The Binding Festival Announces Participants for Its First PenPals Edition
Updated: 5 days ago
Twenty writers and illustrators from 12 countries have been selected to take part in the first The Binding: PenPals Edition, an international online programme taking place alongside The Binding festival in Longford this November.
More than 50 applications were received for the programme. The organisers had initially planned to select 16 participants but increased the number to 20 following the application process.
The final group consists of 15 writers and 5 illustrators and includes participants based in Ireland, Ukraine, Estonia, Belgium, Australia, Canada, the United States, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
PenPals was developed by Little Beetle Press as the international strand of The Binding, a new festival aimed at bringing creative people from different countries, disciplines and stages of their careers into contact with one another.
The programme will begin online on 19 November, ahead of the two-day festival in Longford on 20–21 November. Participants will take part in a two-hour workshop led by award-winning poet Moyra Donaldson, with work developed during the session contributing to a planned series of poetic postcards.
The programme will conclude on 22 November with a second online gathering. Each participant will have an opportunity to discuss their current work in a small-group session with one of five mentors: Catherine Dunne, Lia Mills, Rosaleen Lynch, Tatyana Feeney and Ganna Gnedkova.
The closing programme will also introduce participants to established writers, illustrators and creative professionals, with a focus on practical experience, international connections and opportunities for future collaboration.
The PenPals Edition has been designed not simply as a series of workshops, but as an opportunity for participants to meet people working creatively in other parts of the world and to establish professional and personal connections that can continue beyond the festival.
The Binding will take place online and in Longford, Ireland, from 19–22 November 2026.
