Fiction is a special one-off Fiction at the Friary event, involving 20 emerging writers who will read short extracts from their work and – together – will write an entirely new story, start to finish, before your eyes. Come and listen to the readings, watch writing in action, and hear Cork actor Kevin Power read aloud the brand-new story that emerges. Drinks will be provided, as well as jelly beans, hula hoops and marshmallows. Do come along for what promises to be a quirky and fun-filled afternoon! Special Guest: Inni-K , “One of Ireland's most exciting artists”, The Irish Times.