The 38th John Hewitt International Summer School Programme Announced
Monday 28th July to Saturday 2nd August 2025 - The Market Place Theatre
Event: The 38th John Hewitt International Summer School Programme Announced
Date: Monday 28th July to Saturday 2nd August 2025
Time: Event times vary
Location: The Marketplace Theatre, 9 Market St, Armagh BT61 7BW
Price: Ticket prices vary - See HERE For Event / Booking Information
What you can look forward to at this year’s John Hewitt International Summer School
Literature, discussion, poetry, drama, music, workshops… and did we mention… literature? Yes, 2025 is the 38th John Hewitt International Summer School.
The John Hewitt International Summer School will take place from Monday 28th July to Saturday 2nd August at the Marketplace Theatre Armagh and our programme is now live! (you can download the full programme below). We are thrilled to present a wealth of inspirational and creative speakers and performers across literature, poetry, art, drama, music, and politics.
This year’s theme is: "Our country also: difference and belonging".
John Hewitt recognised that “our country” belonged to successive waves of migrants: not only his historical “Kelt, Briton, Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Scot” but those forced to find new lives in our time by a century’s wars and the collapse of an empire whose wealth was built on exploitation of the “colonies” that many of today’s immigrants once knew as “home”. Not a question of who belongs “here”, but of who “here” belongs to.
The JHISS25 opening talk “Northern Ireland is Finished?” will be delivered by Professor Peter Shirlow, Blair Chair and Head of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool. Other speakers include Takura Donald Makoni on “Integration Integration Intergration”, Professor Jennifer todd asking “When Does Identity Change Matter?” and Dr Frank Ferguson with the annual John Hewitt Talk: “The Thistles and The Sheeves”: The Significance of Roberta Hewitt”.
Armagh writer, Stuart Neville will once again host our Crime Fiction Special with internationally acclaimed authors Ian Rankin and Jane Casey.
Other celebrated authors featured this year include David Park in conversation with Hugh Odling-Smee, Cauvery Madhavan in conversation with Maureen Boyle, Donal Ryan in conversation with Jan Carson, Wendy Erskine in conversation with Alexander Poots and Tessa Hadley in conversation with Bernie McGill. In our "Dazzling Debuts" event: Garrett Carr & Róisín O'Donnell will be in conversation with Jan Carson and we celebrate the book launch of Doreen McBride’s “The A-Z of Curious Northern Ireland”.
In association with Irish PEN/ PEN na hÉreann, The John Hewitt Summer School presents “Looking at Women, Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary”, written by the late Ukrainian novelist and activist Victoria Amelina with Guest Speaker: Yaryna Grusha.
The strong poetry programme line-up includes Kathleen McCracken, Milena Williamson, Dane Holt & Mai Ishikawa, Hannah Copley & Gustav Parker Hibbett, Vone Groarke, Polina Cosgrave and Kelly Michels.
Our event "A Tribute to Michael" celebrates the life and work of the great and much missed Michael Longley, featuring a talk “Beautiful Things are Difficult: Michael Longley as master craftsman” by Dr Florence Impens and a reading of Michael Longley poems by Gail McConnell.
Malachi O’Doherty will be in conversation with award winning journalist and photographer Sally Hayden as she discusses her debut book “My Fourth Time, We Drowned”.
A bumper programme of evening entertainment at the Summer School includes the acclaimed “Lisdoon Nirvana” - a one-man show with actor Frankie McCafferty, an open mic special celebratng the work of the late, great Paul Durcan, a panel discussion “Our Country Also: Difference and Belonging” with Lata Sharma, David Adams, Aleksandra Łojek & Malachi O’Doherty (Host), Bewley Café Theatre presents “Grace” From James Joyce’s “Dubliners”, performed by Terry O’Neill and directed by Michael James Ford. There is a very special panel event “Beyond Traditional Routes: Independent Publishing, the Summer School Connection and the John Hewitt Legacy” with Jane Buckley, Angeline King, James Simpson and Sue Divin (Host) – bringing together writers whose stories intersect at the John Hewitt International Summer School. And we invite you to join folk singers Jane Cassidy and Maurice Leyden as they celebrate the life of Mary Ann McCracken in story and song.
The John Hewitt Summer School also boasts an array of excellent Creative Writing Classes (three of which are supported by The Open University) helping to develop new generations of aspiring writers, some of whom will give readings during a showcase event at the end of the Summer School.
The John Hewitt Visual Arts programme features "Stone Mirror" by Pádraig Mac Cana – an exhibition of new works that interchanges between external events, forces, observations and the inner life of experiences and memories. “Thin Place” by Bob Speers refers to the veil between the physical and the transcendental appears permeable or ‘thin’, a mystical space where the boundary between our tangible world and the unseen world seem to touch. This year’s John Hewitt Visual Arts Talk “Is F. E. McWilliam: An Inventor Of Styles” with gallery curator Jason Diamond.
Our good friends at No Alibis Bookstore Belfast will again provide their now familiar pop-up book stall during the week with the latest books by all the featured writers on sale. Receptions during the week are supported by the North South Ministerial Council and the Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Borough Council.
As in previous years, our Summer School has offered bursaries to enable a wide range of people to attend and appreciate this unique festival. Sponsored Bursaries are supported by Local Government Authorities, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs: Reconciliation Department, the Community Relations Council, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, individual and corporate organisations.
All of this is made possible through the partnership and assistance of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, The Open University, Irish Association, No Alibis Bookstore, Ulster University, advertisers, local traders and volunteers. All of this generous support is much appreciated by the John Hewitt Society especially in these challenging times for the arts.
2025 Events
Tickets can be purchased from the Market Place Theatre box office on 0330 056 1025 or online via the following links…
Workshops
Memoir: Writing Your One Wild and Precious Life with Maureen Boyle
Poetry - From Initial Spark to Finished Poem! with Siobhán Campbell
Workshop on Independent Publishing: How to Self-Publish eBooks and Paperbacks
Literary Events
JHISS 2025: Weekly Ticket including Creative Writing Workshop
Opening Address - Northern Ireland is Finished? By Professor Peter Shirlow
Talk: “Integration, Integration, Integration” by Takura Donald Makoni
Ian Rankin and Jane Casey in Conversation with Stuart Neville
Book Launch: Looking at Women, Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by the late Victoria Amelina
“When Does Identity Change Matter?' by Professor Jennifer Todd
Dazzling Debuts: Garrett Carr and Roisín O’Donnell in Conversation with Jan Carson
Drama
Full details of the programme are available online at johnhewittsociety.org or you can download a PDF copy for yourself here…
The John Hewitt Summer School is looking for volunteers!
Are you free between Monday 28th July – Saturday 02nd August?
Are you a friendly, enthusiastic individual (aged 18 or over)?
Do you live in Armagh, or within traveling distance?
Do you love literature, the arts, culture, and having top craic?
Then we'd love to hear from you!
What does our volunteer role involve?
Manning the main festival desk
Greeting and directing visitors
Signing in ticket holders to events
Assisting with setting up/taking down events
Helping with our merchandise stall
What do you get out of volunteering for us?
Direct experience in the literary and arts industry
A JHISS T-shirt and some funky merch
The opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills
Still interested? Give us a shout at festival@johnhewittsociety.org and join our dynamic festival team!
The John Hewitt Society is a not-for-profit limited liability company, with charitable status, registered in Northern Ireland at The MAC, 10 Exchange Street West, Belfast BT1 2NJ. Company No: 041294 | Charity No: NIC102629.
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