Ms Máire Logue:

We always have certain aims for the future. We always continue to develop and sustain the literary festival's uniqueness. We are passionate about ensuring we have a well run festival. Our authors and audiences are first and foremost in our minds. We always try to develop and expand our target markets and attract new audiences. We seek to be fully inclusive in our programming and give our audiences variety and choice. We are building the grassroots through our children's festival. Ms Moylan and I were both children of Listowel Writers Week and are now overjoyed to be working for it. It is so positive. Working in the arts is a really positive and wonderful experience which we are trying to build through our children's festival and now the young adult bookfest which we introduced about two years ago for transition and fifth year students. There is an educational element to it from the leaving certificate English examination papers. Three years ago we had approximately 250 transition year students, while last year, on 15 November 2017, we attracted over 850. They want to come and be involved in the festival.