Tolka is a biannual literary journal of non-fiction: publishing essays, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, individual stories and the writing that flows in between.
Tolka publishes work that is formally promiscuous and which does not always fall into neat categories. We encourage writers to test the creative boundaries of non-fiction.
We have published some of the most innovative contemporary Irish writers, such as Eimear McBride, Brian Dillon, Roisin Kiberd, Niamh Campbell and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe. We also strongly promote new writers and new writing, and we publish writers from around the globe.
We are a print journal, with some pieces also published online, with an emphasis on quality design and finishes to create a high-end and visually appealing object.
Tolka is run by Liam Harrison and Catherine Hearn. Our contributing editors are Madeline Arkins, Chloé Duane, Tara McEvoy, Martin Schauss and Caoimhe White. In 2026 our translator-in-residence is Polly Barton.
Tolka is designed by Sarah McCoy, and proudly supported by the Arts Council.
Stockists
Tolka is stocked in the following bookshops. Should you wish to stock Tolka, please get in touch.
- Books Upstairs, Dublin
- Hodges Figgis, Dublin
- Dubray Books, Grafton Street and Rathmines
- The Winding Stair, Dublin
- The Library Project, Dublin
- Chapters, Dublin
- Lilliput Press, Dublin
- MoLI
- Tertulia Books, Mayo
- Kenny’s Bookshop, Galway
- Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Galway
- Raven Books, Blackrock
- Marrowbone Books, Dublin
- No Alibis, Belfast
- The Small City Bookshop, Bristol
- Gloucester Road Books, Bristol
- Rova Editions, Bristol
- Arnolfini Bookshop, Bristol
- Bookhaus, Bristol
- Heron Books, Bristol
- Magalleria, Bath
- Mag Culture, London
- Libreria, London
- London Review Bookshop, London
- October Books, Southampton
- Burley Fisher Books, London
- The Bookseller Crow, London
In the press
Promiscuous Prose | The Times Literary Supplement | 8 December 2023
What We’ve Been Reading Podcast | 30 January 2023
Surprises, collisions and juxtapositions in Ireland’s thriving literary magazine scene | The Irish Times | 17 December 2022
The Parish, The Universe: Patrick Kavanagh and the World of the Literary Magazine | Museum of Literature Ireland | 2 December 2022
RTÉ Arena interview with Max Porter and Eimear McBride | 24 November 2022
A Conversation about Irish Literature | The London Magazine | 17 August 2022
Seeing Non-Fiction as Left Behind, the Journal ‘Tolka’ Seeks to Elevate It | Dublin Inquirer | 29 September 2021
Why Ireland’s literary journals are brilliant stepping stones for emerging writers | Irish Independent | 11 July 2021
Tolka in conversation with the Resting Willow blog | 10 June 2021
Writing Against the Current | The Irish Times | 8 June 2021
RTÉ Arena interview with Brian Dillon and Catherine Hearn | 27 April 2021
The literary journals championing new Irish writing | Business Post | 14 March 2021