Acclaimed journalist to deliver a showpiece lecture in Kilkenny

Kilkenny Arts Festival has now announced details of the literature strand of the 50th edition of the Festival, designed to thrill, delight and inspire.

Highlights include acclaimed journalist Ben Judah (Fragile Empire, This is London, This is Europe) who will deliver the 2023 Hubert Butler Lecture.

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Over the last decade, Judah has set out criss-crossing Russia interviewing mobsters and government officials for Fragile Empire, his portrait of Putin’s rise to power.

For his new book, This is Europe, Judah travelled from Ireland to Turkey and back, listening to the stories of ordinary people.

The result is an epic work of compassion that reveals a continent transformed by diversity, migration, war, climate change, Covid and the quest for freedom.

For this year’s Hubert Butler Lecture, Judah shares his wealth of experiences, asking what it means to call ourselves European today.

The Hubert Butler Annual Lecture was established by the Festival in 2007 to honour the Kilkenny writer, historian and broadcaster whose remarkable consistency of vision and clarity of mind made him unique among 20th-century essayists.

Visit kilkennyarts.ie for more info and ticket details!