Ennis Book Club Festival is pleased to announce an early bird ticket offer for a selection of
key events at Festival 2025, taking place from Friday 7 th – Sunday 9 th March at various venues
throughout the town and county. As always, the 2025 Festival will offer a vibrant programme
of live events and activities for book lovers of all ages, opportunities to engage with your
favourite authors and this year, a great Christmas present for the readers in your life!
Friday 7 th March sees novelist Andrew O’Hagan in conversation with Wendy Erskine.
O’Hagan’s ambitious novel, Caledonian Road takes us on a picaresque journey through a city
and a life. Born in Glasgow, O’Hagan has been nominated for the Booker Prize and he won
the E.M. Forster prize. Belfast writer Wendy Erskine whose new novel The Benefactors is due
shortly, will explore the world of Caledonian Road with Andrew, in what promises to be a
fascinating discussion.
Short stories have a distinctive place in the modern Irish literary tradition and in The Art of
the Short Story, writers Cathy Sweeney (Modern Times), Maggie Armstrong (Old
Romantics) & David Butler (The Witch & Other Stories) will explore what makes the short
story form so intriguing, in conversation with Olivia Fitzsimons. The winner of our short story
competition will also read at this event.
In a headline Friday night event in glór, Ann Cleeves will talk about her work with Brian
McGilloway. Award-winning author of the Shetland, Vera and Two Rivers novels, Cleeves has
written some of the most popular crime fiction of recent times. Her books have sold over 5
million copies, and she has had two crime series adapted for television; Vera and Shetland
are major dramas starring Brenda Blethyn and Douglas Henshall respectively. In this wide-
ranging discussion with writer Brian McGilloway (The Empty Room, The Last Crossing), Ann
will explore the journey of her writing life so far.
Ten Books You Should Read is one of the most popular events of the festival, where
audiences get to probe the minds of two guests and the books that inspire them. The 2025
Festival guests for this firm favourite is Ennis native actor and screenwriter, Mark O’Halloran
(Adam & Paul and Viva), and Oliver Callan, the creative force behind Callan’s Kicks as well
as presenter of the wide-ranging morning show Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio One.
Debut Novelists this year features Aimée Walsh, Patrick Holloway and Cathy Sweeney.
With her first novel, Exile, Aimée Walsh opens out a world of unsettling possibilities and
haunted territories. In The Language of Remembering, Patrick Holloway takes on the charged
subjects of home, memory and language in a tender exploration of how to remake an identity,
whilst Cathy Sweeney’s debut novel Breakdown explores a woman rebelling against
traditional roles and expectations.
In a very special event, the 2025 Festival will remember and celebrate the legendary Clare
writer Edna O’Brien with a panel discussion featuring Andrew O’Hagan, Danielle McLaughlin
and Eoin McNamee in conversation with Rachael English. O’Brien’s work provoked
controversy and discussion over the years and though sometimes vilified, she remained
completely steadfast to the cause of writing, her life’s work. Her wit and knowledge, beauty
and talent as a writer will be explored and celebrated in this panel discussion by writers who
loved her work and cherish the inestimable contribution she made to Irish literature. Early
booking advised for this one.
EBCF is delighted to welcome Ian McEwan to the festival, to explore his many books and
their themes. Known for the precision and clarity of his writing, McEwan’s work explores the
turmoil of human interactions, class difference, family relationships and loss. McEwan won
the Booker Prize with Amsterdam whilst his next novel, Atonement, garnered acclaim and
was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. He will be in conversation with arts journalist and
presenter of Arena, Seán Rocks, in a wide-ranging discussion, on Saturday 8 th March in glór.
And finally, The Sunday Symposium investigates the theme of international conflict in a
globalised world. Writer Sally Hayden (My Fourth Time We Drowned), photo-journalist Paulo
Nunes dos Santos and professor of Middle East politics Vincent Durac will examine the
charged subjects of peace & war. In Gaza and Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, Iraq &
Afghanistan, and parts of the continent of Africa, conflict and territorial struggles are not just a
threat to local populations but also have global impacts. In this discussion our guests will
explore what this could mean for the coming years.
Tickets for eight key events will be available for sale from glór Box Office and online
from this Tuesday 10 th December with 10% discount when five of the eight available
events are booked. The offer closes on Saturday December 21 st .
