Red Line Festival opens new chapter
By Mary Dennehy
THE Red Line Book Festival was this week officially launched, opening a new chapter for the community-based literary festival.
On Wednesday, UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage helped launch the 2019 Red Line Book Festival with a special poetry reading at the Rua Red county arts centre in Tallaght.
UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage with spoken word poet Ciara Ní É and Jasmine Tessier (8 years old) and her brother Adrien Tessier (10 years old) at County Library, Tallaght at the launch of the programme for the ninth edition of the Red Line Book Festival
A literary festival for all ages, the event will run across local venues in South Dublin County from October 7 to October 13.
An initiative of South Dublin Libraries and Arts, the festival brings together local, national and international authors, alongside staging talks, workshops, theatrical productions and creative writing competitions in a community setting.
An accessible celebration of all things literary, the line-up for this year’s programme has this week been announced, and includes a number of literary world greats, as well as an array of exciting new voices.
A number of the writers in the line-up include Irish Laureate for Fiction Sebastian Barry, Laureate na nóg Sarah Crossan, Kevin Barry, Sarah Webb, Alison Spittle, Joseph O’Connor, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Colm O’Regan and Laura Dodsworth.
Speaking after the launch, Daniel McLoughlin, South Dublin County Council (sdcc) Chief Executive said: “The Red Line Book Festival is a wonderful opportunity for people of South Dublin to enjoy the very best the literary world has to offer – right here on their own doorstep.
“This year’s programme is, once again, an eclectic mix of established international and national writers as well as exciting new voices on the cutting edge.”
Andrew McMillian at last year’s event
New to the programme this year is the Changing Ideas strand, which includes a number of events featuring writers whose work is pushing boundaries or affecting social change.
A section on Digital Worlds will also delve into the “often fabulous, but sometimes flustering world of social media”.
The programme also boasts plenty of events for children, including workshops, a fun-filled exploration of Irish history as part of Magical History Tour and a production called Jacqueline and the Beanstalk, a retelling of the classic story that turns “the gender stereotyping of traditional fairy tales on its head”.
Mayor of Sdcc Vicky Casserly said: “The Red Line Book Festival continues to enrich the literary and cultural life of South Dublin by attracting both fresh new voices and household names, and offering a programme for readers of all interests and ages.
“I invite everyone from South Dublin County and beyond to participate in as many events as possible.”
For further details or to read the full programme visit www.redlinebookfestival.ie or keep up-to-date through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
