ISLA Literary Festival

In this thirteenth edition of the ISLA Festival (Irish Spanish Latin American), some of the most representative voices from Ireland, Spain, and Spanish-speaking countries will engage in dialogue across five activities spread over two days. These events will focus on contemporary creation and thought, as well as historical and literary memory.

This year, we will hear from prominent literary figures, starting with a conversation between renowned writers Andrés Barba (Spain) and Audrey Magee (Ireland), followed by a panel discussion featuring Miguel Tapia (Mexico), Diego Trelles Paz (Peru), and Una Mannion (USA/Ireland), who expose the readers to different types of violence in their literature. The first day will conclude with a discussion on silenced memories with historian and writer Javier Ortiz Cassiani (Colombia) and poet and editor Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi (Nigeria/Ireland). On the second day, we will discover various literary approaches to the lives of notable historical figures with Fernando Beltrán (Spain), Irene Chikiar Bauer (Argentina), and Nuala O’Connor (Ireland). The festival will close with the screening of a film that revisits the figure of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, Burning Patience.