Bilingual Takin’ the Mic (Dublin Book Festival)

Photo (above): Headshots of Zainab Boladale and Soula Emmanuel

Tá Takin’ the Mic ag Féile Leabhar Bhaile Átha Cliath le hghaidh sár-oíche filíochta, focal labhartha agus grinn i mBéarla agus i nGaeilge. Arna óstáil ag M.C. Zainab Boladale le léamha ó aoi speisialta Soula Emmanuel chomh maith le ‘mic oscailte’ do scríbhneoirí, filí agus ceoltóirí. Fáilte roimh chách!

Takin’ the Mic returns to Dublin Book Festival for an evening of poetry and prose in English and Irish. Hosted by journalist, television presenter and author, Zainab Boladale with readings from special guest author Soula Emmanuel as well as an ‘open mic’ for writers, poets and musicians. Everyone welcome!

Interested in performing on the night?

An bhfuil spéis agat a bheith páirteach san oíche? Ba chóir do thaibheoirí a spéis a chlárú roimh ré tríd an suirbhé Google. Tabhair faoi deara go bhfuil sé mar aidhm againn am ardáin gach duine a chur in iúil dóibh seachtain roimh an imeacht.

Performers should register their interest in advance via the Google survey. Please note, we aim to inform performers of their slot via email a week before the event.

There is no ideal Takin’ the Mic performer

Níl aon taibheoir idéalach i Takin’ the Mic. Cuireann muid romhainn ardán a thabhairt do réimse taibheoirí, idir taithí agus seánra. Cabhróidh na ceisteanna sa tsuirbhé google linn an imeacht a eagrú agus a bheith cinnte de go bhfuil éagsúlacht i measc na dtaibheoirí. Tugann oícheanta Takin’ the Mic deis iontach duit aird a tharraingt ar do chuid scríbhneoireachta. B’fhéidir gur mhaith leat píosa atá scríofa le tamall a roinnt le lucht éisteachta nua.

At our Takin’ the Mics, we aim to showcase a diverse range of performers, from genre to experience. The questions in the google survey will help us to curate the event’s line up and make sure we are choosing a varied selection of performers. Our Takin’ the Mics are a great opportunity to showcase your new writing. You may wish to share new material or dust off a past piece to share with a new audience.

Cur i láthair i nGaeilge? Tá na Takin’ the Mics dhátheangacha ann do gach duine le sult a bhaint as an Ghaeilge, is cuma iad a bheith iomlán líofa nó díreach an cúpla focal acu. Tá fáilte roimh gach leibhéal cumais. Tugann muid spreagadh do dhaoine léamh i nGaeilge den chéad uair agus do dhaoine a ba mhaith leo píosaí a léamh i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla.

Performing in Irish? The aim of our Bilingual Takin’ the Mics is for everyone to enjoy Irish, from fluent speakers to those with just the cúpla focal. All levels welcome! We encourage writers who are performing in Irish for the first time, and those who wish to read parts in Irish and parts in English.

Each performer will be given three minutes. Tugtar trí nóiméad do gach taibheoir.

About the special guests:

Is iriseoir, láithreoir teilifíse agus údar é Zainab Boladale. Rugadh sí sa Nigéir agus d’fhás sí i gcontae an Chláir. In 2017, rinne sí a céad láithreas teilifíse ar RTÉ news2day agus in 2019 thosaigh sí leis an gclár Nationwide. An bhlian seo, d’fhoilsigh zainab a céad leabhar, Braids Take a Day. Is féidir leat a fháil i siopaí leabhar Gaeilge.

Zainab Boladale is a journalist, television presenter and author. She was born in Nigeria and grew up in county Clare. In 2017, she made her TV debut as a Presenter on RTÉ’s children’s program, news2day, presenting stories from around the world to young people in Ireland. Since 2019, Zainab’s passion for feature storytelling has flourished at RTÉ, where she brings forth compelling narratives on the factual feature program, RTÉ Nationwide. This year, Zainab published her first book, Braids Take a Day (O’Brien Press 2024).

Soula Emmanuel was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Greek father. She studied at universities in Ireland and Sweden, emerging with a master’s in demography. She currently lives on Ireland’s east coast. Her debut novel Wild Geese was published in 2023. In 2024, it won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, and the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize at the UK Society of Authors Awards.

Tacaíonn Foras na Gaeilge leis an imeacht seo. This event is supported by Foras na Gaeilge.