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SiarScéal Festival 2019

– Includes Beneath Western Skies Exhibition and the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards –

Posted 1 Aug 2019, 20:41

SiarScéal Festival 2019 will take place over two days, commencing on Friday, 11 October and continuing through Saturday, 12 October at Roscommon County Library HQ in Roscommon Town. Further information is available from the SiarScéal website – see Festival page.

Meanwhile, the closing date for the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards is Tuesday, 10 September and there is every incentive to get your entries in – the Overall Winner will take home a cash prize of €500, with two runners-up each receiving €100. There will also be trophy prizes for Highly Commended entries in the categories of local, national, international. The Ger Hanily Memorial Cup will be awarded to a local writer or school with the best sense of place or identity. Full details of how to enter the competition (including theme, rules of entry and so on) are available from the SiarScéal website – see Competitions page.

Also showcasing at this year's festival is a Beneath Western Skies exhibition, which will be formally launched on Day One of the festival. It will subsequently go on tour and be on display regionally at libraries in Leitrim and Sligo during October and November. The exhibition features photography and poetry by Anni Wilton Jones, who will also host this year's SiarScéal festivities.

Day Two of the festival will include presentation of the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards. Guest poet at this year's festival is Faye Boland, author of Peripheral, who will also adjudicate the Awards. She was overall winner in 2017.

Festival-goers will then be treated to a choral recital from the Galway-based Write-On Group.

An open mike session, from 1.30pm to 4.50pm, will close off the festival. People interested in performing their work are asked to send a short text message or SMS to Int+353+(0)86+1649756. This will help the organisers to ensure that everyone is accommodated.

Full details of the festival – including programme of events, how to get there, etc – is available from SiarScéal website. There is also a festival brochure that is available to download and share.