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Best-selling Tractors author for Ennis Book Club Festival

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ENNIS Book Club Festival has once again attracted some of the biggest best-selling international authors. Author of the globally successful A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian Marina Lewycka will be a special guest at Ennis Book Club Festival, which will take place from March 1 to March 3, 2013.

“We consider this something of a coup. I am practising how to pronounce her name correctly, I believe that Lewitzka is a fair approximation,” said festival chairperson Ciana Campbell.

Marina was born of Ukrainian parents in a refugee camp in Kiel, Germany, in 1946, grew up in England, and now lives in Sheffield. “When I read her hilarious tale of the gold-digging Valentina who snares an elderly widower who has an obsession with tractors, I laughed so much, I could hardly stop,” admits Ciana.

Ennis Book Club Festival has also snared another big international name. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Education Department will host educational workshops for students, teachers and the general public. These developmental workshops aim to enhance the knowledge and confidence of attendees in accessing Shakespeare’s stories, characters and language. Members of Clare Youth Theatre are among the groups who will participate in the RSC workshop.

The visit of the Royal Shakespeare Company is made possible by funding from the Arts Council. The Arts Council’s participation in the cultural programme to mark Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union is supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

The Book Club Festival is a hugely popular three-day event attracting hundreds of book club members and book lovers from all over Ireland and beyond. Writers and readers travel to Ennis to participate in readings, lectures, debates, music, workshops, exhibitions and walking tours. The young winners of The Clare Champion Short Story Competition will also be reading at the festival.

“People get to meet many writers up close and personal,” said Ciana. “I believe this year’s line-up is shaping up to be one of the best we’ve had in our seven-year history. John Banville, the BBC’s Fergal Keane, David Norris, Michael Harding, Conor Brady, Mary O’Rourke, Áine Lawlor, Belinda Jack, Elaine Byrne, Michael Smith are just some of the writers confirmed. The full programme will be published in the new year with a few more pleasant surprises,” she added.

The book club festival is dedicated to readers and is designed to enhance the reading experience. “We include events such as a How To Read a Novel workshop, a giant book club gathering and art exhibitions on a literary theme,” according to Ciana. The very popular session on reading lists called 10 Books You Should Read attracts hundreds of readers.

The winning entry in the Merriman Short Story Competition will be read at the Book Club Festival. Cumann Merriman, who hold their annual summer school in Clare each year, has dedicated this competition to the memory of the late Maeve Binchy. A prize of €1,000 will be awarded to the writer of the winning entry.
The Merriman Short Story Competition is being run in association with the Ennis Book Club Festival, Clare County Library and The Irish Times who will also publish the story. 

Book club members, who travel from all over Ireland to the festival, are making their plans now and accommodation providers in Ennis are offering special packages to readers and book club members. Further  information is available on www.ennisbookclubfestival.com.

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