Robert Fisk attends flagship Rolling Sun Book Festival event

AWARD-WINNING author and Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk is coming west for the flagship event of Westport's boutique Rolling Sun Book Festival.

Fisk will deliver a short lecture, read from one of his many published books and engage in conversation with Brian Keenan before concluding with an audience Q&A session.

It's entitled Apocalyptic Isis, Horrid Dictators and How We're Going to Solve the Middle East – Again! and it takes place tomorrow (Saturday, November 14) at 8.30 p.m. in Hotel Westport. Tickets cost €20 and booking is essential (see the website www.rollingsunbookfestival.com).

The official festival opening event takes place tonight (Friday, November 13), this year presented by journalist Lise Hand of the Irish Independent. It will be an evening of music, food and prose to touch all the senses.

Archaeologist Michael Gibbons will set the scene, describing the remarkable phenomenon that is the Rolling Sun and from which the festival gets its name. Celebrated contemporary singers Coda will entertain with their peerless ‘mouth music’ while guests enjoy a glass of wine and the tastes of the Middle East in mezze (tapas) form. The venue is the Clew Bay Hotel, the starting time is 8 p.m., and tickets are €15.

Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell takes to the festival couch tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. in the Clew Bay Hotel with two of Ireland’s most exciting young authors, Louise O’Neill and Niamh Boyce, while for the younger festival-goers, well known and much loved children’s author Oisín McGann will present an event for eight- to 12-year-olds. at Westport Library at 12.30 p.m. tomorrow (free admission).

This evening, an interactive storytelling and reading session takes place in Westport Town Hall at 5 p.m. This is suitable for three- to 12-year-olds and, again, admission is free. 

Then, tomorrow, storyteller and raconteur Tony Locke’s book Irish Ghost Tales and Things That Go Bump In The Night will be launched at The Bookshop, Bridge Street, at 4.30 p.m.

There's plenty more happening besides, so for full details see www.rollingsunbookfestival.com.