Tag: Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

Murder One 2026 Events

With the vital support of The Arts Council of Ireland, DLR Libraries and Culture Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026, we are delighted to be back for 2026 bringing you another thrilling weekend of murder and mystery.

This year Rick O’Shea will be hosting a very special free event on Sunday October 18th which is funded as part of the Culture Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026.

This year too, we bring you an exciting optional One Day Masterclass Ticket for our four fantastic masterclasses which are taking place on Friday October 16th from 10am until 5pm (scroll down for more information and booking details)

All Murder One Events take place in the DLR LexIcon Library in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin and this year we are delighted to announce that our Saturday and Sunday events feature Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

Please note that concession tickets for all events are for students, seniors and those on income support. If you feel that you may be in one of these categories but can afford the full price, please allow space for those who can’t, by booking a full price ticket. 

FRIDAY 16TH OCTOBER 

THE SECRETS OF THE SUBMISSION PACKAGE

Friday, October 16th at 10.00am – 11am
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets: €20 & €17 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin/Sam Blake has been helping authors from every genre get published for over 20 years and she has a very high success rate.

In this masterclass she’ll take you through what you need to include in your cover letter, how to write a synopsis, what needs to be in your opening chapters – and how you know when it’s the right time to submit. You only get one chance, so getting it right is vital. This masterclass will also include crucial information on using AI.

Come with your questions – as Ireland’s leading literary scout she works with publishers and agents across all areas of the publishing landscape.

MEET THE AGENTS

Friday, October 16th at 12pm – 1pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €25 & €22 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

The Darley Anderson agency is legendary for representing some of the biggest names in crime fiction, but today they represent more than just crime.

In this unique event, meet three of their top agents who cover commercial fiction (crime/thriller/horror), children’s, YA, fantasy and romance, find out what they are looking for and what’s happening in the industry at the moment.

Whatever you are writing, this is not to be missed!

WORLD BUILDING MASTERCLASS WITH DAVE RUDDEN

Friday, October 16th at 1.30pm – 2.30pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €25 & €22 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

World-building is key in fantasy, but the art of creating a plausible setting is crucial to all genres, from crime to romance to literary fiction.

How does place inform storytelling? How can you engage the senses to convey character, plot and theme?

Discover new approaches to exposition, description and scene-setting, and learn from best-selling author Dave Rudden (Sister Wake, Conn of the Dead, Knights of the Borrowed Dark) how to make the world of your book come alive.

THE ESSENTIALS OF CRIME FICTION
TWO-HOUR MASTERCLASS

Friday, October 16th at 3pm – 5pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €45 & €40 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

Henry Sutton is the author of 16 novels including Crafting Crime Fiction (Manchester University Press), and is Professor of Creative Writing and Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. In this masterclass he will guide you through the nine key steps to writing a compulsive work of crime fiction, whether a police procedural or a psychological suspense, and everything in-between.

This immersive, practical and theoretical masterclass will address the very fundamentals of novel writing, along with more sophisticated and nuanced approaches, and will be suitable for those beginning the writing journey as well as experienced novelists. A sell out last year, participants are still talking about Henry’s first class in Ireland, make sure you book early!

 ONE DAY TICKET -FOUR WORKSHOPS

Friday, October 16th at 10am – 5pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €105 & €95 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

This one day ticket gives you access to four valuable sessions:

  1. The Secrets of The Submission Packet with Sam Blake/Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin
  2.  Meet the Agents with Clare Wallace, Lucy Irvine and Jade Kavanagh
  3. World Building Masterclass with Dave Rudden
  4. The Essentials of Crime Fiction A Two-Hour Masterclass with Professor Henry Sutton

Scroll up to get full details of each individual event.

Please note that concession tickets for all events are for students, seniors and those on income support. If you feel that you may be in one of these categories but can afford the full price, please allow space for those who can’t, by booking a full price ticket. 

DYING FOR LAUGHS
Ardal O’Hanlon in conversation with Edel Coffey

Friday, October 16th at 6pm – 7pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €18 & €15 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

Irish actor, writer and comedian Ardal O’Hanlon has turned to crime with a new mystery series featuring celebrity gardener Finn O’Leary in A Plot to Die For. Finn is taking a career break to help look after his mother when a member of her choir dies mysteriously…

In conversation with Edel Coffey whose In Glass Houses adds to her trio of bestsellers, this will be a night to remember!

SATURDAY 17TH OCTOBER

READINGS IN THE STUDIO

Saturday, October 17th at 10am
dlr LexIcon Studio
Admission Free
BOOK HERE

Step into a world of story and imagination with our talented writers as Claire Coughlan (Among the Ruins) , Fiona Gartland (Under Her Care), Henrietta McKervey (The Woman in the Water) and Cormac Quinn (Murder on Lough Derg) take to the stage to read from their latest work.

From moving moments to unexpected twists, whether you’re a long time fan or discovering these authors for the first time, join us to discover the power of the written word—spoken aloud. Expect emotion, insight, and a glimpse into the creative minds behind the stories.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

ALL ABOUT FEAR
Cecelia Ahern, Sam Blake and Mary Watson with Kitty Murphy

Saturday, October 17th at 12pm – 1pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €14 & €12 
BOOK HERE

Thirty-two of Ireland’s women crime writers, members of the Irish Murderesses WhatsApp group, have come together to produce a landmark short story collection in support of Women’s Aid.  They kill people for a living, but find out what they really FEAR in the very first event post launch, to mark publication. Hosted by co-editor and contributor CL Murphy, find out how the collection came together, how Mr Fear, actor Emmett J Scanlan wrote the forward, and how Cecelia Ahern was lured to the dark side.

The editors’ royalty earnings from worldwide sales of this book
(expected to be at least €8,000) will be donated to domestic violence
charity Women’s Aid (RCN 20012045). Contributing authors have donated
their stories without renumeration to help make this possible.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

BLOOD TIES: KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
Carmel Harrington, Edel Coffey and Michelle McDonagh
with Jen Bray

Saturday, October 17th at 2pm – 3pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €14 & €12 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family! What happens when those relationships get toxic? Or are your family the only people you can truly rely on?

Carmel Harrington (The Nowhere Girls), Edel Coffey (In Glass Houses) and Michelle McDonagh (If These Walls Could Talk) discuss how relationships are at the core of every drama with Jen Bray whose The Lies Between Us features three sisters under pressure, and hit the bestseller list earlier this year.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

A SPOONFUL OF ARSENIC
Gill Perdue, Rosemary Hennigan and Dr Marie Cassidy
with William Shaw

Saturday, October 17th at 4pm – 5pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €14 & €12 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

There are many ways to murder –  Gill Perdue (All of Them Lied), Rosemary Hennigan (The Hotel Guest) and Dr Marie Cassidy (Deadly Evidence) discuss their ‘favourites’, and what works and what doesn’t, from their own work and others. ‘Modern crime master’,  the multi award shortlisted William Shaw will be hosting (and watching his coffee carefully…)

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

MISSING IN ACTION
Jane Casey and Andrea Mara with Catherine Ryan Howard

Saturday, October 17th at 6pm – 7pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €18 & €16 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

When someone disappears, can those close to them ever get to the truth?

In Jane Casey’s first book set in her native Ireland, Everything She Didn’t Say, a lonely clifftop holiday cottage is the scene of a violent event and a confounding disappearance.

In Andrea Mara’s Such A Nice Girl, two mothers discover their daughters have disappeared after a family wedding, but with blood found at the scene, could one of them be a killer?

In the hands of these expert crime writers, nothing is as it seems. Catherine Ryan Howard is question master, investigating the route from one dark twist to another.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

SUNDAY 18TH OCTOBER

READINGS IN THE STUDIO

Sunday, October 18th at 11am
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Admission FREE
BOOK HERE

Join us for Readings in the Studio where stories leap off the page and voices come to life.

Acclaimed authors Bryan J. Mason (There Are No Happy Endings) , James Murphy (Farset Investigations Belfast) , Robert Craven (The Payout Game) and Karen Fitzgibbon (Tell the Truth) take to the stage to share readings from their latest work— whether it’s sharp dialogue, lyrical prose, or unforgettable characters, each writer brings a unique perspective and style to this celebration of crime fiction.

Hear the words direct from the authors themselves.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

CRIMINAL GENRE BUSTERS
Aisling Rawle and Dave Rudden with Tanya Sweeney

Sunday, October 18th at 1pm – 2pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €14 & €12 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

Crime covers a huge range of stories from cosy to procedural, political to psychological suspense, mystery supernatural to dystopian.

Two very different writers from different corners of the genre, Aisling Rawle (The Compound) and Dave Rudden (Sister Wake), meet to discuss what drives them to write and why the stakes are always high. Tanya Sweeney’s Esther is Now Following You bridges dark women’s commercial fiction and crime, and she’ll be quizzing our authors to get to the secrets of a good story.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

CONTINENTAL KILLERS
Antonio Lanzetta and Antti Tuomainen
in conversation with Rick O’Shea

This event is funded as part of the Culture Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026.

 

Sunday, October 18th at 3pm – 4pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets are FREE but booking is ESSENTIAL
BOOK HERE

Murder One and DLR Libraries are thrilled to present this exciting international event where RTE’s Rick O’Shea will chat to acclaimed Italian writer Antonio Lanzetta and the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ Finnish writer Antti Tuomainen.

Together, these two European crime fiction writers will discuss how regional landscapes shape literary tension, the enduring appeal of the anti-hero, the exploration of tone within the genre, and the complex mechanics of building gripping stories on the page.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

ON A DARK & STORMY NIGHT
Catherine Ryan Howard, Leodora Darlington, T.M. Logan
with Brian McGilloway

Sunday, October 18th at 5pm – 6pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €14 & €12 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

The opening line of a book can be crucial to hook a reader. Catherine Ryan Howard (Buyer Beware), editor turned writer Leodora Darlington (The Exes) and T.M. Logan (The Weekend) talk to Brian McGilloway about how they come up with opening lines and those lines that have stopped them in their tracks.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

THE GREATEST TWIST
with Harriet Tyce and Jo Spain

Sunday, October 18th at 7pm – 8pm
The Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon
Tickets €17 & €15 (plus booking fee)
BOOK HERE

What makes you gasp? There is a true art to a great twist as Traitors star and bestseller Harriet Tyce knows only too well, and brings to every book, as her latest Witch Trial clearly shows.  Jo Spain’s brilliant scripts take all sorts of unexpected routes, and in her latest gripping thriller Never to be Found, nothing is quite what it seems for any of the characters.

Jo and Harriet discuss with multi-award shortlisted William Shaw (The Burning Tide), how they come up with their ideas, and how they bring those gasp-out-loud moments so brilliantly to the page.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look Back Murder One 2020 with Dublin Book Festival

In a year when live performances have had to be rethought, we were delighted to work with the Dublin Book Fesitval to bring you The Murder One Festival  2020 in a series of boutique online events. All events were presented digitally for audiences to enjoy at home.

Murder One with Dublin Book Festival 2020 headline with an event in association with Eason:

Dr. Marie Cassidy, Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist

on 11th October 2020

Former State Pathologist Dr. Marie Cassidy will release her memoirs Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist this October and to mark this Dr. Cassidy will be in conversation to discuss translating her experiences into her memoirs.

“For over thirty years, bodies have been my business. The lucky ones have died peacefully in their own bed, surrounded by loved ones. But, life, or should I say death, is not always like that. This is your opportunity to duck under the police tape with me. Walk carefully in my footprints and follow me into the scene but don’t touch anything, just look. Remember Locard’s principle, every contact leaves a trace . . .”

The ticket price of €20 includes access to this exclusive event via a custom url link and a signed copy of Beyond the Tape. Ticketholders will receive their signed copy of the novel in the post as quickly as possible after its release date on 1st October 2020. Instructions on how to view the event via your custom url will be sent to all ticket holders in advance of the event.

Dr. Marie Cassidy was Ireland’s State Pathologist from 2004 until 2018. During that time, she was involved in many high-profile cases, including the Stardust exhumation and the deaths of Siobhan Kearney, Rachel O’Reilly, Robert Holohan and Tom O’Gorman. In Beyond the Tape, she invites us into the world of forensic pathology, and shares her remarkable personal journey, from working-class Glasgow to becoming Ireland’s head pathologist. A fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of real-life forensics, the intricate processes central to solving modern crime, and the stories from behind the crime tape.

#MurderOneFest2020  #DBF2020 #EasonEvent

The Dublin Book Festival

Since 2006 the Dublin Book Festival has been a mainstay of the Irish writing and publishing scene and a highlight of the literary year. With its special focus on Irish-published authors, the 2020 Festival continues that tradition of promoting and supporting Irish literary voices, both established and emerging. This year the festival will be presenting its programme online from 27th November to 6th December, due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

The festival will be running events every week throughout the Autumn in the run-up to the festival, many in collaboration with publishers, arts organisations and other literary festivals, for families, schools and book lovers of all ages to enjoy from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

The programme will showcase the wealth of talented authors published in Ireland, supporting our home-grown talent and publishers. Events will be presented from many of our usual attractive and intimate venues throughout Dublin city, even if audiences cannot attend in person, authors will bring the unique character of these Dublin locations to their virtual events.

The Dublin Book Festival has always been one of collaboration, and in 2020 the range of these partnerships has grown. The festival will host events in collaboration with literary festivals including Listowel Writers’ Week, IMRAM, Belfast Book Festival, Cuirt International Literature Festival and Murder One, literary organisations such as Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, Dublin City Libraries, Children’s Books Ireland, Poetry Ireland and many more. In a time when the arts are struggling Dublin Book Festival will bring together as many as possible, to work together to showcase the breadth of talent in Ireland today.

Other events include:

Dublin UNESCO City of Literature in association with Dublin Book Festival: Dublin One City One Book: Christine Dywer Hickey in conversation with Niall MacMonagle and musical performances (Thursday 24th September)

Dublin Book Festival and Eason present: Graham Norton in conversation with Rick O’Shea (Sunday, 4th October)

Dublin One City One Book: Christine Dywer Hickey in conversation with Niall MacMonagle and musical performances  Join us for a special evening with Christine Dwyer Hickey, author of this year’s Dublin One City One Book choice Tatty. Christine will be in conversation with literary critic Niall MacMonagle in the beautiful setting of Kevin Street Library, Dublin. She will discuss Tatty, her varied writing career, and in particular how music influences her writing.

Musical interludes will be contributed by pianist Leonora Carney, trumpeter Colm Byrne and piper Donnacha Dwyer.

Tatty was originally published in 2004 and earlier this year a special Dublin One City One Book edition, with a new introduction by Dermot Bolger, was published by New Island Books. Christine recently won the 2020 Dalkey Literary Award and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for her most recent novel The Narrow Land. This event is in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.

This event will be available to watch online via www.dublinbookfestival.com and www.rte.ie/culture. Please note that you will need to register in advance to watch the event.

Graham Norton, Home Stretch, (4th October)   To celebrate the October release of his new novel Home Stretch, Graham Norton will join RTÉ broadcaster Rick O’Shea in conversation, to discuss his new novel, his writing process, and his love of literature.

This exclusive event will take place with a link sent to all ticket holders in advance of its airing on 4th October 2020. Price of admission includes a signed copy of Home Stretch, which ticket holders will receive by post as quickly as possible after its release date on 1st October. Instructions on how to view the event via your custom url will also be sent to all ticket holders in advance.

Graham Norton’s novels Holding and A Keeper were an Irish bestsellers and loved by readers everywhere. His new novel, Home Stretch begins in 1987 where a small Irish community is preparing for the wedding of two of its young inhabitants. They’re barely adults, not so long out of school and still part of the same set of friends they’ve grown up with. As the friends head home from the beach that last night before the wedding, there is a car accident. Three survive the crash but three are killed. And the reverberations are felt throughout the small town.

Connor, the young driver of the car, lives. But staying among the angry and the mourning is almost as hard as living with the shame, and so he leaves the only place he knows for another life. Travelling first to Liverpool, then London, by the noughties he has made a home – of sorts – for himself in New York. The city provides shelter and possibility for the displaced, somewhere Connor can forget his past and forge a new life.

But the secrets, the unspoken longings and regrets that have come to haunt those left behind will not be silenced. And before long, Connor will have to meet his past.

This event is co-presented with Eason.

The Dublin Book Festival is supported by Arts Council of Ireland, Irish Copyright Licensing Agency, Dublin City Council, Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.

All events will be presented digitally for audiences to enjoy at home.

Tickets can be booked at – dublinbookfestival.com