Friday, 5th September

12 am – 4:30 pm
Price per ticket: €49.95
Boat in: 12 pm | Return: 4:30 pm

Fiction-writing Masterclass

with Louise Phillips

Join bestselling author and award-winning crime novelist Louise Phillips for an exclusive Fiction Writing Masterclass at the Spike Island Literary Festival.

Whether you’re a budding writer or polishing your manuscript, this session offers invaluable insight into the craft of compelling storytelling. Drawing on her expertise in character development, plot structure, and building suspense, Louise will guide participants through practical exercises and provide feedback to help elevate your writing.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from one of Ireland’s leading voices in fiction, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Ireland’s infamous prison island.

Pitch the Agent

with Diana Beaumont & Nicky Lovick

Getting the all important pitch right is essential when it comes to getting your work noticed in the competitive world of publishing. Your cover letter essentially needs to be your “elevator pitch” and can lead an agent to decide whether yours is an idea they want to read more about.

This is your opportunity to hear feedback from leaders in the industry, Diana Beaumont of DHH literary agency & Nicky Lovick with WGM Atlantic and also to learn from those around you. 

You will be required to bring a printed copy of your pitch which should be no more than 150 words. This will be read out anonymously (if preferred) during the event.

 

Diana Beaumont

Diana joined DHH Literary Agency in 2024.  She started agenting with Rupert Heath Literary Agency in 2011 before moving to UTA. Before that she was senior commissioning editor at Transworld.

​Diana was chosen as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars of 2012, was a nominee for RNA Agent of the Year 2019, and was shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year 2022 at the British Book Awards.

Her list includes a wide range of bestselling and prize-winning authors in the UK and internationally.

Nicky Lovick

Nicky has worked as an editor in-house for big and small publishers for almost a decade and has freelanced continuously for twenty years.

Currently working for Penguin, Random House, transworld, BBC Books, Orion, John Blake, Blink, Bonnier, Quercus, Profile and Atlantic, among many others. Literary agent at WGM Atlantic.

Louise Phillips

Dublin born crime author LOUISE PHILLIPS is an Irish Times bestselling author of six crime novels, five of which were shortlisted for Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year in the Irish Book Awards.

Her second novel ‘The Doll’s House’ won the award. She has also been longlisted for the Crime Writers Association (CWA) Dagger in the Library Award in the U.K., and is the recipient of several literary awards, arts bursaries, and residencies.

Her fifth novel, ‘The Hiding Game’, was optioned by a major U.S. film company, and her latest novel, NINA, will be published in the US & Canada in November 2025.