New Basic Income for the Arts scheme announced! 🎨 Practicing artists based in Republic of Ireland will be invited to apply & 2,000 eligible artists will be selected to receive the payment of €325 per week for three years @deptcultureirl.bsky.social @gov.ie www.gov.ie/en/departmen...

Throughout February and especially on Ireland Reads Day, February 28th, Libraries Ireland is calling on people across Ireland to get lost in a good book. It doesn’t matter what you read, where you read or how well you read, as long as you read. www.irelandreads.ie

Reminder of this fabulous opportunity for aspiring children's writers and illustrators with @childrensbooksireland.ie. WCLF is proud to be partners and can't wait to welcome the Raising Voices fellows to our festival in July. Deadline 19 February

Issue 4 is launching! The competition issue will be presented by the journal's four editors, Stephen Brophy, Sinéad Griffin, Patrick Holloway and Jennifer Matthews in Waterstones, Cork, on Tuesday 17th February 2026 at 6.30PM, and will include readings from contributors

Creative February is now underway and @artscouncilireland.bsky.social invites schools across Ireland to connect with nature artscouncil.ie/developing-t...

Comórtas Gearrscéalta OSCAILTE ✅Áit i gceardlann ag Féile Liteartha Iarthar Chorcaí & a bheith san áireamh i seoladh i Leabharlann Bheanntraí ✅Ranníocaíocht €300 le haghaidh lóistín ✅Duine le duine leis eagarthóir, @hollowaywriter.bsky.social 📅 Spriocdháta 27 Feabhra www.corkcoco.ie/en/news/from...

📣 #jobfairy 👉Programme Administrator @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social Centre 🗣Assist with the full lifecycle of Academy year-round programming & their calendar of events from initial concept to final execution & evaluation 📋 www.performingartsforum.ie/.../programm... ⏰Closing Friday 6 February

💚📚 This event is now sold out and we are no longer adding names to the waiting list. If you are already on the waiting list we will contact you nearer the time if a ticket(s) becomes available for you 💚📚

We are delighted to announce the brilliant Polly Barton as our Translator-in-Residence for 2026 🎊

An incredible 8 nominations for Hamnet in the 2026 Oscars @theacademyusa.bsky.social. Wonderful to see Jessie Buckley up for Best Actress, Chloé Zhao for Best Director, Hamnet for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's novel) www.oscars.org/oscars/cerem...

💡 #opportunity 👉 NOW OPEN: Theatre Sector Consultation Registration @artscouncilireland.bsky.social 🗣The consultations will take place in Limerick, Dublin, Sligo & Cork. You can register your interest for one in-person event⤵️ 📋 www.performingartsforum.ie/opportunity/... ⏰Closing Wednesday 11 Feb

Some good news! Leonard and Hungry Paul nominated for an IFTA for Best Drama. Congratulations to Subotica and all the team who worked on it. FYI @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social

Join us 18 June for an evening with bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell, as we celebrate her new novel, Land. For the first time ever WCLF will present an event in Cork city and we'll welcome Maggie to the stage of Live At St Luke's for a public interview. 🎟️📚 www.westcorkmusic.ie/events/2026/...

Lovely to kinda know a writer on this list not because of events and the small world of writing but because he works at the dentist place I go to 🦷🪥

Another amazing crop of Irish debut fiction writers to look forward to. 2026 is going to be a bumper year for Irish fiction 💚📚 www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

Submissions are now open for 2026 BBC National Short Story Awards with Cambridge University. Deadline Monday 16th March. The BBC National Short Story Award is open to published writers who are British citizens and/or resident in the UK www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...

From The Well short story competition is open for submissions until 27 February. Judged by @hollowaywriter.bsky.social. Cork County Council will launch the anthology at WCLF in July. Fist prize includes a place on our short story writing workshop www.corkcoco.ie/en/news/from...

📣 #jobfairy 👉General Manager @brierygap.bsky.social 🗣 Responsible for the effective leadership, financial sustainability, and operational excellence of the theatre. 📋 www.performingartsforum.ie/job/general-... ⏰Closing Date For Applications 12noon Friday 16 January

So many amazing Irish festivals coming your way this year and we're delighted to see WCLF and our sister festivals @westcorkmusic.bsky.social and Masters of Tradition in the mix. Join us in Bantry for a whole summer of festival fun www.irishtimes.com/culture/2026...

We're very sorry to hear this news. It was such an honour to meet legendary singer and West Cork native Seán Ó Sé when he came to WCLF 2016 and wowed us with tales and songs from his memoir 'An Poc Ar Buile'. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. RIP Seán www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ar...

We are delighted to announce that applications for the Raising Voices 2026 programme for aspiring writers and illustrators are now open 🧑‍💻 The Raising Voices Fellowship runs from March until November 2026. Application deadline: 19/02/26 at 3pm. Full details childrensbooksireland.ie/news-events/...

So much to look forward to in 2026 www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

Loved this interview with Laureate for Irish Fiction Éilís Ní Dhuibhne on @rteradio1.bsky.social today and can't wait to welcome Éilís and The Island of Imagination: A Literary Tour of Ireland to WCLF in July. Thanks to @artscouncilireland.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

📢 We are inviting expressions of interest from artists & arts professionals interested in being part of our peer panels, which play a key role in decisions on funding applications. Deadline: 5:30pm, Tues 3 Feb Read more: https://bit.ly/45H5rvp 📷: Light-Sensitive Photography

Nonfiction books coming in 2026: Among promising titles are a book about France’s dark side and Jon Ronson’s exploration of multimillionaires searching for meaning in New England; plus new books by Katriona O’Sullivan, Rory Carroll and Sally Hayden www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

The best fiction of 2026 to look forward to: Books from Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan, Sebastian Barry, Maggie O’Farrell, Keith Ridgway, Danielle McLaughlin, Louise Nealon, Sarah Gilmartin, Patrick Freyne, Liz Nugent, Jan Carson, Tana French, Kathleen MacMahon & more www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

Delighted with this news. Hamnet is adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's novel and last night it won Best Picture whilst its star Jessie Buckley won Best Female Actor at the Golden Globes

Raising Voices is a brilliant @childrensbooksireland.ie initiative. We were delighted to welcome the Fellows to WCLF last summer and we'll be official partners in 2026. Applications open until 19 February

The Cúirt New Writing Prize 2026 Application deadline: 31st January 2026 The Cúirt New Writing Prize, kindly sponsored by Tigh Neachtain in memory of Lena McGuire, is now open for submissions. There are four categories: poetry, short fiction, essay and Irish Language poetry and short fiction. This…

Oh, wow, Ian Rankin @ianrankin1.bsky.social comes to Bantry. It's getting better and better.😉 #Booksky 💙📚 #WestCork

As this year draws to a close we would like to wish everyone a peaceful Christmas & all good things for 2026. Thanks to everyone who joined us in 2025 to make it such a magical and memorable festival. We can't wait to do it all again in 2026 & we hope to see you there 📸 @dzjamkokarlis.bsky.social

WCLF wouldn't be possible without the support of our primary funders Arts Council of Ireland, Cork County Council & Fáilte Ireland as well as our many programming & venue partners & our media sponsors The Irish Examiner, all of whom teamed up with us in 2025. Thank you for being part of our family

Our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas has become a Baker's Dozen because you've all been very good this year and we can't keep this exciting news to our selves. Crime writer extraordinaire Ian Rankin is coming to WCLF 2026 with his latest John Rebus book Midnight and Blue

We've loved sharing our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas preview of authors coming to WCLF 2026. We cannot wait to meet all of these wonderful authors and so many more. Tune in tomorrow (Saturday) for a Baker's Dozen 13th announcement because we can't keep a secret!

Day 12 of #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. Margaret Busby is a pioneering publisher & cultural activist who founded Allison & Busby in the 1960s & became the UK’s first Black woman publisher. Her own collected writings, Part of the Story: Writings from Half a Century, will be out in March

Sarah Bowie is the 11th author we are announcing as part of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas reveals of WCLF 2026 authors. Sarah is the Irish author and illustrator of the fabulous Nina Peanut series of middle grade graphic novels. The fourth Nina book Nina Peanut Major Drama Alert is coming out in May

Thanks @jennymitchellgo.bsky.social. Looking forward to seeing you in West Cork in July. Our full line-up will be announced on 1 April and people can follow our socials or sign up for our newsletter (link in bio) to be the first to hear news ❤️

Day Ten of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. Thanks to our partners Ambassade de France en Irlande/Embassy of France in Ireland, French author Nolwenn Le Blevennec @nleblevennec.bsky.social is coming to West Cork. Her novel Friends and Lovers is translated into English by Madeleine Rogers

2026 is already gearing up to be an incredible year in books and Image magazine has put together some of the gems from Irish and international authors www.image.ie/living/26-bo...

Our director Eimear combines her love of books and her love of Cork into a list of recent books for West Cork People. Clue: they are all books by authors living in Cork or from Cork. Lots of inspiration for Christmas presents and Christmas reading ❤️📚 online.flippingbook.com/view/7903684...

As a writer who started writing in my forties and who is published by a small but mighty indie press, I wasn't sure how I'd get on in the book world, but from day one libraries have been a great support, just like they were a great support to me all my life as a reader. Please support your library.

I'm so happy to be performing @wcorklitfest.bsky.social in July 2026 with the wonderful poets Imasha Costa and Daragh Fleming. Look forward to finding out who else is on the bill.

Day Nine of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas with WCLF2026 authors. Leading fitness expert and West Cork resident Karl Henry will discuss his favourite walks around Ireland and the supreme benefits of walking. The Walking Effect was shortlisted for Lifestyle Book of the Year in the 2025 Irish Book Awards.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas (in our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas) my true love gave to me Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen. @emerthescreamer.bsky.social and Sarah will be back with a brand new novel Our Deadly Summer (@bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social May 2026) and they will join us at WCLF in July

Day 7 of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. We're very excited that Jenny Mitchell will join us next summer with a new anthology she is editing arising from her time as Cork City Library's Poet-in-the-Community. @jennymitchellgo.bsky.social will be joined by Daragh Fleming and Imasha Costa

Welcome to Day 6 of #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. @sachacoward.bsky.social is an historian who has run LGBTQ+ focused tours for museums, cemeteries, archives & cities around the world. Can't wait to hear Sacha talk about Queer As Folklore: The Hidden Queer History of Myths & Monsters

Day 5 of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas sneak peek at WCLF 2026. We're so excited to announce that Nikita Gill will join us in July. @nikitagill.bsky.social is an Irish-Indian poet, playwright, illustrator, actor and all round superstar. She'll read from her novel in verse Hekate The Witch

Congratulations to Joseph O'Connor and all the team @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social. Winner of @irishbookawards.bsky.social Irish Book of the Year 2025

Welcome to the fourth day of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas reveal of authors who are coming to WCLF 2026. We cannot wait to see Patrick Gale back in Bantry with his new novel Love Lane, which will be published by @tinderpress.bsky.social in March. Follow us or join e-newsletter at link in bio for news

Our sister festival West Cork Chamber Music Festival announced their fabulous 2026 line-up today. Priority booking from 28 Jan. Join @westcorkmusic.bsky.social in #Bantry from 26 June to 5 July 🎻🎼 www.westcorkmusic.ie/chamber-musi...