Author and Orwell Prize winner Donal Ryan to be interviewed at Allingham Festival

Irish author Donal Ryan will share his observations on contemporary society and the writing life in an interview at the 2025 Allingham Festival in Ballyshannon.

Ryan is a winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. His novel Heart, Be at Peace revisits the characters of The Spinning Heart as a small Irish community faces the contemporary challenges of social media, drugs, and illegal industries.

Previously featured guest at the 2013 Allingham Festival, Donal Ryan’s path to literary recognition reflects the highs and lows of a writing career. His first two novels were rejected 47 times before finding a publisher. The Spinning Heart was then longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and Ryan now lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

Interviewing Donal Ryan will be Nuala O’Connor, prizewinning author of Seaborne and Nora. Their conversation will take place at 3:30pm on Saturday, November 8, at the Abbey Arts Centre in Ballyshannon.

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2025 Allingham Festival events run from November 5 to 9. Other highlights will include a Keynote Speech by human rights activist Nelofer Pazira, a performance of Paddy: The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong, featuring Don Wycherley, an in-depth interview with veteran broadcaster John Creedon, and a programme of reminiscences and excerpts from the work of Donegal playwright Brian Friel. Plus, films, exhibitions, podcasts, book launches and open-mic events.

Programme details can be found online at www.allinghamfestival.com

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