‘Find your voice – and speak your creativity’

BUDDING writers, passionate poets, wordsmiths, bookworms and dreamers are encouraged to tune in to a very special virtual event this Saturday hosted by the Omagh Literary Festival – as it will help them find, nurture and celebrate their voices, and inspire them to create.

Titled ‘Discovering Your Voice and Finding An Audience’, the festival will be broadcast from Strule Arts Centre Facebook page, and features an impressive plethora of established writers, novelists, musicians and poets who have struck success during their personal journeys with their crafts.

During the show, Michelle Gallen, author of ‘Big Girl Small Town’, and Sue Divin, author of ‘Guard Your Heart’, will discuss how writers find and nurture their creative voices – but also how to carry these voices to an audience. The pair have both been heavily influenced in their writing by their respective childhoods, educations and careers, and will even share stories about how they brought their stories to the page, as well as the role the ‘Irish Novel Fair’ played in the publication of their respective debut novels.

A poet’s reflections

Performance poet, Cat Brogan will also perform poems from across her career and reflect on how her work has grown and developed over the last ten years.

From Omagh, Cat has previously won the ‘BBC Edinburgh Fringe Poetry Slam’ and her poetry has featured on Radio 4, RTE, Latitude Festival and Cheltenham Literary Festival. Elsewhere, Omagh academic, Sarah Grimes will be leading a discussion about Flann O’Brien’s ‘The Third Policeman’, assessing the way the novel is still finding new audiences today, and violinist Nollaig Casey will discuss her career of studying, writing and performing genres of music from across the world, and perform some of the pieces that have influenced her the most.

New viewers welcome

Omagh Literary Festival chairman, Andrew Maguire, says that he is hopeful the virtual event will attract new viewers who haven’t previously visited the festival, while inspiring local creatives to nurture their talents.

“We’re still in a position where guidelines and the current situation makes it impossible to have an in-person festival this year,” he described. “But we’ve worked hard to put this virtual event together and we’re hoping that it might introduce a few new people to the Omagh Literary Festival.

“It’s only natural that people aren’t always aware of the events this festival contains year-after-year, or of how accessible and enjoyable the festival is, so whereas in the past, people may have been hesitant to buy a ticket and come down to see the festival in person, we’re hopeful that this year they’ll tune in on Facebook or YouTube and enjoy the event for free. If they do, we think they’ll really enjoy what they see and hear – and hopefully it will inspire our local creatives.”

‘Prominent novelists’

Omagh Literary Festival secretary, Gerard McCabe, believes that the line-up this year is as exciting as any that the festival has ever had.

“We were honoured that Michelle Gillen and Sue Divin came to be part of the festival,” Gerard said. “They’ve written two of the most prominent novels in Northern Ireland in the last few years, and we’re sure our audience will enjoy hearing about their journeys towards doing that.

“Just as exciting, however, is to be able to give a platform to local talent. It is just brilliant to have Nollaig Casey, Cat Brogan, Sarah Grimes and her guests involved.

“It all adds up to a programme that we think new and returning viewers of the Omagh Literary Festival will really enjoy.”

Esteemed academics

Now in its 21st year, the Omagh Literary Festival has previously welcomed writers and poets such as Frank Ormsby, Thomas Kilroy, Colum McCann, Patrick McCabe, Sarah Baume, and Donal Ryan; hosted esteemed academics, from the likes of Queen’s University Belfast; and introduced popular theatrical productions.

Based in the Strule Arts Centre, Omagh, it is a popular name on the Irish Literary Calendar.

l For more information, please contact chairman of the Omagh Literary Festival, Andrew Maguire on ‘amaguireomagh@hotmail.co.uk’.

l ‘Discovering Your Voice and Finding An Audience’ will be broadcast from the Strule Arts Centre Facebook page this Saturday (October 23) from 8pm. On conclusion of the show, it will be available to watch back at any time.