The Lit Festival Waterford

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The Lit Festival Waterford

We are Europe's first festival of reading & writing curated for youth, by youth.

9th-11th October 2026 🔥

The Lit Festival is the brainchild of WYA's 14-19 years creative writing group who felt there was no event in Waterford (and Ireland at large) that encouraged people of their own age to actively engage with literature and the wonderful world of words.

24/08/2026

📖 BOOK CLUB THIS WEDNESDAY 📖

We’re so excited to be returning to our new home in Waterford Libraries for our August Book Club this Wednesday at 5:30pm 🥳

The book this month is “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone 🔥

Two enemy agents fighting and falling in love across time and space 🚀 There’s romance, rivalry, war, poetry and the quintessential sapphic love-letter exchange…what’s not to like?

You coming? Let us know!

20/08/2026

☀️Summer School is over, but the learning goes on ☀️

We took a little break for a few weeks (all that learning and planning and exceptional sunshine had us reading our books outside with our feet in the grass), but we're back and ready to share what we've learned!

Huge thanks to our partners Creative Waterford Youth Arts and
Waterford Libraries for all the support with our inaugural Summer School, to our incredible speakers for their powerful workshops and most importantly, to our young coorganisers who withstood the heat to attend these workshops!

27/07/2026

🎠The Lit Summer School Day 4 – you betcha we have all caught Odyssey fever 🥵

In the morning we had one hell of a Hero's Journey workshop with Lally Featuring Polyphemus ( Mollyphemus...iykyk...) and a surprise appearance from a didgeridoo, we learned all about what it takes to capture a room and how your life is a hero's journey in its own right.

After a well-earned break, we were delighted to be joined by Charlene Lydon for a workshop on knowing your audience. Funders or friends, from putting ideas together to assembling the poster for your event, we now know that you should *always* hire a stills photographer (🙂‍↕️) and will never see a movie poster the same again...

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford 's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford City & County Libraries and Waterford Youth Arts.

23/07/2026

What do you MEAN the last Summer School session is this Saturday? 😭

We're honoured to be finishing off strong with Storyteller Steve Lally and Head Programmer of Galway Film Fleadh Charlene Lydon – you might even say it'll be Lit 🔥

We've a few spaces left so send us a DM if you want to come along! 👀

📖 Steve Lally is an international Storyteller and bestselling author, who has worked in this field for over 20 years. His unique style of storytelling allows audiences of all ages and abilities to lose themselves in a safe world of exciting adventure and imagination, leaving their worries behind for a while...

🎬Charlene Lydon is a film and television professional with almost twenty years experience within the Irish and UK screen industry as a Film Programmer, Festival Producer, Development Executive, VOD Manager and Journalist

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford Youth Arts and Waterford City and County Libraries

21/07/2026

🍦The Lit Summer School Day 3...yes we went to the park and ate ice cream 🍦

Huge thanks to Aisling, Diarmuid and Graham from Féile na Gréine in Limerick for taking time out of their very busy schedules to come chat to us about what it means to make festivals with your friends and stick to your DIY roots 🌱

Lots learned and living for the attitude of taking festival making seriously and not taking ourselves seriously – what you guys are doing is so cool and we couldn't've learned from better pros!

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford City and County Libraries and Youth Arts

16/07/2026

Week 3 of The Lit Summer School is kicking off on Saturday and we are especially excited for the two fantastic discussions that will take place in Waterford Library!

🎶Féile na Gréine is an annual music festival in the heart of Limerick City, organised by volunteers and friends since 2018. For one weekend every August we transform Limerick into a stage to host emerging and experimental music that truly excites us. We believe that music should be accessible to anyone curious enough to seek it out.

🎨Adrian Colwell is the Access Manager and Creative Producer of Project Potential at Project Arts Centre. A graduate from IADT Dun Laoghaire with a BA Hons Degree in Visual Arts Practice and an MB in Cultural Event Management, Adrian has worked for numerous different organisations in the Irish arts sector including Visual Artists Ireland, the Arts Council of Ireland and Arts & Disability Ireland. Adrian has also been a board member of the GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival, a co-founder of Disrupt Disability Arts Festival and has independently produced arts events and initiatives underpinned with an ethos of accessibility, diversity and inclusion.

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford City and County Libraries and Waterford Youth Arts

15/07/2026

📚This month, The Lit Book Club has picked "Where the Dragons Sleep" by Iris Rivera as their read ahead of the discussion on 23rd July 🐉

When King Émeric struck down the last Dragon King, the Realm of Ilion was left cursed, and anyone who sought the kingdom's lost crown risked succumbing to madness. Two centuries later, Adeline has fought her way into the ranks of Ilion's elite guards despite being a Halfling Fae. Gifted with the rare ability to hunt the shadow demons spawned by the curse, she must keep the dangerous magic running through her bloodline hidden from those around her. But when her best friend disappears on a mission to break the curse, Adeline begins to uncover secrets that challenge everything she thought she knew about Ilion, its history, and her own powers. To save her friend, she'll have to decide how much she's willing to risk – and sacrifice – to uncover the truth.

Come along on Thursday 23rd July at 5:30pm to Dubray if this sounds like your jam!

13/07/2026

☀️The Sun 🤝 The Lit Summer School

Another brilliant weekend of masterclasses and a very exciting photoshoot 📸

Sincerest thanks to Rob O'Donnell for the capitvating workshop on how to sell a story – we're right on our way to being ethical influencers and activists!

Big thanks to DGM Photographic for the brilliant photography session – we're particularly excited about this year's headshots and festival visuals!

And of course, thanks to our young coorganisers for their engagement and enthusiasm, our workshop volunteer Charlie as well as the lovely staff at Waterford Central Library for being on hand to support.

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford City and County Libraries and Waterford Youth Arts

09/07/2026

☀️Summer School Week 2☀️

We're really excited to welcome Rob O'Donnell to The Lit Summer School this weekend to talk about how to sell a story 🔥

Rob says that "short-form video content has become one of the most popular formats of sharing stories to the masses. But grabbing attention is only the beginning - keeping it is where great storytelling shines. This workshop will explore how to craft compelling stories for short-form video, from finding the core narrative to structuring content that connects emotionally and inspires action, while also cutting through endless amounts of internet clutter". 📲

Rob works in the field of political communications for the Green Party, having previously worked in European Parliament and now in Dáíl Éireann. He has designed and lead out on policial and elctoral campaigns, and can sometimes be seen making a fool of himself doing silly little Tiktok trends. 🕺

🌊Proudly funded by Creative Waterford's Creative Communities Grant and supported by Waterford City and County Libraries and Waterford Youth Arts

Address

31-32 O'Connell Street
Waterford
X91 RR2R

Website

https://www.thelit.org/

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