LITERARY BUFFS from all over the county gathered at Enniscorthy Castle on Thursday night as details of the fourth annual Wexford Literary Festival were announced at its official launch.

The festival has gone from strength to strength over the past four years and has gained massive acclaim within the literary community as being a festival that gives readers and would-be writers access to some big names on the Irish scene as well as providing a platform for them to interact with publishers and people in the business.

The festival, which will run from May 19 to 21, unveiled a brand new look at the official launch and Chairperson Carmel Harrington said that they were blown away by the work of graphic designer Brian Byrne, who gave a presentation on the new logos and colour scheme at the launch, and website designer Laura Kenny.

She said that a lot of planning had gone into this year’s festival with the hope of growing the brand even further.

“We want this to be one of the main literary festivals in the country,” she said. “What you need to do in order for this to happen is to work on your brand and that’s why we were delighted to bring Brian and Laura on board.”

Chairman of Wexford County Council Paddy Kavanagh said that the festival had become a real success story. He said he was particularly impressed by last year’s awards ceremony.

“It really was a special occasion and I think anyone that was there felt that,” he said. “There was a belief that anyone could win, and I think that’s the beauty of it. It’s unique in that the winners do their best to help those that they came through with.”

South East Radio’s Alan Corcoran officially launched the festival and spoke of the importance of the written word to broadcasters like himself along with discussing some of the various authors he has encountered over the years.

Finally Carmel said that, now in it’s fourth year, the festival had it’s sights set firmly on its fifth anniversary. She said that seeing the Strawberry Fair celebrating 50 years this year was a huge inspiration and she hoped that the Wexford Literary Festival would too stand the test of time.

For more on the Wexford Literary Festival launch night and it’s stunning programme of events, pick up a copy of this week’s Echo.

Paddy Kavanagh (chairman Wexford Co. Council), Carmel Harrington (chairperson Wexford Literary Festival), Alan Corcoran (performed launch) and John Burke-O’Leary (Enniscorthy Chamber) pictured at the Wexford Literary Festival 2017 launch in Enniscorthy Castle. Pic: John Walsh