Award-winning bookshop hosts Dromore’s first literary festival

Bridge Books, owned and run by Lesley Price, won the accolade in the recently announced British Book Awards 2025. Now, it is preparing to welcome big-name authors to the Dromore Book Festival, which runs from 5th-10th May.

Guests include Donal Ryan, whose award-winning Heart, Be At Peace is being published in the US later that month; crime and thriller writers Brian McGilloway and Stuart Neville; and an all-female crime panel featuring Liz Nugent, Sharon Dempsey and Hannah King.

Journalist and writer Stuart Bailie will talk music with Terri Hooley and the BBC’s Tara Mills will be in conversation with Claire Mitchell, author of The Ghost Limb, and Irish language activist Linda Ervine.

Journalist-turned-author Brian Rowan, writers Claire Allan and Emma Heatherington, and Sarah Gilmartin, Caoilinn Hughes and Garrett Carr complete an exciting line-up of literary talent.

For aspiring authors, award-winning writer Bernie McGill will be running a creative writing workshop. There will also be events for the children on Saturday, May 10th.

Lesley said: “I came up with the idea as a celebration of my 30th year in business, but I couldn’t have imagined how much support I’d get from so many fantastic writers and the venues in the town which will be hosting the events.

“I have so many people to thank I couldn’t do it in just a few sentences. But I hope, thanks to everybody’s efforts, that we’ll put Dromore on the literary map and attract lots of new business to the town for the week of the festival.”

Brochures about the festival are available free from shops and businesses in Dromore and surrounding areas, and tickets can be found at www.ticketsource.co.uk/bridge-books.