Home | Greystones Book Festival

8th-9th August 2026

Festival Highlights

Talking Crime with Sam Blake

Sunday 9th August 7:00 pm

Sam Blake is a multiple No 1 bestselling Irish crime writer and has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year four times, and twice for Irish Teen and YA Novel of the Year. Her second YA novel, Something's About to Blow Up was Winner of the International Education Services Teen & YA Novel of the Year 2024. Her latest adult thriller is Your Every Move (January 2026). 15 Kill Lane will be released in January 2027.

Sam Blake is a pseudonym for Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin. the founder of Europe's biggest writing resources website, the award winning writing.ie, the Writers Ink online writing group and Murder One, Ireland's International Crime Writing Festival.

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Kids Apps & Creativity with Marc Diamond

Sunday 9th August 11:00 am

Marc Diamond has a very unusual job. Every day, he gets to channel his inner 4-year-old as Creative Producer of the award-winning LEGO® BLUEY & the heroic LEGO® DUPLO MARVEL apps.

This talk will cover creativity, finding the ‘Fun’ and what it’s like working with some of the biggest and most exciting names in Children’s media right now.

In addition to writing in his 'spare time', he also gets up ridiculously early with his trusty dog, Master Pippin, and takes photographs of the Greystones sunrise as ‘Marc With a Sea.’

See more of Marc's work here.

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In conversation with Ellen Ryan

Sunday 9th August 4:00 pm

Ellen Ryan is a multi-award-winning and bestselling children’s author. Her debut narrative non-fiction, Girls Who Slay Monsters, won ‘Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)' at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2022, and was shortlisted for overall book of the year. It went on to win the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland ‘Book of the Year’ Award, 2023. Girls Who Slay Monsters was the official inspiration for Ireland’s national 2023 St Patrick’s Day Parade. Most recently, the Irish Book Awards named Girls Who Slay Monsters as one of the top 20 Irish Books of the last 20 years, as voted for by the public. Her second children’s book, Gods Don’t Cry, was a Christmas bestseller and was shortlisted for the ‘Children’s Book of the Year (Senior) at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2023.

This in-conversation event will include a discussion with Greystones author Kristina Dowling. Kristina is the author of the YA fantasy novel 'Girl of Darkeness', which is a bestselling novel in Sweden that has been translated into English.

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In conversation with Claire Keegan

Saturday 8th August 2:00 pm

Claire Keegan's works of fiction are critically acclaimed. Antarctica won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Walk the Blue Fields won the Edge Hill Prize. Foster won the Davy Byrnes Award. Small Things Like These, a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Rathbones Folio Prize and won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Kerry Prize for Irish Novel of the Year. So Late in the Day was published in the New Yorker and shortlisted for the British Book Awards. Keegan was awarded Woman of the Year for Literature in Ireland in 2022, Author of the Year 2023, the Seamus Heaney Award for Arts and Letters 2024 and was recently presented with the Siegfried Lenz Award in Hamburg for being “one of the great European storytellers.” She was raised on a small farm in Wicklow.

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In conversation with poet Jane Clarke

Sunday 9th August 1:00 pm

Jane Clarke is an award-winning poet who lives in Wicklow. This event will be a discussion about her life as a poet including selected readings from Jane and some local Greystones poets.

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Write that Book!

Saturday 8th August 12:00 pm

If you are working on a writing project or have you always wanted to write a book, then this event is for you. It is a hands-on writing workshop for adults.

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Femina Culpa
Readings

Sunday 9th August 2:30 pm

Femina Culpa is a poetry collective bringing together four poets based in County Down and
Belfast, Emma McKervey, Milena Williamson, Linda McKenna and Kelly Creighton. Their
most recent poetry collections have all been inspired by the stories of nineteenth century
women who were caught up in the criminal justice system or who were victims of crime.
Their work has been based on archival research and seeks to uncover the voices of these
women through poetry.

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Writing and Illustrating Children's Books

Sunday 9th August 12:00 pm

Writing children's books with local author Marian Brennan and illustrator Mark Beech. Marian's children's book series, The Adventures of Finn O'Shea, is set in Greystones. Her books are chapter books for children 7-10 years old. They are illustrated by Mark, who has also illustrated many other books, including Terry Pratchett and the new Enid Blyton books.

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In conversation with Frances Browner & Tara Cruise

Sunday 9th August 6:00 pm

Local authors, Tara and Frances, will discuss their journey to publishing their novels with short readings from their latest books. Tara has published two fast-paced crime thrillers, 'The Scientist' and 'Schengen Visa'. Frances has published 'A Bronx Summer' which is a truly authentic contemporary romance novel set in the 80's in New York

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Passion & Purpose Donal O'Brien

Saturday 8th August 11:00 am

Donal O’Brien is the author of Finding Your True Passion and Purpose, a practical and compassionate guide for anyone feeling stuck, burned out, at a crossroads, or quietly sensing there is more to life and work than simply getting through the days. The book is a journey of discovery, guiding people toward living the life they were truly born to live!

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