If you think the world is falling apart, Steven Pinker is here to tell you it isn’t. Amid the relentless negativity, his case for optimism has never been more compelling. Let’s take a walk on the bright side with one of the most provocative and original thinkers of the 21st century. Harvard professor Steven Pinker, the renowned psychologist, has won numerous prizes for his research, teaching, and nine books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, and The Better Angels of Our Nature. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival, Friday 15th June
Willy Vlautin in conversation with Nadine O’Regan at The Dalkey Book Festival. Willy Vlautin is a writer who is taking the US by storm, described by The Irish Times as the “literary version of a Neil Young or a Tom Petty, bearing a ragged standard for empathy, compassion and decency, a throwback to a generation of novelists who still championed the underclass”. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 14th June 2018
Join Willy Vlautin for a session on Saturday night. Willy will be playing songs from Richmond Fontaine, The Delines plus instrumentals featured on the new soundtrack from his new book ‘Don’t Skip Out on Me’. The songs will be interspersed throughout with banter between Willy and Dave Fanning on Willie’s new book. There’ll be a Q&A discussing his books, music and America, and the new movie of his novel ‘Lean on Pete’. Accompanied on pedal steel by David Murphy (who previously toured with Richmond Fontaine). Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 16th June 2018
Robert Fisk is the multi-award winning Middle East correspondent of The Independent, based in Beirut. He is just back from Syria. Bob has lived in the Arab world for more than 40 years, covering Lebanon, five Israeli invasions, the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Algerian civil war, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, the American invasion, occupation of Iraq and the 2011 Arab revolutions. Fisk’s best-selling books on the Middle East include Pity the Nation and The Great War for Civilisation. In conversation with Pat Kenny. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 14th June 2018.
These two masters both write with dark humour and wit; we are excited to present them together to talk about “Writing Dublin”. You’d be mad to miss this! Roddy Doyle has moved readers for more than three decades. The initial larking of the Barrytown Trilogy has given way to many more complex stories, exploring the harsh emotional intricacies of everyone’s everyday lives. Roddy’s also picked up a few awards along the way. His latest novel Smile is an extraordinary work, about as far away from The Commitments as it’s possible to go. Although this will probably annoy him, Doyle is a national treasure. John Banville, fellow Booker winner, and winner of a great many prestigious awards, has published 18 novels and a series of crime novels as Benjamin Black. He has also written a memoir of Dublin, Time Pieces: a Dublin Memoir, published in 2016. With Ryan Tubridy. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 16 June 2018
Anne Enright is Ireland’s first Fiction Laureate, Man Booker Prize winner, author of six novels, three short story collections , and a book of essays. During her three year stint as laureate, she wrote three essays, each one about the female voice, heard and unheard. To talk about this and being an Irish female writer today, join us in the Secret Garden for a very special event. With Hilary Fannin. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 17 June 2018
100 years ago, Dalkey’s greatest, George Bernard Shaw, was the most famous man on the planet. He was a global brand before global brands existed, a socialist thinker, agitator, vegetarian, novelist, columnist, world intellect and fiercely proud Irishman. The only man ever to win both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar until Bob Dylan joined him in 2017. Fintan O’Toole, author of Judging Shaw, talks Shaw with David McWilliams to assess the life and times of Torca Road’s finest GBS! Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 16 June 2018
What is going to happen now that the US has in effect declared war on Iran? How will the Muslim world react? With the hopes of an Arab Spring destroyed, what comes next? With central Europe turning virulently anti-Islamic, can we live together or will there be a clash of civilisations? Join former Tehran correspondent of The Economist Christopher de Bellaigue, Afghan/Canadian film maker Nelofer Pazira and the FT’s Mehreen Khan, as they discuss the region, the role of Iran and who’s next for this cauldron now that America has adopted Israeli foreign policy as its own. With Ruadhan MacCormaic of the Irish Times. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 16 June 2018
From the brilliant, contorted imagination of the Rubberbandits, comes an explosive gospel of short stories that will blow your mind. This is the Ireland we refuse to acknowledge, dark, degenerate, and hilariously so. From deepest rural parts, to hipster central, Blindboy’s observations are part Flann O’Brien, part Mad Max – utterly compelling. Prepare to be dazzled. With Prof Declan Kiberd. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 16 June 2018
Internationally renowned bestselling author and a true global literary superstar, Michael Ondaatje is one of the world’s foremost writers. He has influenced an entire generation of writers and readers. Author of books of poetry, a memoir, and a nonfiction book on film editing, his novels include The English Patient, In the Skin of a Lion, Anil’s Ghost, Divisadero and The Cat’s Table. He has received the Man Booker Prize, the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award and the Prix Médicis Étranger for his fiction. His new novel Warlight is published in May. Recorded at The Dalkey Book Festival 17 June 2018