Featured Artists - Young Adult BookFest Listowel Ireland

President Michael D. Higgins

Sarah Crossan

Writer

Sarah is the go-to writer of the free verse novel in the UK and Ireland, and is the current Laureate na nÓg (Ireland’s Children’s Literature Laureate).

Bernard Brogan

Author, Entrepreneur, and former Dublin GAA Player

Bernard Brogan is author of new book “The Hill”, a serial entrepreneur, and a former Dublin GAA footballer.

Norma Foley

Minister for Education

Norma Foley is currently Minister for Education and skills and is T.D for the Kerry constituency.

Dave Rudden

Author

Dave Rudden is the author of the award-winning Knights of the Borrowed Dark series.

Siobhán McSweeney

Actress

Siobhán McSweeney is an actress from Cork, and is probably most well known for playing Sister Michael in the award winning series Derry Girls.

Shane Casey

Actor and Playwright

Shane Casey is a professional actor and playwright, best known for his iconic appearance as the notorious ‘Billy Murphy’ in ‘The Young Offenders’.

Malachy Browne

Reporter

Malachy Browne is a reporter with the New York Times specializing in Visual Investigations.

Victoria Kennefick

Poet, Writer, and Teacher

Victoria Kennefick is a poet, writer, and teacher.

Frances Rocks

Teacher, Leaving & Junior Cert Examiner, and Author

Frances Rocks is an experienced teacher, LC and JC examiner and author.

Lynn Ruane

Independent Senator

Lynn Ruane is an Irish politician who has served as an independent Senator for the University of Dublin constituency in Seanad Éireann since April 2016.

Jon Hozier-Byrne

Director, Writer, and Producer

Jon Hozier-Byrne is a director, writer, producer, and founder of Stoneface Films.

Patrick Ryan

Screenwriter and Director

Patrick Ryan is an award-winning screenwriter and director based in Dublin.

Séamus Harty

Singer and Songwriter

Séamus Harty is a 19 year old singer and songwriter from Tralee.

Kevin McDermott

Writer

Kevin Mc Dermott is an award-winning writer from Dublin.

Joe Stack

Reporter and Presenter

Listowel native Joe Stack, is a reporter and presenter, and has worked with RTÉ for the past two decades.

Lorraine Nash

Musician and Singer

Lorraine Nash is 21-year old multi-instrumentalist and is one of the newest talents in Ireland, releasing new music in 2020.

John Leonard

Author and Former Dublin GAA Player

John Leonard is a former Dublin GAA player and author of the Setanta Sports Book of the Year 2015 “Dub Sub Confidential”.

Rhona Tarrant

Editor

Rhona Tarrant is US Editor at Storyful, a social media news intelligence agency that verifies footage emerging from breaking news stories for newsrooms.