Sebastian Barry, the award-winning author and new Laureate for Irish Fiction, has been added to the line-up for this year’s Cúirt International Festival of Literature.
Born in Dublin, Barry is one of Ireland's most acclaimed novelists. He has twice been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize with A Long Long Way (2005 ) and The Secret Scripture (2008 ), the latter winning the 2008 Costa Book of the Year and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His 2011 novel On Canaan's Side was longlisted for the Booker.
In 2017 he won the Costa Book of the Year for Days Without End, becoming the first novelist to win the prize twice. Earlier this year he was named Ireland’s Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2018 – 2021, succeeding Anne Enright in the role.
The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council and is run in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University. The role seeks to acknowledge the contribution of fiction writers to Irish artistic and cultural life by honouring an established Irish writer of fiction, to inspire a new generation of writers, and to encourage the public to engage with Irish fiction.
Barry will join acclaimed Irish novelist, Paul Lynch in the Town Hall Theatre on Thursday April 26 at 8pm. “We’re absolutely delighted to be joined by one of our greatest writers for this year’s festival," said Cúirt programme director Emily Cullen. "While Sebastian is no stranger to Cúirt, it seems fitting that in his inaugural year as Laureate for Fiction, he will call our attention to ‘The Golden Age of Writers and Readers’. I look forward to the distinctive vision he will bring to the role.”
Tickets are €14/12 via www.cuirt.ie and the Town Hall Theatre (091 - 569777, www.tht.ie ). Cúirt runs from April 23 to 29.
