Leland Bardwell

Born in 1922, Leland Bardwell was a leading figure of the Irish literary scene. A co-founder of the literary journal Cyphers and the Irish Writers’ Co-operative, Bardwell also established the Scríobh Literary Festival in her adopted Sligo.

The author of thirteen books and numerous stage and radio plays, Leland Bardwell lived by her own rules. Always rebellious, and always searching to belong, Bardwell’s enduring legacy is her ‘steady gaze’. She was a witness-bearer to a widely and wildly diverse, unjust and complex world.

A founding member of Aosdána, Leland Bardwell died in 2016.

Mary Branley

Mary Branley is a poet, writer, librettist and musician based in northwest Sligo. She is the author of three collections of poetry: A Pinch of Snow in a Black Velvet Glove; Martin, Let Me Go; and A Foot on the Tide.

Her poetry has appeared in anthologies such as Windharp: Poems of Ireland Since 1916, The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, and The Watchful Heart: A New Generation of Irish Poets: Poems and Essays and has been translated into Catalan and Spanish. Her commissioned libretto on the life of Countess Markievicz featured in Freedom Letters, a poetic-musical composition directed by Olesya Zdorovetska for the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival.

Mary Branley is the recipient of the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship and numerous residencies and bursaries from The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Closely associated with Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership, Ireland’s only dedicated publisher of books by children, Mary has facilitated children’s writing for over twenty years and over 50 titles.

Johnny Gogan

Johnny Gogan is a writer and filmmaker with ten feature films and documentaries behind him, including The Last Bus Home, Mapmaker, Black Ice and Groundswell. He has also produced and directed many short films.

A founding editor of Film Ireland, Gogan’s other initiatives include Cinema North West and the Adaptation Film Festival, a festival dedicated to the relationship of drama and literature on screen.

Based in Killenummery on the Leitrim/Sligo border, Johnny Gogan is the author of two novels: Station to Station and Ghostwriters.

Edwina Guckian
(with Andrea Rossi)

Edwina Guckian is a Sean-nós dancer, choreographer and author rooted in her home county of Leitrim. She founded Áirc Damhsa, a culture club where she has taught Sean-nós and other Irish traditional dance to children for over two decades.

In 2024, Lepus Print published the celebrated first edition of Edwina’s book for all ages, Sparks from the Flagstones: Irish Folk Traditions & Calendar Customs, which was illustrated by Andrea Rossi.

Andrea Rossi is a Brazilian artist and illustrator based in Galway. She has held solo and group exhibitions to coincide with the Westport Art Festival, Clifden Arts Festival and Féile na Ceardlainne. She is also a member of Cúl an Tí, a non-profit contemporary artist group based in the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht region of Cois Fharraige.

Libby Hart

Libby Hart is an Australian poet and author of four poetry collections: Burn, Wild, This Floating World and Fresh News from the Arctic. She also edited Lepus Print’s My Name Suspended in the Air: Leland Bardwell at 100.

She lives as a guest on Wadawurrung land in Victoria, Australia, but calls northwest Sligo her second home.

Major prizes Libby Hart has been shortlisted for include the Manchester Poetry Prize, the Kenneth Slessor Prize, the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry, the Dinny O’Hearn Poetry Prize and the Mary Gilmore Prize. Her debut collection, Fresh News from the Arctic, won the prestigious Anne Elder Award.

Brian Leyden

Brian Leyden is a writer of fiction, memoir, radio, screen and stage.

Originally from Arigna in Roscommon, his books include the bestselling memoir The Home Place and the novels Love These Days, Summer of ’63 and Death and Plenty. His most recent short-story collection is Sweet Old World: New and Selected Stories.

Brian Leyden’s radio documentaries include No Meadows in Manhattan, Even the Walls Were Sweatin’ and An Irish Station Mass. He co-wrote the feature film Black Ice and scripted the short documentary, The Sheemore Ambush, as well as the Famine Attic Memorial audio installation for the Workhouse in Carrick-on-Shannon. His stage plays include Old Flames and Remember Me.

He lives in northwest Sligo.