The 30th Listowel Writers' Week Festival was officially opened last night in the north Kerry town by the President, Mrs McAleese, who described Listowel as a place of inspiration for aspiring writers.
The Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year award was won by Michael Collins for his novel, Keepers of the Truth. The other short-listed authors were John Connolly and Mary Morrissy, whose entries were Dark Hollow and The Pretender respectively. The Bryan MacMahon Short Story Award went to Mary Russell for her work, A Hardness of the Heart. The Eamon Keane Full-Length Play Award was won by Tommy Monaghan for his play, Vive La.
