A Note from our CEO

As the holidays approach, and ahead of the exciting programme of events, courses and other activities we have planned for our 35th anniversary in 2026, I wanted to update you on some of the highlights of the year just gone.

These included our Regional Roadshow which took us to 6 literary festivals around the country and a piloted initiative, Writers in the Regions, a series of in-person masterclasses taking place in all four provinces.

 

In our 2025 Academy of creative writing courses, workshops and masterclasses, we programmed over 130 courses offering new genres, new themes, shorter courses and improving our online offering to almost 1,500 writers. Our Academy continues to be one of the largest employers of writers in the country. (Keep your eyes peeled for some very exciting additions in 2026!)

We reimagined Novel Fair to the International Debut Novel Competition which elicited almost 600 entries from 37 countries. Our 12 winners got to pitch their novels to the greatest number of publishers and agents, since the competition was launched 14 years ago.

Development Programmes included our flagship National Mentoring Programme and the Evolution Programme which provided mentorships and tailored supports to almost 50 writers, including a teaching residency in Galway University for 3 writers. Applications for the 2026 National Mentoring Programme are open now, so be sure to submit before 31 December if you’re interested in taking part.

 

Young Audience programming grew with a series of 5 artist talks and dedicated workshops in collaboration with Frustrated Writers Group as well as the continuation of our Young Writer Delegate programme in Galway and Belfast. To deepen our commitment to Northern Ireland activities we launched New Voices: North, a tailored mentoring programme aimed at 5 emerging writers, and once again ran our successful support scheme funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Residencies continued to be much in demand across 4 locations (Cill Rialaig, Kylemore Notre Dame, Tyrone Guthrie and Varuna Australia, an online fellowship) benefitting 19 writers.

We programmed an exciting slate of literary events including Nollaig na mBan, Words in the Air: a spoken word event, a centenary celebration of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, our first Black History Month event, in partnership with Poetry Ireland, and an ‘Out of Towners’ Writers Showcase.

 

Community Events continued as a focus for us, too, and this year our New Irish Communities series welcomed new visitors to Ireland to explore creative writing, while our Climate Writing sessions were broadcast online, extending audiences beyond our shores.

 

A Special Project, and one we are immensely proud of, was the production of 6 videos in collaboration with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Dublin City Council, Dublin, One City, Many Stories. The series celebrates the 15th anniversary of Dublin’s designation as UNESCO City of Literature, featuring 22 emerging and iconic writers sharing their experiences, memories, and tips for those starting out. (In fact, just this week we celebrated the release of the last video in the series, an interview with beloved Irish author Marian Keyes, which is available to watch now.)

 

We also partnered once again with our friends at The Stinging Fly to deliver the Ten by Ten Workshop, as well as a new writing competition. Applications for the next edition of the workshop are open now.

So much of what we’re proud of this year was made possible by the generous support of core funders including the Arts Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge and Dublin City Council, and we thank them immensely.

All in all, it’s been a whirlwind year at the Irish Writers Centre. The team would like to thank each and every one of you for attending our courses, coming along to our events, participating in our programmes, and otherwise supporting us in a variety of meaningful ways.

We’re so excited for what 2026 holds but in the meantime, we wish you a restful and joyful festive period.