About Irish Writers' Weekend: People in Time and Place
In her new novel Stations, the follow up to the international best-selling and British Book Award winner Trespasses, Louise Kennedy follows her young cast back and forth from Belfast to London in the 1980s and over the decades that follow. A story of displacement, stretched loyalties and loss, which is ‘at its heart a love story, a furious, tender, potty-mouthed paean to loyalty and generosity of spirit.’ And in Contentious Spaces, by Irish Traveller activist and playwright Rosaleen McDonagh, we meet the families trying to stay united as they navigate an unknown future, in a story about identity and loyalty, shame and resilience, grief and love, and voices that refuse to be silenced.
Chaired by Wendy Erskine, author of Dance Move and The Benefactors: brilliant polyphonic stories of ordinary people through an extraordinary lens.
Part of the British Library Irish Writers' Weekend 2026.
Louise Kennedy
Louise Kennedy is an author of novels and short stories who grew up a few miles from Belfast.
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Her acclaimed short-story collection, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac, won the John McGahern Prize. Her debut novel Trespasses has been translated into over twenty languages. A Sunday Times bestseller, it won Eason Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards, Book of the Year for Debut Fiction at the British Book Awards and the McKitterick Prize. It was also shortlisted for several awards including the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize. In 2025, Trespasses was made into a limited TV series by Channel 4. Before starting her writing career, Kennedy spent nearly thirty years working as a chef. She lives in Sligo.
Rosaleen McDonagh
Rosaleen McDonagh is a playwright, academic and activist from Ireland.
Irish Writers' Weekend Day Passes
To watch online live or for two weeks on catch up, Irish Writers’ Weekend Day Passes are available with a discount for both days.
Accessibility
Our St Pancras building has step-free access throughout.
Further details about wheelchair access, Blue Badge parking, hearing loops and support systems as well as guide and assistance dog access can be found on the Visit section of our website.
If you have specific access requirements, please email customer@bl.uk.
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16–25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
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Irish Writers' Weekend
With some of Ireland’s finest authors, poets and performers.