News from Weidenfeld & Nicolson of Edna O'Brien's bound-to-be-controversial new novel, In the Forest. Based on the triple murder of Imelda Riney, her small son Liam and Father Joseph Walsh in O'Brien's native Co Clare in 1994, it is due out in March. Brendan O'Donnell, who was jailed for life for the crimes, died of heart failure three years later in the Central Mental Hospital. In its publicity material, Weidenfeld flags as a selling-point a TV documentary on why the crime attracted O'Brien, but given the proximity of those terrible events to her native Scarriff it's hardly surprising that she was drawn to a tragedy that held the country horror-struck the summer it unfolded.
There is a whole generation of Dubliners, moments of whose lives were caught forever by the clicking camera of Arthur Fields (left). From his patch on O'Connell Bridge, he immortalised glittering couples as they whizzed to dress dances (remember them, anyone?) in the Gresham or zoomed to a rendezvous at the Happy Ring House. Now he's captured himself in Images of Dublin: A Time Remembered by Bill Doyle, the city's answer to Robert Doisneau in Paris. The book, published this month by Lilliput at £19.99, contains 150 images documenting 50 years of life in Dublin. Watch out for the wonderful one of Hilton Edwards and Micheβl Mac Liamm≤ir crossing St Stephen's Green in 1975.
Sadbh, a sucker for readings, made it to all those at the first Laois Arts Festival Writers' Forum over the bank holiday weekend. It's not just the pleasure of hearing writers read, it's the anecdotes they tell along the way. In the Dunamaise Arts Centre on Monday, Joe O'Connor regaled the audience with tales of how, poverty-stricken in Lewisham at the start of his career, he got not just a rejection slip from Faber but a letter instructing him to give up writing, full stop.
On Saturday, Claire Keegan had people in stitches telling how, when Faber accepted her collection of short stories, she went home to tell her mother. "What's it called?" her mother asked. "Antarctica," said Claire. "Auntie Carta, who's she?" said Mrs Keegan.
It was all part of the first Laois Arts Festival, which like all good festivals already has its legends and mythologies. Best was the tale of how George Melly's bag got left at the airport. Hours later, with a cast including festival organisers Johnny Whelan, Charlie Flanagan TD and Kevin Kavanagh, it was restored to the jazz legend, who had good-humouredly gone 24 hours without his toothbrush etc. What people do for art . . .