2022 FESTIVAL - New Dates Announced
The 2022 Frances Browne Literary Festival has been rescheduled to Friday 11th and Saturday 12th November. Full programme details below.
The 2022 Frances Browne Literary Festival was postponed due to the tragic events
in Creeslough, Co. Donegal in October. A proportion of the proceeds from our November event
will be donated to the Creeslough Community Support Fund.
Frances Browne, the Blind Poetess of Ulster, is the most important writer ever to emerge from Donegal's Finn Valley, in the North West of Ireland.
The Finn Valley area is Ireland's most important district in linguistic terms. All three of Ireland's traditional languages, Irish, English, and Ulster-Scots are widely spoken in the Finn Valley. This situation is unique in Ireland.
Frances Browne's most famous poem, "Songs of our land," is a reflection on language, and how the soul of a nation is encapsulated in its literary outputs. She wrote prolifically in all formats. She was as much at home with an essay, an article, or a novel as she was with her great fortes, poetry and childrens' writing. Her masterpiece, the children’s storybook "Granny's Wonderful Chair" was a bestseller all over the world, but she also deserves to be remembered for her unswerving opposition to slavery and all sorts of injustice.
The Annual Frances Browne Literary Festival celebrates the legacy and spirit of Frances Browne. We work to bring not only Frances's writing and astonishing life story to new generations but to celebrate the works of contemporary and modern writers who continue in her tradition.
Frances for Children
Although Frances wrote widely about all kinds of topics, in all kinds of media, her enduring legacy to date has been her writing for children.
Granny's Wonderful Chair is her best known work and was a worldwide best seller. Every year we celebrate this aspect of Frances by including events dedicated to the younger generation in our programme.
2022 Festival Events for Children
POSTPONED
2022 Primary School Art Competition sponsored by the Frances Browne Literary Festival & Lottie Dolls
Enter by Wednesday 12 October
We are inviting children to draw, paint, or sketch a picture of what they think the following characters from Granny’s Wonderful Chair might look like!
To do this, you might need to find out a little bit more about the characters by finding them in Granny’s Wonderful Chair, which you can read online here
Find details of our competition classes and ways to enter here.
Frances Browne and Lottie Dolls
We are delighted to partner with Lottie Dolls on a special project to bring Frances to life for children globally.
In 2021 we began a partnership with Lottie Dolls to bring Frances back to global recognition through their ambitious and successful vision to ensure children and childhood are represented in the toys they play with.
About Lottie Dolls
Based in Donegal, on the North-West coast of Ireland, Team Lottie is made up of people – three quarters of whom are women - who are passionate about preserving the magic of childhood.
Find out more about Lottie Dolls here
Festival News
Stay in touch
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Frances Browne Literary Festival
Committee and Funders
Contact us here: info@francesbrowneliteraryfestival.com
Celine McGlynn
Chairperson
Finn Valley Voice
Donegal County Council
Creative
Ireland
The Arts Council of Ireland
Ulster Scots Agency
Partners and Sponsors
Thank you to all our festival and event partners without whom the festival would not be possible. And to our sponsors who contribute to our festival so generously.
Donegal Bay and Bluestacks Festival
Balor Arts Centre
Kee's Hotel and Leisure Centre
Fidget Feet
Aishlingí Academy
Karen Murphy- School of Speech and Drama
Frances Browne Literary Festival Committee © 2021