In partnership with dlr Libraries.

Join us for an afternoon of conversation around two gripping books exploring the darkness behind perfect facades and journeys of self-discovery to regain sense of self. Caroline Madden’s The Marriage Vendetta (Eriu) is a darkly humorous story of secrets, betrayal, revenge, and dangerous influence. Assembling Ailish (Poolbeg) by Sharon Guard is a moving story of complex relationships, grief, and letting go of the past to move forward. The authors will be in conversation with writer Jackie Lynam.

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

Caroline Madden is an Irish journalist and writer. Having grown up in the countryside of Longford, Caroline got notions and moved to Dublin where she swanned around Trinity College for a few years. She got a degree in something called management science and still isn’t sure what exactly that is. After trying to make it as a corporate stooge, Caroline found herself in the world of journalism where she was able to secretly work on her novels while she was supposed to be writing stock market reports. She now lives by the sea with her two children and one very small, very loud dog called Benji. Much as she wishes otherwise, she is not the LA-based infidelity recovery expert Caroline Madden, PhD.

Sharon Guard has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and newspapers including  SWERVE magazine, The Ogham Stone, the Washing Windows anthologies, the Irish Independent and The Irish Times. She won the Molly Keane Creative Writing Award in 2020 and her story Artifice was shortlisted for the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Competition in 2024. Her prose and poetry has been listed in other competitions. Her debut novel, Assembling Ailish, was published by Poolbeg Press in February 2025.

Jackie Lynam is a writer from Dublin. Her poems have been published in several journals and anthologies, and she has been shortlisted for RTÉ’s The Prompt Writing Competition and the Anthony Cronin International Short Poem Award. Her writing has also featured in the Irish Independent and on RTÉ Radio 1’s Sunday Miscellany programme. Her debut chapbook Traces:  Poems and Essays was published in 2023, and was longlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors. In 2024 she was awarded an Arts Council Agility Award, and she is currently working on a full collection of poetry.

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