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A host of events have been announced for Cork ahead of Irish Book Week 2025 which kicks off this weekend.

Running from 18-25 October, Irish Book Week is a nationwide celebration of Irish bookshops, Irish books, publishers, writers, illustrators, and poets.

Now in its eighth year, the initiative looks to encourage people from across Ireland to “shop local and shop Irish” by visiting their local bookshops.

Cork events get underway this Saturday with at Carrigaline Bookshop where Cork author and Irish Book Week ambassador, Patrick Holloway and authors Jennifer Horgan, Matthew Geden and Louise Hegarty will be visiting the store to meet and chat with customers at 12pm.

On Sunday, Waterstones in Cork city will host a gang of local poets who will be doing readings from the Poems of Seamus Heaney from 2-4pm.

This Tuesday, Waterstones will again be the focus when Patrick Holloway visits the store at 6.30pm for a discussion with Cork book blogger Mairead Hearne and Cork-based author Catherine Kirwan.

Wednesday will see Patrick Holloway pay a visit to the Leaf and Bower in Ballincollig for a chat and a book signing. On the same day, author and West Cork native Chloe Michelle Howarth will be launching her new book ‘Heap Earth Upon It’ in Dubray Books on Patrick Street, Cork city at 6pm. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.com now.

On Saturday 22 October, it’s back to Waterstones who have invited Irish language book distributors, Áis, to the store to meet and talk with readers about leabhair as Gaeilge and the Irish language book market. They will visit the store at 3pm.

The stunning artwork for this year’s campaign was produced by children’s illustrator, Mel Carroll, who has also come on board as a campaign ambassador. Joining Mel as ambassadors this year are Cork author, Patrick Holloway, historical fiction writer, Cauvery Madhavan, women’s fiction novelist, Sheila O’Flanagan, and children’s author, Máire Zepf.

Launched in 2018, Irish Book Week was created by Bookselling Ireland, a committee of booksellers association members representing bookshops big and small across Ireland, in partnership with Publishing Ireland.

A spokesperson for the event said: “Irish bookshops play a crucial role in championing homegrown talent and putting great Irish books into the hands of readers. Irish Book Week celebrates Irish authors and illustrators, publishers, and Irish interest books, as well as the many brilliant bookshops that sell them.

Just under 200 bookshops throughout the country are registered to participate in the campaign this year.”