‘No Fury’ was broadcast as part of a brand new series called Keywords. For this series, beautifully curated by the talented Zoe Comyns, writers recorded themselves reading from their homes during lockdown. My story featured alongside new work from Eimear McBride, in an episode on the theme of ‘Things Left Unsaid.’ Funnily enough, with a nice gentle theme like that, both Eimear McBride and myself managed to come up with: revenge narratives. Listen here:
Reading the Future
I'm delighted to have a short story extract in 'Reading the Future' a new anthology from Hodges & Figgis bookstore in Dublin, which is being published to celebrate their 250th anniversary. Featuring 250 Irish poets, novelists, short story writers and essayists, the book is edited by Alan Hayes and published by Arlen House. Details of the launch to follow in January 2018...
Interview with January Magazine
So she tells you that she’s a writer and you ask what she writes and she says “short stories” and you say: “Are you working on a novel?”
I was delighted to be interviewed by January Magazine for their July issue. We had a great chat about the merits and challenges of the short story form, and I tried to answer the question 'why write short stories instead of a novel?' Stories can be harder than novels; with a novel, you create a world and then sustain it for a few hundred pages, but with each new short story you have to build a new world from scratch. But stories can also be incredibly liberating...
How to publish a debut (in 17 steps)
"Blissfully unaware that you are writing a collection, tell each story in the way it demands to be told. The result will be less a homogeneous symphony and more a lovingly-compiled mix-tape."
On the eve of the publication of my debut, I wrote this piece for the Irish Times, in which I explored my writing journey. I've been writing for literally as long as I can remember, but I've always struggled with writing confidence. Here I detail just a few of the roller-coaster dips and dives on my path to publishing a debut...
I'm thrilled to have been asked to contribute to The Glass Shore, an anthology of stories by women from the North of Ireland
Last autumn, I took part in an event at the Belfast International Arts Festival in which the four Northern contributors to The Long Gaze Back read from and discussed their work. Joining editor Sinéad Gleeson in conversation were myself, Lucy Caldwell, Anne Devlin and Bernie McGill. One of the questions raised at the event was 'why hasn't there been an equivalent anthology of stories by women from the North of Ireland?'
Not one to turn down a challenge, Sinéad has now announced the forthcoming publication of 'The Glass Shore.' The anthology will be published by New Island Books in autumn 2016, and features a beautiful cover by designer Martin Gleeson. The anthology will include work by:
Linda Anderson, Margaret Barrington, Mary Beckett, Caroline Blackwood, Lucy Caldwell, Ethna Carbery, Jan Carson, Evelyn Conlon, Anne Devlin, Martina Devlin, Polly Devlin, Erminda Rentoul Esler, Sarah Grand, Rosemary Jenkinson, Sheila Llewelyn, Bernie McGill, Alice Milligan, Rosa Mulholland, Anne-Marie Neary, Mary O’Donnell, Roisín O’Donnell Tara West, Una Woods
I'm excited to see how the new anthology turns out. I have a sneaking feeling it might be quite different from The Long Gaze Back, but I'd better keep my predictions to myself for now!
