Gallery: The Irish Writers Centre New Voices Celebration

On a gloriously sunny evening on Monday, June 22, we had the privilege of hosting New Voices: A Celebration of Emerging Talents in Literature in association with the Embassy of Barbados & the Central Bank of Barbados. Held here at our home on 19 Parnell Square, the in-person event welcomed a night of brilliantly penned open-mic performances from audience members, who displayed an incredibly vast array of poetry, prose and song to over fifty attendees.  

We were also delighted to welcome our three wonderful guest speakers, Ciara Broderick, Lynda McCarthy, and Brian Franklin. Winner of the Irish Writers Centre’s International Debut Novel Competition in 2024, Ciara treated the audience to an excerpt of her upcoming debut novel, Catfish, to be published by 4th Estate in Spring 2027. Last year’s winner of the RTE Frank McManus Short Story Competition, Lynda, shared a beautiful passage from her work, Witness, whilst this year’s winner of the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Award, Brian, read from his unpublished novel, Steal the Fish from the Devil’s Cou-Cou. 

Their readings were followed by a brief panel Q+A session hosted by our Head of Programming, Damien B. Donnelly, where all three guest speakers shared insights on breaking into the publishing space, their favourite childhood tales, and what it truly means to identify as a writer. 

The evening celebrated the incredible emerging literary talent we share across our globe; with speakers from Ireland, the USA and Barbados, it was a night of shared passion for literature, and a terrific opportunity for upcoming writers to expand their networks and build community within the literary space.  

A special thanks to our audience members, Conor O Reilly, Joanne Curran, Tuaca Kelly, Rob Cross, Elissa Lawlor, Joe Neal, Grace Cunningham, Joy Deva Baligo, Aine Kelly-Bonnefoy and Andy Halpin, who all read sensationally throughout the open-mic. 

Have a look at some of the fantastic photos from Monday’s event, taken by Olivia Roberts in the gallery above.

Special thanks to Joyce Bourne from the Embassy of Barbados and to Vanessa O’Loughlin and Writing.ie who connected the Irish Writers Centre with the 2026 Frank Collymore Literature Endowment Awardee and the Embassy of Barbados.