Historic move as Irish publishing comes to Cheltenham Literature Festival
The Shebeen Series
For the first time, The Lilliput Press and New Island Books bring a showcase of Irish-published literary talent to the Cheltenham Literature Festival 2021.
With the generous support of the Arts Council of Ireland, and in partnership with the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Shebeen Series will see two of Ireland’s most prestigious and long-standing publishers join together to take over a stage for a full afternoon at the world’s oldest literature festival.
Full stage
Irish publishing houses have never before been given a full stage for a whole day at such a world-renowned UK literary festival – this sets a precedent for Irish-published authors. While Irish authors are acclaimed the world over, Irish publishers and Irish authors have not always taken centre stage at international festivals. The Shebeen Series revolutionises this.
Read the World
This full programme of panel talks and events are part of ‘Read the World’, a major new three-year theme for the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
‘This incredible day-long takeover at Cheltenham shows what can be achieved when collaborations happen and is a great step forward in bringing Irish publishing houses to internationally-renowned festivals in Britain. We hope this exciting showcase of our talented writers will open the door for more Irish- published authors to reach audiences in the UK and beyond.
We want to show the reading audiences of our nearest neighbour just how unique and relevant our authors’ work is, that they tell stories that are modern, universal and distinctly Irish, and to show that there is a wealth of talent from numerous Irish publishers just across the water! We couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming or prestigious partner than Lyndsey Fineran and the team at the Cheltenham Literature Festival who have been amazingly supportive of our outlandish ideas from day one!’
—Caoimhe Fox at New Island and Ruth Hallinan at The Lilliput Press
Ten Irish-published authors
Glittering line-up
The complete line-up of the Shebeen Series sees ten Irish-published authors take control of The Huddle stage in person on Saturday 16 October from 1–6pm.
The stellar line-up includes:
Hennessy Prize-winning PAUL PERRY, author of The Garden (New Island 2021), in conversation with ADRIAN DUNCAN, winner of the John McGahern Annual Book Prize 2020 and author of Midfield Dynamo (Lilliput 2021).
NUALA O’CONNOR, author of Nora (New Island 2021) and shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Novel of the Year Award 2015, in conversation with ALICE LYONS, author of Oona (Lilliput 2020), which was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Prize 2020.
Panel events
There will be an exciting panel event around the landmark anthology The New Frontier: Reflections from the Irish Border (New Island 2021) with editor JAMES PATTERSON and contributors DARRAN ANDERSON and JILL CRAWFORD.
A lively discussion centred around Archipelago: A Reader (Lilliput 2021) will take place, with co-editor FIONA STAFFORD and contributors JAMES MACDONALD LOCKHART and BERNARD O’DONOGHUE.
Topics
Topics will range from the global reach of Irish writing to the lives of overlooked characters, from the art of fictionalising true tales to the influence of the Border —as well as a reimagining of the relationships between the islands of Ireland and Britain in a world now fast being defined by climate and environmental degradation.
The Cheltenham Literature Festival
The Cheltenham Literature Festival leads the way in celebrating the written and spoken word, presenting the best new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats and high-profile speakers. With the Shebeen Series by Lilliput and New island, they have embraced this pioneering effort at collaboration across the Irish Sea.
With ‘Read the World’, we will bring you one of our most diverse line-ups to date and continue to lead the way in producing world-class programmes that push the envelope of what literature festivals can do, and who they are for. This was a really fantastic proposal from Caoimhe and Ruth and I am delighted to be welcoming New Island and Lilliput authors to Cheltenham this year.
—Lyndsey Fineran, Festival Director of the Cheltenham Literature Festival
New Island Books
New Island Books was founded in 1992 by Edwin Higel, celebrating thirty years in business this year, they are known for fostering debut Irish fiction, alongside Irish interest non- fiction, poetry, short stories, and the Open Door adult literacy series.
The Lilliput Press
The Lilliput Press, winner of the Small Press of the Year Award in Ireland 2020, was founded in 1984 by Antony Farrell in County Westmeath and publishes a wide variety of Irish interest books, including work by Donal Ryan, Kevin Power, Neil Jordan, Elske Rahill, Emer Martin and forthcoming from Martina Devlin.
