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The Dalkey Book Festival (/ˈdɔːki/DAW-kee) is an annual literature festival held inDalkey,CountyDublin,Ireland, for four days in June. Since its inception in 2010 by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams,[1][2] the festival has been held at a variety of venues in Dalkey, includingDalkey Castle, the local Town Hall, the Masonic Lodge, both churches, the local primary school, the medieval graveyard (where anEdgar Allan Poe adaptation was performed at midnight) and at various local cafes, bars and hostelries of the town. The compact nature of the town, its historic architecture and its location prompted theBBC's foreign correspondentJohn Simpson to call Dalkey "the loveliest little seaside town on Earth."[3]
Although the festival started with a literary focus, it celebrates the arts in general, including theatre, film and comedy. It is also a festival of ideas, exploring the worlds of science, technology, current affairs, new politics and global trends.[4]
The 2012 festival included writersSeamus Heaney,Joseph O'Connor,Maeve Binchy,Kevin Barry, Eoin MacNamee andJennifer Johnston, historianDiarmuid Ferriter, comediansBarry Murphy,Gerry Stembridge andPauline McLynn, and general speakersDeclan Kiberd andSinead Cusack.
The 2013 festival included writersEdna O'Brien,Anne Enright,Frank McGuinness,Donal Ryan,John Boyne,Eoin Colfer,Oisin McGann, comedians Colm O'Regan andGary Cooke, and general speakersCarl Bernstein,Robert Fisk,Mike Scott andDawn O'Porter.
The 2014 festival included writersSalman Rushdie,[5]Amos Oz,Sebastian Barry,John Banville, Martina Devlin,Declan Hughes, comediansDavid O'Doherty,Eleanor Tiernan andApres Match, actorEamonn Morrissey, broadcastersKirsty Wark,Andrea Catherwood,Sinéad Gleeson andOlivia O'Leary and general speakers Rory Sutherland,Bruce Katz, Gary Jermyn andMark Blyth.
At the 2023 festival,Tom Hanks spoke about his debut novel.[6] It also includedBono,Fintan O’Toole,Jan Carson and Sarah Webb.
At the 2024 festival,Bernie Sanders is expected to attend.[7]
In 2020, the inaugural Dalkey Literary Awards were announced in advance of the festival of that year. The awards were in conjunction with the festivals long-standing sponsor;Zurich Ireland.[8]
There were prizes for 'Novel of the Year' and 'Emerging Writer'. The prize fund for the competition is totaled at €30,000. The winner of the 'Novel of the Year' award will receive €20,000 and the winner of 'Emerging Writer' award will receive €10,000.[9]
It was also awarded in 2021 and 2022.[10][11]