Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer to headline virtual Writers' Weekend

Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, will be the keynote speaker at the virtual Writers' Weekend, a four-day conference that will now be live streamed from 9th-12th July.

The festival, founded by Sara Ganga, hosts talks and workshops with authors as well as publishers, editors and literary agents.

Colfer commented: "Writing festivals are vital for writers to get noticed; I first met my publisher at a literary festival in Ireland and events like these are without a doubt the best forum for all aspiring writers."

He added: "I am disappointed that I won’t be able to talk to writers face to face but delighted that they will still have a platform to interact and showcase their work. Hopefully this means more writers from around the world will be able to attend."

Sixty-five speakers are confirmed for this year's virtual festival including Lissa Evans, Jasper Fforde, Nick Barlay and Kate Bradley.

Over the four days, the event will also offer over 800 one-to-one appointments with literary agents and editors. Representatives from HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin Random House and Troubador will be available for talks and workshops as well as open mic sessions and author/agent/publisher panels.

Three full scholarships are available for writers aged 18-25 as well as bursaries for those writers needing financial assistance to attend.

Ganga said: "Writers who wish to take the next step with their work will have the opportunity to showcase their writing to a wide range of experts and interact with authors, agents and other writers in virtual networking rooms."

Leading up to the event, the Writers' Weekend is running competitions to encourage writers to create new work. These include: Opening of a Novel, The Bright Agency Picture Book Prize, Writing Magazine Short Fiction Competition, Skylark Fabulous Fiction for Fives to Teens and a new Flash Fiction competition.

There is also a children's competition for young writers aged four to 15, who are asked to write a one-page poem or story on what they like about being at home.

All competitions close on 19th June and full details for the competitions can be found here.