The newly-renovated Factory Performance Space, home of Sligo's Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, is the venue for this year's Scriobh Literary Festival, which runs from September 16th to 19th.
Some £250,000 is being spent upgrading the Quay Street building, which in its long history served as a jail, grain store and abattoir before being taken over by Blue Raincoat.
The main auditorium, where Scriobh will take place, has been reroofed and underfloor heating has been installed.
Work on "The Factory" will be completed in November, when a new studio will also be ready for use, and as a second performance venue alongside the Hawk's Well, it should prove an important addition to the town.
The Model Arts Centre, where Scriobh is usually held, is closed for extensive renovations.
This is Scriobh's sixth year, and organiser Paul Cunningham said they had again opted for a mixture of international names and emerging Irish talent. The aim was to bring in foreign writers who would not normally come to Ireland.
"Literary festivals are two a penny in the country now and they often have winners of all the major international prizes. But there is an awful lot of literature out there that people don't get exposed to, and that is what we are trying to do," Mr Cunningham said.
An example of such a person this year was Mexico's leading poet, Alberto Blanco, who has published 12 books of poetry as well as translations and collections of essays. A chemist by profession, he is also a jazz musician, a social commentator and a scholar who writes "beautiful and evocative" poetry, Mr Cunningham said.
Other visitors include a Swiss-born writer, Jung F. Federspiel, Australian Colleen Burke, and Lawrence Scott from Trinidad. Scottish novelist and poet Jackie Kay is also taking part.
Among the Irish participants are the Belfast poet Michael Longley, James Simmons from the Poets' House in Falcarragh, Co Donegal, Patrick Galvin, Vincent Woods and Anne Enright.
Omagh-born Paula Cunningham, who recently published her first book of poems, A Dog Called Chance, will also be there. Her first play is to be staged next year by Belfast's Tinderbox Theatre Company.
"Scriobh is more informal and laid back than some literary festivals. We encourage interaction between the audience and the writers. They are not whisked away as soon as a reading is over," Mr Cunningham said.
The winner of the Martin Healy short story award will also be announced, for which there were up to 500 entries.
There will also be a writing workshop with Brian Leydon and a forum on theatre. Panellists will include Padraig Breathnach, Dermot Healy and Malcolm Hamilton.
Further information is available from (071) 41405.