Virtual Buns!

Donate £5 stg to Pulp.net (c. €6.60) and they will send you a virtual bun! Or cupcake as every now calls them. As kids, we called them buns. Our neighbours said 'fairy cakes'. Our cousins 'queen cakes'. Ah, the fluid world of confectionery naming.
Anyway, Pulp is one of the best online homes for fiction. I'm lucky enough to have had a story there.
Check them out at: Pulp
And buy a bun for fiction!

Agent meeting

I had a meeting with my agent today, on the train, where we often meet. He tried to cheer me up with tales of early multiple rejections by now multi-bulti-selling novelists. I just sniffled into my cuppa tea. He declared himself unhappy with the uptake of fiction by publishers these days. Me too. Me too.
On a buzzier note, the Arts Council have given me a lump of dosh to travel and do readings with. Lovely, lovely Arts Council. How I love ya. Sometimes…

Flosca shortlist announced

Flosca have announced the shortlist for their short story competition. One lucky entrant has two stories on the shortlist, which is as follows (in alphabetical order). Good luck to all:

Bog Woman by Marie MacSweeney
Dogged by Ronnie Nixon
Raw-Red by Patricia Byrne
This Moment Between Things by Wes Lee
Those Edens by Noel Harrington
Westerns by Wes Lee

Song writers are writers too

Because song writers are writers too, I want to say big congrats to fellow-Dub Glen Hansard for winning an Oscar for the song he wrote, Falling Slowly. It's beautiful and it's great to see a nice guy doing well. Go Glen and Markéta! Oh, and Once is a lovely film - recommended.

Notice board snippet

Here's a thought from the noticeboard over my desk:

'Women with clean houses do not have finished books.' Joy Held

Short story writing workshop, TCD, Dublin

Here's something the Dubs might be interested in and it's free!

Novelist and short story writer Mary Morrissy, current Arts Council of Ireland Writer Fellow at the school of English in Trinity College Dublin, will be offering a free six-week short story writing workshop starting on April 2nd.
Submissions are invited for places on the course, which will take place on Wednesdays from 7 to 9pm. Samples of work, of 1,500 to 2,500 words, should be sent by post to: Writer Fellow's Workshop, Oscar Wilde Centre, School of English, Trinity College, 21 Westland Row, Dublin 2, by March 5th.

Non-fic winning over novels with me

I've been having trouble lately with novels. I always have a few short fiction collections on the go - endless riches - but the last three novels I have tried to read, I have not been able to finish.
Apart from short fiction collections, the books I have truly enjoyed in the last year have been non-fiction titles. And the one I enjoyed the absolute most was Angela Bourke's biography of the Irish writer Maeve Brennan.
I had read Maeve's short fiction and wasn't completely blown away by it, but I loved her collected pieces from the New Yorker, The Long Winded Lady. I even got a scene for a story from one image she painted in that book. She really could write.
And she lived. Not always an easy life but a fascinating one; she had a sparkling intelligence and Angela Bourke does her wonderful justice in this bio.
But don't just believe me - go and read it yourself.

William Trevor Short Story Prize Shortlist

The shortlist has been released for the 2007 William Trevor Short Story Prize, briefly renamed to the Trevor Bowen Prize, but apparently, from now on, to be known as the Mitchelstown Short Story Prize. William Trevor was not the judge in the end it seems, but Séamus Hosey of RTÉ. Well done to the shortlistees; hopefully this year they'll pick a winner for the €2000 and the laptop. They didn’t last year.

Steve Smithson London, Passing the Leek.
Ivy Bannister Dublin, Archaeology of the Soul.
Tanya Farrelly Dublin, By the River's Edge.
Philip Lumley Offaly, Small Voices.
Hester Casey Wickow, A Thing of Beauty.
Jo Campbell London, Staging Post
Rosalind Lloyd Wexford, Passing Time
Orla Shanaghy Waterford. Yesterday's Snow
Imelda Carroll Wexford, The Elephant in the Room
Richard Stevens Dublin, Rex
Mary O'Shea Cork, The Winter Visit
James Martyn Galway, Angelground
Orlaith O'Sullivan Dublin, Louisa and the Sea
Thalia Miller Dublin, The Blue Olive Tree
Alyn Fenn West Cork, The Wire Road.

Spring 2008, Stinging Fly Magazine

The latest Stinging Fly is now out. From the editorial comment, they are going from strength to strength. Below is what you can expect within its pages:

Interview
Anne Enright

First Passions
Lia Mills

Featured Poet
Jim Maguire

The Buzz of the poem
Belinda McKeon on her first year at the helm of the Poetry Now Festival

New Fiction:
Gavin Corbett, Michael J. Farrell, Colm Liddy, Andrea McCartney and Nuala Ní Chonchúir

New Poems:
Martin Bennet, Majella Cullinane, Anna Crowe, Alan Gillis, Lizann Gorman, Kerry Hardie, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, Donna Mae Linton, Thomas McCarthy, Jamie McKendrick, Geraldine Mitchell, Sinéad Morrissey, Sonya Mulligan, Mary O'Donnell, Maeve O'Sullivan, Damian Smyth and Howard Wright

Poetry in Translation:
Antonella Anedda translated by Jamie McKendrick

Reviews:
Tom Mathews reviews The Pear is Ripe by John Montague
Dave Lordan reviews The Butterfly's Burden by Mahmoud Darwish
Siobhan Devoy reviews With My Lazy Eye by Julia Kelly
Sean O'Reilly reviews What The Curlew Said by John Moriarty

Ariel Gore’s Guide to Being a Lit Star

I’m just back from Amerikay – land of you-can-do-it positivity and supermarket sized book shops. I had a lengthy browse in Spoonbill & Sugartown in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in Barnes & Noble and found many, many books I wanted to buy. But books are expensive and I already have about a hundred unread ones on my shelves, so I allowed myself only two. One of them, by Ariel Gore, has a gorgeous cover and a long and sort of embarrassing-to-buy title: How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead – Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights.
I have only read part one so far, but I like Gore’s style. She knows what poverty is like and she knows what success is like; she works hard and she gives realistic advice. She is the positive mentor you wish you had. This is from a section called ‘Embrace Your Genius’ where she encourages writers not to copy their writing heroes:
‘You see this vibrant and vulnerable planet in your own strange way. You draw connections that make you wonder if you’ve lost your mind. Your fears are specific.’ I always encourage my students to be true to themselves, use their own vernacular, life views etc. You can move on from that, but it’s a great place to start to find your ‘voice’ and personal obsessions.
Gore also thinks writers need boring day jobs to free up the mind-space to write. I agree with that. My first serious leap into writing happened when I had a mind-numbing sales job. After that I took on a series of literary related posts (what I thought would be ‘dream jobs’) but they turned into nightmarish scenarios of fund raising, bitchy colleagues etc. A job that leaves you time and brain-power for writing is the best kind.
For more on Gore (poetic!) see her blog at Ariel Gore

Davy Byrnes Short Story Award 2009

This is exciting! The Stinging Fly has announced the return of the Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award, Ireland's biggest short story competition and the world's richest prize for a single short story. Next year's award will see €25,000 going to the best short story and five runners-up receiving €1,000. The acclaimed American novelist and short story writer Richard Ford will judge the competition.

Timeline for 2009 Award:
Open for Entries: October 1st 2008

Deadline for Entries: Monday Feb 2nd 2009

Shortlist: late May/early June 2009

Winner Announced: June 2009

The competition is open to Irish citizens and to residents of the thirty-two counties. There is no word count limit, but entries must consist of a previously unpublished short story written in English. A full set of rules and entry forms will be made available in advance of the competition being open for entries in October.
See: Davy Byrnes Award

The Secret to Being a Writer

“The real secret is to do it because you love writing rather than because you love the idea of being a Writer.” Iain Banks

Hear! Hear! Mr Banks. Writing takes commitment and enjoyment. Real, honest commitment and some enjoyment. A friend said to me at my book launch: “I think I’ll get into this writing game; it’s great.” Book launches are my least favourite part of the writing life. People think you are being funny or coy when you say that, but it’s true. I can enjoy other people’s launches but not my own. It is stress of the worst kind: public stress. I am like a lunatic for about a week beforehand; on the day itself, I am unbearable, even to myself.
Another friend told me he was going to write a book. “Sure, everybody has a book in them,” he said. No, they don’t. Most people wouldn’t know how to tell a story if their life depended on it. I can’t tell jokes, he can’t write. I attempt to tell jokes and do so badly. He hasn’t, as yet, written this book that is “in” him.
I think the problem is that most Western people are literate. They can hold a pen and write words, so they think that that is writing. I bet my friend wouldn’t say to an artist at her exhibition: “Everybody has a painting in them.” There is a perception about visual art that it is difficult, but every person who can write a shopping list thinks s/he can write.
It drives me mad!

Dublin Book Festival

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Debuts and New Beginnings’. There will be work debuted from both established and new authors as well as readings and discussions on the theme, including talks and readings by some of Ireland’s leading literary luminaries including: Joseph O’Connor, Dermot Bolger, John Montague, Margaret Mac Curtain and many others.
The festival is free and all events are open to the public. Friday 7th to Sunday 9th of March.
See: Dublin Book Festival

Erotic Issue of The Stinging Fly

The Stinging Fly literary magazine is looking for submissions for a special erotic edition.
Guest editor Seán O’Reilly is ‘seeking short stories and poems - and anything in between - which explore the excesses of sexual desire as their explicit theme or that simply seek to stimulate sexual arousal for their own ends.’
Submissions for this special issue should be marked for the attention of Seán and posted to PO Box 6016, Dublin 8 to arrive on or before Friday, March 14th 2008.
See: The Stinging Fly

Ennis International Book Club Festival

The Ennis International Book Club Festival brings together book club members and readers from all over Ireland and beyond. The festival line up for 2008 includes: Joanne Harris, Roddy Doyle, Neven Maguire, Hugo Hamilton, Ken Bruen, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Meda Ryan, Mary O’Donnell, Theo Dorgan, Richard Tillinghast and many more.
Ennis Book Club Festival, 29th Feb to 2nd March

Short Story Conferences

There will be two conferences on the short story on these islands this year:

An International Conference on the Short Story In English, subtitled 'The Lonely Voice' takes place at University College Cork, June 19th to the 22nd.
10th International Conference on the Short Story In English

Edge Hill and Liverpool John Moores Universities are co-hosting a conference in the Capital of Culture, on May 10th.
No further info available just yet.

Literary competitions

Why do former winners of literary competitions enter them again, year after year? I think those who have already won should be barred from re-entering competitions where they have already walked away with a prize. I also think they should have the humility not to try to win again. It's on the CV, why do you need it twice? It would mean so much more to someone else.
As a personal rule, writers might ban themselves from entering any competitions where they have already been in the top 3. Leave room for others to 'crack' the code of the selecting committee.