In translation

My story 3009 has been translated into Italian for the Italian literary and arts journal Inkroci. The editors devoted an issue to Irish writers. Other writers in the issue are: Lia Mills, William Wall and Liz Nugent.
The story began life as a part of tHREE THOUSAND AND NINE. A project by artist Brain Duggan commissioned by Fingal Arts. You can buy the book here. The stories were written by myself, Brian Duggan, Pauline O'Hare and Daniel Boland.
You can read my story in English here. And the Italian translation here.

Illustration by Sam Franza.

Fingal Arts Showcase Farmleigh House Friday 5th December 2.30-5pm

Fingal County Council Arts Showcase      

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Mags Murray invites you to celebrate 20 years of the Arts in Fingal

YOU ARE INVITED TO CELEBRATE the work of Fingal County Council’s Arts Office. The event will showcase a variety of projects and activities including live performances, all of which have been supported, funded or initiated by the Arts Office over the last twenty years.

The event will take place at Farmleigh House on the 5th December 2014, from 2.30pm to 5pm.

Special Guest on the occasion will be Joan Burton TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection.

As part of our celebrations we have commissioned a short animation which will highlight the importance of the arts to North Dublin and we will also showcase our Fingal Arts Development Plan 2013–2017.

RSVP susan.mooney@fingal.ie

VISUAL ARTS SHOWCASE Visual artists Una Sealy (ARHA),Aoibheann Greenan and Andrew Carson showcase a selection
of work.
Una Sealy native of Howth is an established and respected artist with three decades of experience
working as a professional painter.  Una was one of twelve finalists chosen for the Hennessy Portrait Prize 2014. The short-listed artists’ works are currently on show at the National Gallery of Ireland until February 8th, 2015.
Aoibheann Greenan is currently one of four featured artists in the RHA’s annual Futures 14 series which runs until December 19th 2014. Next year will see Aoibheann create new work for her solo show in Temple Bar Galleries.
Andrew Carson was recently awarded THE FOUNDATION14 CRITICS CHOICE AWARD which includes a solo show in nag gallery, Dublin in 2015.
PUBLIC ART SHOWCASE
The Public Art Programme will showcase Per Cent for Art Scheme Projects.
The Lambay Singers will perform selected music from Mark Garry’s Sending Letters to the Sea album with professional singer / songwriter and project collaborator Nina Hynes.
Local writers Daniel Boland, Pauline O’Hare and Niamh MacAlister will read excerpts from Three Thousand and Nine, which was part of Brian Duggan’s O’Machine, O’Machine, film and book commission.
There will be a chance to re-visit Tattered Outlaws of History, a film / installation project by Dan Dubowitz and Fearghus O’Conchuir which drew together Fingal’s unique set of Martello Towers, artist Dan Dubowitz will be  on hand to discuss the project.
Resort Residency, Case Study 1 is a showcase of the activity which took place at Lynders Mobile Home
Park, August – September 2014.
YOUTH & EDUCATION SHOWCASE
The Youth & Education showcase will feature film documentation of Space Invaders, Place Shapers and live presentations of Artful Dodgers and the Studio project.
Space Invaders is an arts festival for children, families and Early Childhood Educators initiated by Fingal Arts Office & Acting Up! Arts.
Place Shapers is an architecture and urban design project for young people in Fingal initiated by Fingal Arts Office and the Irish Architecture Foundation.
Artful Dodgers, an early year’s visual art and music programme delivered by Fingal Arts Office in partnership with Fingal County Childcare Committee and collaborating artists Jackie Maguire and Naomi Draper and two Fingal crèche services. The artists involved will be available to speak with those interested in hearing more about this programme and the research conducted in partnership with Trinity College Dublin.
Studio, inspired by the renowned Room 13 project, Fingal Arts Office are supporting the establishment of student-run art studios in primary schools in Fingal. The Artists and children involved will be available to speak with those interested in hearing more about the initial stages of this exciting initiative.
LOCAL ARTS SHOWCASE
There will be a series of live performances from local arts groups.
The Fingal Youth Orchestra will perform a festive arrangement. The Orchestra’s aim is to teach, foster a love of, and perform classical orchestral music for 8 – 19 year olds, using professional music teachers as conductors and tutors.  The Orchestra is a not-for-profit organisation, run by a voluntary committee. Funding is from a combination of family subscriptions, voluntary donations, grants and awards including Fingal County Council’s Arts Office.
Hallelujah! by the Draiocht Community Clown Choir began in 2012 as part of Veronica Coburn’s Theatre Artist in Residence programme in Draiocht. A Clown Choir is a group of people who gather together to sing and laugh – to sing in celebration of what it is to be human and to laugh at the ridiculousness of the world we live in. The ethos of Hallelujah! Is accessibility, inclusiveness and artistic excellence.
The Percy French Troubadours will perform a series of songs from the repertoire of Percy French.  Featuring all time favourites ‘Are ye right there Michael?’, ‘The Darling Girl from Clare’, ‘Poems to the West’
and ‘Abdul Abulbul Amir’, sung by an eclectic mix of 15 singers with a five piece band. The group was set up by Mr. Tony Proudfoot, a well known and experienced local amateur performer and theatre director.
ART CENTRES SHOWCASE
There will be representation from Fingal’s two Art Centres, Draiocht, and Séamus Ennis Art Centre.
How to get to Farmleigh House
Driving
Go through the Phoenix Park. When entering the park at Parkgate street (main entrance near
Heuston Station) drive up along the main avenue.
Go straight through the first two roundabouts  and take a left at the third roundabout (near
Castleknock end of park).
After taking a left at third roundabout, take the first right (50 yards from roundabout). Farmleigh
is at the end of this road. If entering the Phoenix Park through the Castleknock gate, take a right
at the first roundabout, and then take your first right again (after 50 yards).  Farmleigh is at the end of this road.

 @fingalarts  

Rainbow Journeys Launch on Irish TV

Dublin Matters 23 | Irish TV

Rainbow Journeys launched!

Vision Impaired Writing Group take colourful journey through the past.

A new CD launched by a group of writers who are blind and vision impaired provides an opportunity to listen to unheard voices, as their personal reflections on real-life events take you through their “Rainbow Journeys” from past to present. Available to buy here.

The CD, entitled Rainbow Journeys, is a compilation of stories by a group of people with sight loss who got together through NCBI, the national sight loss organisation. Although they formed as a reading group, their interest soon moved on to writing and a class was facilitated by NCBI’s Niamh MacAlister, who stated:
“Most of the people NCBI works with acquire sight loss during their lives, and many as they get older, so reading and writing can suddenly become big challenges. NCBI works with people to find practical solutions to the challenges of sight loss but we also wanted to look at creative outlets. Creative writing was new for the 13 participants, all of whom have impaired vision. The goals of Rainbow Journeys were to write about our lives, the paths taken, the revelations, the lessons learned and bring to light the everyday wonder of our lives.”

The stories, which were then read by the writers and recorded, will take you on a ship from South Africa to Dublin, to the East Wall bomb of the 1950s, right through Europe on motorbike just after the Second World War and even getting caught skinny dipping by a priest! All are real-life events written and read by the participants.
May O’Brien, who is 82 and from Donnybrook, lost the sight in one eye in the 1990s and since 2006, has very little sight in her other eye. May believes that the group played an important supportive role for the participants.
“When we met as a reading group were just sharing views about the books, it was nothing personal. So when we began sharing our personal stories in the creative writing course it changed all of us. We built up confidence and trust and we supported each other. There was no façade where you pretend not to have a disability. And then you are accepting your disability, but also acknowledging that you still have a brain that needs a creative outlet.”

Rainbow Journeys was launched on Friday 17th October in Dun Laoghaire Town Hall as part of the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Social Inclusion Week.
NCBI would like to thank photographer Anna Nowakowska for volunteering her time to take part in this project. Find out more about Anna Nowakowska Portrait Photography. 

Launch Photos:

 (Anna Nowakowska)

 (Simon Robinson)

 (Simon Robinson)

 (Anna Nowakowska)

 (Anna Nowakowska)

Rainbow Journeys

 

Delighted to launch Rainbow Journeys at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Social Inclusion Week at 11am Friday 17th of October in the Concourse of Dun Laoghaire town hall.

Rainbow Journeys, is about getting an opportunity to hear unheard voices. It began life in May 2014 when a group of eager and intrepid writers came together in the NCBI office in Dun Laoghaire. The goals were – to write about our lives, the paths taken, the revelations, the lessons learned and bring to light the everyday wonder of our lives. There were thirteen brave service users in all. Unfortunately one of our team passed away during our journey, Anne Barnes, and we proudly dedicate the CD to her.

 

Produced and Edited by Niamh MacAlister,

Co-ordinated by Aleksandra Okupinska,

Sound Engineer: Alan White,

Photographer: Anna Nowakowska



Fish Short Memoir Competition 2014 Long List

I was bored on Sunday night and started poking around the internet looking at competitions to enter and competitions I didn't make the cut for. At least I thought I didn't make the cut for. I entered the Fish Short Memoir Contest earlier in the year and promptly forgot about. I subsequently deleted the email announcing the winners of the competition. My only thought on that is I must have been having a bad day! So I was really surprised to see my own name on the long list as I scrolled down through the list of writers and their stories. I'm particularly delighted to make it to the list as its the first time I've had a non-fiction piece recognised. There's no greater impetus to keep on going!

Writing for the Ear

I've spent the last four Fridays teaching a creative writing class called "Writing for the Ear" to NCBI service users in Dublin. The aim of the course was that each person write a short piece about an event in their life.  Something from their childhood, something that's happening now, something that affected them or their perceptions and how it changed them. Designed to suit all levels of writing; from the experienced to the novice. I covered how to get started, engaged listening and reading, the narrative arc, language use, editing, critique and constructive criticism.
Listening to other people's stories on StoryCorps and Sunday Miscellany gave us lots of inspiration

I had the most amazing time. It was such a privilege to be able to help each participant write their story and listen to the finished pieces. It was especially great to hear, not only the stories of people who had never written before but, how much they enjoyed doing it!

I'll act as producer as each participant records their story in the NCBI studios. Once the finishing touches are applied we will have a CD book which we hope to launch at the Dun Laoghaire Social Inclusion Week in October, 2014. So keep an eye out on my blog for updates.
In the long term I hope to oversee an archive of stories from unheard voices. Stories that you would never have heard otherwise. Personal experiences and stories that will enrich your own life once you've heard them. I know that sentence sounds grandiloquent, but believe me once you've heard the stories you'll agree.

If you have any enquires about this project please feel free to contact me!


.

 

 

Doolin Short Story Competition Shortlist 2014

Am absolutely delighted to be on the short list for the Doolin Short Story Competition 2014.  The winners will be announced Friday 28th at the opening night of the festival.

Shane Hulgraine Kept
Kate Ennals The Waltz on the Apron
Eivor Bekkhus The Storm of our Time
Noel King The Twin
Patrick McCusker The Quarry Gang Kids
Patrick McCusker It Was in My Heart to Help a Little
Niamh MacAlister The Starting Line
Claire Sadlier The Crow
Anne Crosse Make Me Beautiful
Clare O'Reilly Hey Presto
Martin Swords Phoebe. Like an Angel
Michael J Farrell Zeldovich's Pancake
Dawn Lowe Plumbing the Depths
Sean Farrell Lucky Day
Carol Ni Thoibin Fresh Air
Kathleen Murray Down by the Riverside
John Shannon Le Pont de l'Acheveche
James Martyn Joyce Fat Acrobat
William Brady South Street: Voyage & Return
Lia Mills A Perfect Heart
Pauline Clooney Shhhhh
M G Stephens Hinde Street
Robert Murtagh Motherly Love
susanne Stich Thailand
Anne-Marie coen Long Shadows
Lisa Harding Clean
Tony Flynn Viral
Susie G Murphy Millie
Tony Hardaker The Grand Hotel
Paul Griffin Sisyphus and the Septic Tank

Snizzly Snouts

 

Snizzly Snouts; Fabulous new tactile book brings a whole new experience to young blind, vision impaired and sighted readers. Take a look at it in action!

NCBI was thrilled to host the launch of a fabulous new illustrated, tactile book called Snizzly Snouts, for children of all ages, at the ChesterBeatty Library, Dublin Castle on Friday February 7th 2014.

The book, which is the English language translation of the original Dutch Rare Snuiters (Weird Guys) by writer Jan Dewitte and artist Freya Vlerick, is accompanied by two CDs which contain the GPS commentary giving a full directional description and a complete guide to the book’s content.

Elaine Howley CEO, NCBI Services, who welcomed the invited audience to the Chester Beatty Library for the launch of the book said, “It is a real privilege for NCBI to be part of this wonderful project. For me, this book is unique, it’s a work of art and I would like to congratulate all those involved in its production”. Elaine spoke of the services of NCBI, particularly its support for blind and vision impaired children and their families and NCBI’s advocacy of their rights to fully participate in society.

“Children with impaired vision should have as much access to reading material, and learning through reading, as all other children. NCBI fosters this, particularly through our involvement in the EVEIL Project — working with children and parents in Ireland and with partners across five other EC countries, looking at how children with impaired vision can access the information that is usually available through books — and particularly with pictures in books — that people have difficulties accessing. Now while there are some tactile books which we have seen, being produced around Europe, none of them are anything like Snizzly Snouts.”

The book is aimed at blind and vision impaired and sighted readers. Its wonderful tactile illustrations and verse in ink print and in Braille are bought to life by the unique GPS descriptions which guide the reader through the book. The original Dutch version Rare Snuiters was produced by NCBI’s partner Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde, a similar organisation serving blind and vision impaired people in the Flemish part of Belgium. Rare Snuiters was four years in the making and sold out in its first three print runs.

But it was not an easy passage to completion. Writer Jan Dewitte told NCBI News, “I am a poet and a writer for children and I also work for Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde. As part of my job I run a documentation service where students often come seeking information. One of these students was Freya Vlerick who was then an art student at the Academy of Antwerp. She had the idea to make a book which could be read and seen by sight for a week through illness and, remembering that experience, she always had it in her mind to produce such a book. She told me about her project and also said she was looking for a writer. We just seemed to click and that same day we started the project.

“It was a collaborative process, I wrote some poems in Flemish and she made some illustrative drawings of the poems and we considered and argued about their effectiveness, working through many changes until we had the prototype complete. The prototype which Freya made was not suitable for reproduction but in fact that was an advantage because all the obstacles forced us to be inventive, to think about new things. One of these was the GPS for the fingers which we invented — a system which make it possible for blind and sighted children to interpret tactile print, which is not very easy if you don’t have experience of it”.

“And it was here that playwright and poet, MartinBurke — and Irishman living in Belgium — was invaluable with the translation of the GPS. Jan and Freya also consulted field experts, Kristien De man and Peter Vanhoutte. Kristien who is blind, advised on the design of the relief and the GPS; and Peter who is deaf and blind (Peter has since given dozens of Snizzly Snouts workshops with plenty of humour). The project progressed, but it was very difficult to get it into print because it is very expensive to print relief and while commercial publishers loved our idea, they did not think the profit margins justified them taking it on”.

Eventually they found a Belgium publisher who agreed to host the project so that they could get it into the regular book circuit and Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde funded the project, with additional support from private and governmental institutions. A specialised printing company in Cracow, Poland undertook the embossed printing. Rare Snuiters has gone into it fourth printing, with well over 2,000 copies purchased by readers in Flanders and the Netherlands. It has received two international awards: The White Raven Special Mention 2012 from The International Youth Library; It has also been selected for the travelling exhibition: OutstandingBooks for Young People with Disabilities. This recognition of the value of the book encouraged Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde to provide editions in other languages, and so the NCBI partnership and the English language translation arose.

Jan consulted Marcus Cumberlege an English writer and poet who has lived in Belgium for almost 40 years to consider the translation. Marcus was honoured to take it on. Marcus told NCBI News: “My father, Michael Cumberledge, a poet in the 1930s wrote a lot of amusing verses about animals, very much in the style of Jan Dewitte’s own style:

“Does the rabbit in its hutch

Suffer very very much;

Is it prone to mal at ease

Or only fleas”

and Jan’s verses are humorous in that way, he is not humorous to the disadvantage of the animals, but brings out their lovability through his humour”. Being able to read fluently in Dutch, Marcus was the ideal translator and both he and Jan are very happy with the accuracy and sensitivity of the translation.

“I came across the title Snizzly Snouts partly because animals with snouts, like the tapir, the elephant and the pig are included” says Marcus.

“Snizzlys goes back to my days at school at Sherbourne in Dorset, England, when I was the editor of the school magazine and I edited an article called Snizzly Snouts by a boy of 13 from America, who wrote about a Snizzly Snout. That stuck in my mind and I borrowed that title from him, I can’t remember his name now”.

Writing and translating the actual poems came sporadically to Marcus, but over a period of two years he completed them to his entire satisfaction. The poems in the original Dutch are very fine poems and Jan has captured the imagined feelings of the animals very well — with an enormous amount of humour, the kind of humour that Marcus could easily latch onto. He is extremely happy with the translations and thinks that they are suitable to be read by children of all ages and for parents to enjoy as well.

“I am very pleased that the English edition is out and launched here in Dublin, I spent eight years of my life in Ireland, six years as a child on a farm in Cork, surrounded by animals of all sorts, and my Irish background is very strong, When I met my now second wife, we went to live in Connemara for two years, and we wanted to buy a cottage and stay there, but we ran out of money and had to go back to Belgium to work”.

It was Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde’s Chief Executive, Gerrit Vonck who asked Des Kenny and NCBI to consider a collaboration for the English language production, and so the partnership was born. Lina Kouzi, NCBI’s Library and Media Service manager and her team of Niamh MacAlister, and reader Karl Brown worked closely with their Flemish partners, and they have produced a fine English language edition. Niamh, who is a Braille Editor at the NCBI library worked very closely with Jan, Marcus and Martin Burke editing and helping with the translations and the audio script and proof-reading the Braille. “We worked very closely,” says Niamh, “ironing out the tricky bits, as we searched for just the right word or turn of phrase to bring the script to life for our English language readers”.

Snizzly Snouts can be bought in the Chester Beatty shop or ordered from the NCBI Shop in Drumcondra (01-8307033) and Kilkenny (056-7786816) or on-line at www.ncbi.ie/shop for €29.95 per copy — CD included).

There is no shipping charge. This price just covers the production cost. Snizzly Snouts is a non-commercial project. Our only aim is to promote the great value of an inclusive approach to learning and tactile experience.

 

(text taken from the NCBI News)

Trócaire Poetry Competition

Last year as I was travelling through Umbrian countryside I got a phone call to say that a poem of mine had been selected as a joint second place in the Non-Published Poets Category in the Trócaire Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition! Delighted I was - celebratory wine quickly ensued. Well when in Rome ....
The poem is called "My Hands" and you can read all of the winners and shortlisted poems here. If you're looking to hold a copy in your hand you can get in touch with Trócaire here. (I think its free - but don't hold me to that!)
In a "the world is such a small place" moment it turned out that the winner of my category Caoilinn Hughes with her beautiful poem "Bolivian Children" and I have a mutual friend in New Zealand. Seriously. Caoilinn just launched her debut collection "Gathering Evidence" with Carcanet . You can buy it here. If her winning Trócaire poem is anything to go by, its gonna be good!
So now the competition is looking for its winning 2014 entries.
Try your luck ....

Love Letters Exhibition in the Centre for Creative Practices

I currently have a little poem on display in the Love Letters Exhibition in the Centre for Creative Practices 15, Pembroke Street Lower . It opened last night to a lovely little flurry of activity! The Mooney Show was there recording ("Love Letters" listen here) and Love Letters Stationary were set up in a cosy little corner where you could take home samples or write a valentine's card there and then on their beautiful stationary.
I was blown away by some of the other letters on display. Truly magical and heart-breaking stories. Sometimes it felt as though I was invading their privacy. To be privy to such heart-breaking intent and love is a privilege. It really is well worth a look if you're about the town of an afternoon.

All Ireland Poetry Day at the Irish Writers' Centre

I'll be reading at the All Ireland Poetry Day at the Irish Writers' Centre at 2.30 tomorrow.  You can catch the live stream here (from 10am to 5pm on Thursday 3rd October) a day-long live streaming of poetry by Ireland's finest poets.
Poetry Ireland will host a six hour live stream from the Irish Writers' Centre in Parnell Square, Dublin, which will feature readings by Dermot Bolger, Peter Sirr, Theo Dorgan and Enda Wyley, among many others, as well as a panel discussion involving the new Ireland Chair of Poetry, Paula Meehan.
Other organisations and groups around the country will be part of the live transmission as they upload their own films of events in their own areas. The live stream will also feature a special tribute to Seamus Heaney by Dublin school childen, as well as film of Brendan Kennelly reading his poetry. .
Venue: Irish Writers Centre, Parnell Square, D1
Time: Thursday @ 10.00am - 4.00pm

Culture Night 2013

This year I had the opportunity to read a poem for Culture Night at the Poetry Ireland open mic night in the beautiful surroundings of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. I read my shortlisted poem for the Poetry Ireland Trocaire Poetry Competition as well as a short listed poem from a Nigerian entrant who couldn't be there on the evening. The theme for the competition was Today's Children, Tomorrow's World. The booklet with all of the winners and shortlistees (!) is due out shortly so keep an eye out for it. The competition is just about to roll around again so check back here for submission details.
In spite of my cold I managed to (just about ... ) get through it! You'll find me at about 40 mins in   but all the poets who partook in the evening are worth a listen.

Black, Strong and Sweet Poetry Series

My poem up on the board in Nick's coffee house in Ranelagh for one week 08/07-14/07 !

Niamh MacAlister – That Night

on the blog   the whole series here  

That night
I felt your breathing stomach in my back.
Balloons of breath rose up to the ceiling,
with only strings of street light shining in
to pull them back down to me.

*

Describe your style (this could be limited to your writing style, or style, in whatever sense of the word you’d like to conceive it in, and how that relates to you as a writer).
Less is more. My preference is for using words without subterfuge. The simplest things are always the best; the favourite pair of jeans that fit perfectly, delicious food, a great glass of wine, words that are said when they are truly meant. I always endeavour to remove what isn’t essential. Why make life difficult?

What do you feel makes a poem ready for consumption by others?
I’m not sure that a poem is every really finished in the more traditional sense of the word. Although I know I’ve reached the end of the road with it when there is nothing left to change. In that way it tells me when it’s ready. It’s in the shape it will always be in, for better or worse.

A good cup of coffee has the power to seduce.  What role does seduction play in your writing (i.e. – is it a theme in your work? Do you seduce yourself into the act of writing?  Or does the seduction come when someone is drawn to your work – are you out to seduce poetry readers?  Does seduction have some other role entirely vis-à-vis your work, or, does it have no role at all?)
Tough question. I will admit that I sometimes have to seduce myself into writing by using the old fashioned charm offensive of a glass of red vino. Chocolate can work just as well. Because sometimes it’s scary to go to the place you are meant to be; on the edge of things in the quietness. Small comforts help. But always trying to step up to the mark with honesty is seductive.



At this moment in poems and writing, who’s writing the poems you like to read? 
A good poem, like a good poet, is a rare and subjective thing.  No point in listing all the writers that rock my creative world so instead I’ll just name Denise Levertov. One of the poets that started me off on this mad journey.

Where do you do your writing?  How important is ‘place’ and a sense of ‘space’ for a writer? 
Writing, for me, is a private affair.  When I was doing my post-grad I had a room in halls. My entire life, my bed and my desk were in the same room. It set a precedent. Where I live now is the same. So I guess I tend to feel more comfortable writing in a ‘cell’ like situation.



Stevie Smith once said that “poetry never has any kindness at all”.  How true do you think this is?
Never thought about it before. Sometimes truth is less kind than fiction that’s for sure. But isn’t the act of sharing a poem a generous one? Likewise the act of submitting to its vision?

When it comes to writing poems, and how events are captured on the page, do you think it is better for the poet to suffer from excruciatingly good memory, or excruciatingly bad?  (i.e. what role does the truth have in writing a ‘good’ poem?)
In true poet form shouldn’t I say that the key word here is suffer not memory?! A poem is only a version of events and more often than not an embellished one.  And really, does it even matter? Because whose version of the truth is the truth?

Describe the last time you had a really stunning cup of coffee (or tea).
The best is yet to come.

Black, Strong, or Sweet?
Black and Strong. Always.

*

Niamh MacAlister completed a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews, Scotland with the assistance of The Arts Council of Ireland.  She has been selected as a ‘New and Emerging Poet’ for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and also for the Lonely Voice Short Story Introductions.  She was recently shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award in the First Fiction category.  She has published poetry in The Stinging Fly, Raft, The Moth and Washington Square Review. She completed a residency at the Cill Rialaig Project in 2012.

Winners of the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award

Was that a week ago already?! I had a fantastic evening in the French Ambassadors Residence last Tuesday for the announcement of the winners of the Hennessy New Irish Writing Awards. The sun actually shone and there was a wonderful feel of Spring in the air. The place was abuzz with glamour, cocktails and canapes.
Ruth Quinlan triumphed in the First Fiction category with her story The Healing. Love that it mentions Braille!
John O'Donnell won the category of Emerging Fiction with his short story Shelley.
Poetry and overall winner was Jessica Traynor  for her two poems Aubade and Ebay Auction.
Big congratulations to them all!
Looking to submit your own work to be in with a chance for next year? All necessary information here.

The Black, Strong and Sweet Poetry Series

Am chuffed that a poem of mine has been selected for the 'Black, Strong and Sweet' poetry series run by The Ash Sessions at Nick's Coffee Company.
My little poem will be showcased on the chalkboard at Nick’s for the week of July 1st and lines from my poem will be featured on the coffee cups. There will also be a blog accompanying the project featuring an interview with each poet selected and their poem.
The series runs from May-July.
Is there anything better than coffee and poetry .... at the same time? An inspired idea, am delighted to be a part of it.

Hennessy New Irish Writing Awards

slick invite: check,
promise of free alcohol in fancy surroundings: check,
opportunity to meet other writing type people: check,
take the day-after off work: check,
last minute dress shopping: impending ....

In the mix

Winners to be announced April 16th!

 

 

The Next Big Thing ... (blog tagging thingy)

How the Next Big Thing blog hop works
An author answers ten questions and then tags authors to do the same thing the following week on the same day, which in this case is a Thursday.

The force of nature June Caldwell tagged me in her post and so here is my attempt ...

1) What is the working title of your next book?
"A Body Apart" is the title of the book I'm not yet finished. So technically speaking it is my 'next' book. If I knew the title, let alone the content, of my actual next book I'd be laughing. Anyway back to the book. A journey, in the mythic sense, of a girl/woman/lady (this is no time to be politically correct) as she attempts to discard the skin of her current life to make way for something that does not yet have a shape, and how scary that is.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
How easy it is for a life to close in around you when your mind and your body are at odds. How easy it is for a person to disappear into the chasm that that conflict creates in a life.
I also went on one of those terribly cliched around the world trips. And it was fantastic in every way.  The journey itself wasn't so much the influence as the cahones it took to leave what I had to leave and head off by myself to do it.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
Whats that now?

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Am currently fostering a girl crush on Emily Blunt so I'm sure she'd be delighted to do it.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Fear is the maker of us all.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I can only hope that one day my work and I might have the opportunity to be represented by an agency.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Two years.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I know what I want to say but I don't think I can bring myself to say it out loud.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Everybody writes from a place of their own experience. How else could you do it?

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
There is a very awkward and ungainly sex scene about three quarters in.


Phew .....
I here by tag my fellow St. Andrews Alumni. Kristin Livingston and Mark Cooper.
Kristin writes Young Adult fiction and puts me to shame by having already written loads more books that I will ever write in my lifetime.
Multi-talented Mark is in the bands Distant Signal and Uffmoor Woods Music Club. He is also a fine poet, short listed for, too many to count competitions, including the very prestigious Eric Gregory and Bridport.

"Out damned spot" ...

So my life is in boxes in three separate locations and I can't help but feel like I'm back at square one. Which of course isn't true but I have a nagging feeling that I've been coasting for the last few years. But what could I have done differently? Don't we come to things when the time is right for us to have it in our life? Or is that just a complete fabrication we tell ourselves, to placate, to smooth down the feathers. Are we not where we want to be simply because we didn't work hard enough? I know, I'm being too hard on myself.

All of the stupid question marks that start floating up, like unsettled dust, over my head, staring down at me with blitheful menace as soon as you remove 'the stuff'.  But the hugest mark of all that is up there is invisible because it is more ingrained in me than anything else I know .... what is it that I want?  .... And the awful truth that I'll probably never be able to answer that.

But at least there are the words. And a small comfort in escaping my own life for the terrible life of my character. Because hers is definitely worse and it, if only for a limited time,  makes me feel a bit better about my own.

In the midst of it all I came across this. AL Kennedy was one of the guest tutors, for the fiction side of things, on my course in St. Andrews. I never saw her or even heard her speak. But she was much revered and feared in equal measure by the short story ladies. Lara tried to persuade me one day to sneak into a talk that AL was giving but her reputation preceded her and I remained in the relative safety of my poetry workshop. 

Anyway ....

As August is in the process of disappearing behind me I find that the unsettled feeling is settling slightly. And I hope that in the kick up of the dust that it throws up something that I had forgotten about, or something I didn't even know was there, or if I'm lucky something brand, spanking, new.

"Wherever I am. Onwards."