Category Archives: Shows

Conor Kostick, Masterclass: Finish Your Novel Highlights

Shows

Masterclass 


Conor Kostick, Masterclass: Finish Your Novel Highlights 

Wednesday 29 July 2026 | 2.45pm to 5.45pm | £45.00 
For over twenty years Conor Kostick has been teaching his Finish Your Novel course at the Irish Writers Centre. For this masterclass Conor will distil the experience of the hundreds of writers who have participated in the course to give the top ten tips that he feels have proven to be the most helpful to novel writers. Concerning narrative voice, theme, writing drama, dialogue, characterisation and more, come and get the condensed, content-packed version of this celebrated course. 
Conor Kostick is the author of Epic, an internationally acclaimed SciFi novel about a world where everyone must have an avatar in a role-playing game. His other novels include The Retreat, and for younger readers, The Book of Wishes and The Book of Curses. A long-time mentor and teacher with the Irish Writers Centre, Conor is often called upon to judge new works, twice being president of the Irish jury for the EU Prize for Literature. At their 2009 awards, the Reading Association of Ireland gave Conor the Special Merit Award 'in recognition of his significant contribution to writing for children in Ireland'. Conor was a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012 and 2013. 
As an advocate for authors, Conor has served as the Disputes Officer for the Irish Writers Union for over a decade and is currently leading the campaign to hold AI companies to account for their pirated use of Irish writing in training their models. Conor was a board member of the National Library of Ireland for seven years and is currently a board member of the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency and Reading Services. 
Maximum of 12 participants. 

*Please note that, due to the demand for places available, the masterclass is not included in the Bursary, Weekly or Daily ticket.

Women Struggling for Peace and Justice in Northern Ireland and Beyond by Monica McWilliams

Shows

Opening Address

Women Struggling for Peace and Justice in Northern Ireland and Beyond by Monica McWilliams

Monday 27 July 2026 | 11.15am | £10

Reflections on Roberta Hewitt’s interests in peace building and women’s activism relate to our own changing circumstances from the1970’s onwards. The talk will focus on the various movements in which women were involved throughout the years of conflict, and the endurance needed to build a more peaceful and just society in Northern Ireland and beyond. 

Monica McWilliams co-founded the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, a political party involved in the peace negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement. She was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly; was Chief Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission; currently serves on the Independent Reporting Commission to end paramilitary groups and is a Patron of WAVE, the trauma centre for victims and survivors. She is Emeritus Professor at Ulster University and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Her memoir ‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ charts her activism on civil rights, women’s rights, peace, and equality.