The Bray Literary Festival kicks off this weekend and will showcase some of the finest Irish writing talent, old and new. The festival will host a number of workshops, talks and exhibitions of poetry and literature. Some big names in the literary world will be in attendance such as Anne Enright, Danielle McLaughlin and Paul Lynch, amongst others.

The festival will also play host to Peacekeepers, an event showcasing two new talents on the Irish literary scene of the post conflict genre, Helena Mulkerns and Michael J. Whelan, whose work has a distinct post-conflict slant.

Helena will give a reading of her book of collected short fiction, Ferenji, which is inspired by her time as UN Press Officer in peacekeeping missions in Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. Michael, who spent time as a peacekeeper with the Irish Defence Forces in the Middle East and Kosovo, will be presenting his first published collection of poetry entitled Peacekeeper.

As with most post conflict literature, a blend of pragmatism, heartbreak, idealism and despair is evident in both books.

For this event, Bray based Human Rights advocate Tony Daly invites poet and author to read from their work,followed by a conversation on its themes and influences.

The event will take place on Sunday 30 September at 11.30am in Bray Town Hall.