Since it’s inception in 1970 Listowel Writers’ Week has been recognised as the primary event in Ireland’s literary calendar. North County Kerry is the birthplace of many of Ireland’s most prominent writers past and present, including Dr. John B Keane, Dr Bryan Mac Mahon, Professor Brendan Kennelly, Gabriel Fitzmaurice, George Fitzmaurice, Maurice Walsh and Robert Leslie Boland. The Writers’ Week festival was established to celebrate those writers and to provide an opportunity for Irish Writers in general to develop their talents and meet new audiences.
The festival aims to guide, direct and enthuse the emerging writer, to befriend the established writer and provide a practical platform for their artistic output. This ideal is achieved through workshops, readings, lectures, literary competitions, book launches and other events. Writers’ Week aims to be inclusive and to make the arts accessible to everybody. To succeed with this ambition, a broad and comprehensive literary programme will be put in place to cater for all tastes.