Otley Bookfest 2026 - Fiction

Fiction
Saturday 28 November • Doors 3.30pm • Showtime 4pm–6pm
Wesley Hall, Otley Common

Kevin Duffy of Bluemoose Books — the Hebden Bridge indie that keeps punching above its weight — brings authors Ronan Hession, Stu Hennigan and Colette Snowden. Writing, publishing and doing it from Yorkshire.

Ronan Hession

Rónán Hession is an Irish writer and musician based in Dublin. His debut novel Leonard and Hungry Paul was published by Bluemoose Books in 2019. It was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the An Post Irish Book Awards, the British Book Awards, the Books Are My Bag Awards, the Dalkey Literary Prize, the McKitterick Prize, and was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. Leonard and Hungry Paul was selected by Dublin City Council as the 2021 One Dublin One Book. It was also chosen by the Sunday Times and the Irish Times as one of the 50 Great Irish Novels of the 21st Century. It has also been added to the Irish secondary schoool curriculum.

Leonard and Hungry Paul has been adapted into a six-part BBC series, starring Alex Lawther and narrated by Julia Roberts.

Rónán’s second novel Panenka was published in May 2021. It was shortlisted for Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards and for the Books Are My Bag Fiction prize.

His third novel, Ghost Mountain, was published in May 2024 to critical acclaim. It was a Book of the Year in Review 31 and The Irish Independent:

“We are very lucky that there are novels like this being written in Ireland today” – The Irish Times
“Hession is brilliant at framing the minutiae of ordinary days and feelings” – The Guardian
“Ghost Mountain is a profound novel by a writer of immense talent” – Review 31

Rónán’s fourth novel is called Richard Heart Julianne and will be published by Bluemoose Books in summer 2027.

Colette Snowdon

Colette Snowden’s short story ‘Blue’ was recorded for Broadcast on Radio 4 as part of the ‘Opening Lines’ series of stories by new writers in 2002. She won a Commonword first three chapters competition in 2009 and the completed manuscript became ‘The Secret to Not Drowning’, published by Bluemoose Books in 2015. It was selected as a Brave New Read in 2016; one of six books chosen by readers and promoted through libraries and book groups in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. 

Colette’s second novel, ‘Captain Jesus’, was published by Bluemoose Books in 2021, and her third, ‘Celeste’ will be published by Bluemoose Books in September 2025.

Currently working on her 4th novel, Colette works as a marketing consultant and copywriter and lives in Manchester.

Stu Hennegan

Stu Hennigan is a writer, poet, editor, and musician based in Leeds, UK. His acclaimed book, Ghost Signs: Poverty and the Pandemic, is a powerful, firsthand account of delivering essential food and medicine to some of the city’s most deprived communities during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown. Published by Bluemoose Books, the book was shortlisted for Best Non-Fiction at the 2022 Books Are My Bag Awards and for Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian at the 2023 Parliamentary Book Awards.

Stu’s writing has appeared in Prospect, 3:AM Magazine, Lunate, Lune Journal, Broken Sleep Books, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, Massive Overheads, Visual Verse, and Expat Lit. He is currently working on his debut novel, Keshed, and a cultural history of America through the lens of Bret Easton Ellis’s novels, titled Disappear Here, both scheduled for publication in late 2025. Additionally, he plays guitar in the rock band Kamień.

Tickets £10 (plus small booking fee)

We want everyone to feel welcome at Otley Common. If you have any access requirements or need any support to attend this event, please get in touch with us before the day and we'll do our best to help. hello@otleycommon.org