Reimagining

This event takes place in The Chapel, IMMA.

Step back in time with us as we explore two captivating novels that reimagine stories as we know them. In Paradise House (Somerville Press) Paul Perry conjures a vivid image of life for James Joyce had he succeeded with the Volta, Ireland’s first cinema. In Before Dorothy (HarperCollins), Hazel Gaynor imagines Dorothy’s earlier life and what came before, delving into the story of her Aunt Emily and the challenges she faced on the barren Kansas prairies, long before Dorothy is uprooted to Oz. Join the authors in conversation with author and arts journalist Aoife Barry.

Please note we may be capturing candid imagery at this event for use on our social media and website.

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times and internationally bestselling author known for her historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A debut author recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award, her work has since been shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown Award, the 2020 RNA Awards, and the Irish Book Awards in 2017, 2020 and 2023. Her work has been translated into 20 languages in 27 territories to date.

Paul Perry is an award-winning poet and novelist. He has published several collections of critically acclaimed poetry, most recently Jamais Vu (Salmon Press) which was shortlisted for the Farmgate National Poetry Book Award in 2023. He has also coauthored four international bestselling novels as Karen Perry, including The Boy That Never Was with Penguin Random House which was made into a successful TV series starring Simon Callow broadcast by RTE. His novel The Garden (New Island Press) was described by Anne Enright as ‘a lush, tough evocation of obsession and betrayal ... noir with a poet’s touch.’ Paul is Professor of Creative Writing at UCD where he directs The UCD Mary Lavin Centre for Creative Writing.

Aoife Barry is a freelance arts journalist and the author of the bestselling non-fiction book Social Capital (HarperCollins Ireland). Across her career she has interviewed politicians, authors, and celebrities - from Fiona Shaw and Pedro Pascal to former President Mary McAleese. She writes a weekly arts column for the Sunday Times and has had bylines across publications including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, The Journal and Irish Examiner. She features regularly on RTÉ Radio One and Today FM and her essays and fiction have been published by ROPES journal and Banshee, and broadcast on Sunday Miscellany.

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