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THE WRITE STUFF Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin The Intern
ational Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) returns with a dynamic program featuring discussions, performances, and cross-cultural conversations taking place in the iconic Merrion Square Park over ten days from May 16th to May 25th. The square becomes a quasi library of discussions and discourse, and, with a focus on diverse literary themes, the festival offers engaging events for all ages, celebrating global voices and creative insights. WORDS Aaron Kavanagh torytelling and the archiving of these stories are an inherent part of our DNA and in a city where books are treasured, this festival has become Ireland’s leading literature event. Operating since 1998, the organisers have promised and brought some of the world’s finest writers together to enthral, engage and excite audiences at events for readers of all ages and interests, including an out-of-the-box Fringe programme, events for Kids & Family, and professional development to help advance your skills. The event is also a place where aspiring writers network, a vital realm where dreams are realised or dashed. Making connections with agents and publishing houses is daunting for new writers so with this firmly in mind Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin - founder of Europe’s biggest writing resources website – Writing.ie, as well as the Writers Ink online writing group, and Murder One, Ireland’s international crime writing festival - took the bull by horns and curated the Date With An Agent event within the Festival program. At Date With An Agent, taking place on Saturday, 17th May and Friday 24th, ten emerging writers will have the opportunity to meet one-to-one to get tailored advice from top literature and screen agents from across all genres of publishing, from thriller and fantasy to romantic, historical and science fiction, ensuring that successful applicants meet their match made in literary heaven. 20 This years line up includes Nicola Barr (literary fiction and book club, The Bent Agency), Molly Ker Hawn (speculative fiction, science fiction, romance and fantasy, The Bent Agency), Nicky Lovick (crime and thriller, WGM Atlantic), Faith O’Grady (memoir and historical fiction, the Lisa Richards Agency), Sallyanne Sweeney (women’s fiction, MMB Creative), Helen Boyle (picture books and early readers, Pickled ink), Lydia Silver (children/pre-teen, Darley Anderson), Sam Copeland (teen/young adult, RCW Literary Agency), a powerhouse panel of the publishing world. Through her bestselling crime novels published under the pseudonym Sam Blake, the Wicklow-based author Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin has enjoyed immense success. However, like any budding writer, Vanessa faced uncertainty and rejection before success. Wanting to get it right, she began reading books as much for didacticism as for pleasure. “As a debut author, I was always reading debut novels before I was published,” Vanessa remembers when talking to Totally Dublin. “I read every debut novel that was ever published because I wanted to see what it was that those people had that I didn’t have. What trick was I missing that got them over the line, and where did I fall down?” Focusing on others’ maiden works was Vanessa’s means of making realistic expectations and comparisons, as she states, “If you