A star-studded selection of Irish and international authors are set to gather in Co. Kerry for the return of Listowel Writers' Week this summer. Taking place from May 31 to June 4, the 53rd edition of Ireland's oldest literary festival will feature major writers like Pulitzer Prize-winners Paul Muldoon and Richard Ford – as well as leading Irish novelists Joseph O'Connor, Liz Nugent, Claire Kilroy, Lucy Caldwell, Nithy Kasa, Sheena Wilkinson, Michael Magee and more.

Music fans can also look forward to Irish icon Paul Brady talking about his autobiography, Crazy Dreams, with Paul Muldoon.

Over the course of the festival, attendees will be able to attend workshops in poetry, fiction and songwriting, with writers and artists such as Stephen Sexton, Wendy Erskine and Arborist's Mark McCambridge.

Poetry fans, meanwhile, can soak in to some of the best emerging talents from across the island at a new open-air ‘Lunch Poems’ event, sponsored by Poetry Ireland.

Eimear Ryan, best known as the author of the novel Holding Her Breath, will be discussing her new non-fiction book, The Grass Ceiling: On Being a Woman in Sport, while Kerry footballer-turned-fashion designer Paul Galvin will be talking about his book Threads: Clothes and the Irish Man, a Woven History.

The festival will also see the presentation of several major awards, including the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and Piggott Poetry Prize. A lifetime achievement award will be presented to lauded actor and director Stephen Rea.

The full programme for the 2023 edition of Listowel Writers' Week is set to be released in the coming days.

"I am very excited about the upcoming release of a programme that has been in the making for the last couple of months," Stephen Connolly, the first curator in the festival’s 53 year history, commented. "Since taking up this position, I have fallen in love with Listowel and Kerry, and I can’t wait to bring some new people to the area. The community has been very welcoming and I hope that I’ve served them well in my programming."

More information is available at writersweek.ie – and tickets can be purchased at writersweek.ticketsolve.com