CARAVAN THIEVES - book recommendation

I was awake into the wee hours this morning reading Gerard Woodward's short story collection Caravan Thieves. I heard him read from it at Cúirt and chatted to him in a small group for an evening. He is a Man Booker nominated creative writing teacher at Bath University and has a quiet air about him, a subdued energy - you just know that there are great things going on in his mind.

Anyway, I was awake last night thinking there must be a better description for quirky short fiction, other than 'quirky'. What about 'quietly mad'? 'Off-the-wall' might do, or 'bizarre', but 'outré' is a bit poncy. I know Irish Times journalist Eileen Battersby has used the term 'tricksy' but she means it in a bad way, and I mean it in a good way.

I do often enjoy straightforward writing with conventional plots, but how I love the surreal, the quirky and the outré (!): writing that pushes at boundaries and has fun. And so it is with Caravan Thieves, though Gerard pulls off a double trick with these stories: they are ostensibly about supremely ordinary, regular people - caravanners, puppeteers, booksellers - but these characters' quiet, unremarkable lives are disturbed by strange and often unseen forces that defy rational explanation. Added to that the book is subversively, almost mutely, hilarious.

So if you like your stories weirdly wonderful and very well written, look no further than the quirky world of the Caravan Thieves.

I did actually intend to blog a little more about Cúirt this morning but I have gotten sidetracked and now I must continue on the good work of my 2nd set of proofs of Nude. They're looking good!

To The World of Men, Welcome - new review!

I am grateful to Dawn Rennert, who is the keeper of the She Is Too Fond of Books blog, as she has reviewed my second short story collection To The World of Men, Welcome here today.

This book is coming out in paperback very soon, with three bonus stories. As is my first collection The Wind Across the Grass, with four new stories. Watch this space for where to buy sooooooooon!!

Some of Dawn's thoughts on the book:

"Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s writing is tight and beautiful. The style of prose vary to suit the mood of the piece, and each story is carefully edited of anything extraneous. This is a recommended collection for those looking to expand beyond formulaic and predictable short fiction."

There is some interesting debate both in the review and in the comments section of Dawn's blog about the cover art - a Pauline Bewick nude of a couple - which I have added above for those not familiar with it. And, yes, the paperback will feature the same art on a slightly different background.

Overall Hennesy Award Winner Announced

According to my sources, David Mohan has been announced as the overall Hennessy New Writer of the Year, as well as the category winner in poetry. I haven't heard yet who scooped the fiction prizes. Update anon!

I met David a couple of years ago at a workshop I gave in Dublin and I am delighted with his good news. Congrats!

UPDATE

And here are the rest of yesterday's winners. Congrats to all, but most especially to fellow blogger Eimear. Good on you, girl!:

Eimear Ryan was awarded with Best First Fiction Writer for her short story 'Caterpillar', with Kevin Power receiving the Best Emerging Fiction Writer award for his short story, 'The American Girl'.

Dublin-born writer Hugo Hamilton, perhaps best known for his 2003 memoir of his childhood, The Speckled People, was also honoured at the awards with an induction into the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame.

He follows on from Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, on whom the honour was bestowed last year.

2009 Sean O'Faoláin Short Story Comp Opens

The Seán O'Faoláin Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland’s most accomplished story writers and theorists, sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre.

It offers a first prize of €1,500 (approx US$2000) and second prize of €500 (approx US$650) and publication in Southword. Four other shortlisted entries will be selected for publication in Southword and receive a fee of €100 (approx US$130). The winners will be invited to read their stories at the 2009 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival, Cork, Ireland in September 2009.

Judge: Philip Ó Ceallaigh, author of two short fiction collections: Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse (Penguin, 2006) and The Pleasant Light of Day (Penguin, 2009).

Closing date: 31st July 2009

Competition details and submission guidelines are available here.

CÚIRT ROUND-UP

Me and Tommy Tiernan and Unidentified Lady at the Ropes Unravelled launch, Cúirt

When you've attended the opening; heard approximately 32 writers read from their work; facilitated 3 separate workshops (2 in a prison); introduced two readers; read at the launch of a lit mag; judged a poetry slam; and chatted until well past your bedtime with various wonderful writers (all while 8 months+ pregnant), it's kind of hard to pick your highlights...

I had a brilliant time as Writer in Residence at Cúirt. Despite crushing tiredness, I managed to enjoy every single thing I did and my only regret was that I couldn't physically manage to do more.

The opening night was jam-packed with local and international artists, and Mary Cloake, Director of the Arts Council, gave a rousing speech in which she urged us, during these recessionary times to be positive: 'In the arts, we are absolutley fantastic!' she said.
At that same event, Ciarán O'Rourke claimed his Lena Maguire/Cúirt New Writing Prize of €1000 for his poem 'Swim'. I had chosen this poem, as judge, from hundreds of pieces of work submitted and it stood out because of its poignancy, surefooted-ness and craft. It turns out Ciarán O'Rourke is a 17-year-old Leaving Cert student from Dublin. Wow!

Later that same evening we were treated to Joseph O'Neill and Timothy O'Grady, who wrote I Could Read the Sky some years back - a firm favourite of mine. Timothy read some moving and scary bits from his American travel book Divine Magnetic Lands. Joseph read from Netherland, about which he said: 'Novel writing is about deception - you lie as little as you can.' He said it took him years to write the book and it afforded him a chance to use the details of his 'utterly useless childhood' in Holland. I noted he was wearing scruffy Converse with no laces (his wife works for Vogue in New York!) but, according to Sunday's Style mag, no one should wear anything else!

Wednesday morning I taught a short fiction workshop to 11 enthused writers at Galway Arts Centre. The time was too short, as per, but we enjoyed ourselves and ran over a bit.

I went home afterwards to rest before my foray to Castlerea Prison on Thursday where I met with two different sets of men, who either write or have an interest in things cultural.
We read our work to each other, talked about writing, inspiration, bi-polar disease, politics, Ireland, prison, eel-fishing (!) and poetry.
One of the men had written a brilliant poem backwards and, their English teacher, B, got a mirror so that we could read it.
Another man played On Raglan Road on the mouth organ for us and it was very moving and beautiful. Kavanagh's words always remind me of my sister, Nessa, so I was fighting back tears.
Yet another man read from his travel memoir which was very well written and interesting, set as it was in South America.
All in all, it was a very relaxed and stimulating few hours and if B can arrange it, I'll be going back again for a longer session.

After Castlerea, we made a mad dash back to Galway for the launch of Ropes Unravelled, at the Town Hall Theatre. It was launched, typically irreverently, by comedian Tommy Tiernan. To launch the journal, he decided to critique one of the contributor's poems with the help of the audience. And whose poem did he choose? Séamus Heaney's. It was hilarious and bold in a way only Tommy can get away with. I read from my story 'Cowboy and Nelly' and it was all very jolly.

I'll have more from Cúirt anon!

IRISH TIMES CÚIRT ARTICLE

Fiona McCann has a round-up article on Cúirt in today's Irish Times here.

If I can drag myself away from my bursary application for long enough, I'll blog later about my Cúirt highlights.

GRIEF ARTICLE - INDIEOMA

Indieoma this week is looking at grief and mourning. I have an article called 'Mourning Your Own' there, about grief after my sister's death and also after miscarriage.

You can read and comment here.

Barbara Smith has three wonderful poems here.

THE WATCHFUL HEART

Today is publication day for The Watchful Heart - A New Generation of Irish Poets - Poems and Essays, edited and presented by Joan McBreen.

I have an essay called 'The Art of the Body: Poem as Female Self-portrait' in the book, along with three new poems.

It costs €18 from Salmon Poetry and can be bought here.

The Watchful Heart – A New Generation of Irish Poets – Poems and Essays is an anthology of the work of twenty-four Irish poets born in the last fifty years. It contains biographical and bibliographical details of each contributor, together with photographs. All poets included have published at least two collections of poetry. Poetry in Irish with translations is also included. None of the poetry in this anthology has previously been published in collection form and most of the essays are published here for the first time. McBreen’s anthology The White Page/ An Bhileog Bhán: Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets (Salmon Poetry, 1999) is now in its third reprint.

Patricia Coughlan of the School of English, University College, Cork has this to say about the book: “Well-planned and carefully assembled, The Watchful Heart adds to the pleasures of all good collections a distinctive bonus: as readers we get to hear each poet’s voice in, so to speak, two mediums: poetry and reflective prose. It gives a fascinating cross-section of Irish poetry at the present time.”

Joan McBreen has already enjoyed great success with her anthology The White Page / An Bhileog Bhán – Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets (Salmon, 1999); it's in its third reprint. Joan is an excellent editor - really thorough and lovely to deal with. She's originally from Sligo and divides her time between Tuam and Renvyle, County Galway. Her poetry collections are: The Wind Beyond the Wall (Story Line Press, 1990), A Walled Garden in Moylough (Story Line Press and Salmon Poetry, 1995), Winter in the Eye – New and Selected Poems (Salmon Poetry, 2003) and Heather Island (Salmon Poetry, 2009).

I can't wait to see the book and read the rest of the essays and poems. I'm sure it will be available to buy at Charlie's bookshop at Cúirt, where I set of to tomorrow.

GALWAY LAUNCH - MAY 1ST KENNY'S - 6pm

DUBLIN LAUNCH - MAY 21ST - UNITARIAN CHURCH - 6pm

LISTOWEL LAUNCH - MAY 30TH

YEATS SUMMER SCHOOL LAUNCH - JULY 30TH - GLASSHOUSE HOTEL - 6pm

HAY-ON-WYE SHORT STORY COMP

This sounds kind of quaint to me, for some reason. Maybe because their sponsor is 'Elizabeth Haycox of Richard Booth’s Bookshop' (she sounds fictional to me, as does the shop), or because they have 'secured the assistance of a well-known author, Barbara Erskine, as our final arbiter.' 'Final arbiter'? Does that mean 'judge'?

Here are the rules, anyway, and an entry form is available to download here.

The theme for 2008 is: ‘Lost’- which can be a person, a thing, money, or the plot!

Entries will only be accepted as printed typescript, in English, Double-spaced and with numbered pages.

Email entries will not be accepted. Please send your entry/entries to : Hay & District Community Support, Oxford Road, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford, HR3 5AL.

Authors may enter as many stories as they like. There is an entry fee of £6.00 for each story submitted. Cheques should be payable to Hay & District Community Support. Each submission must be accompanied by an entry form.

Entries will not be returned. Please keep a copy. No corrections or alterations can be made after receipt, and no fees can be refunded.

The prizes are as follows: 1st prize £400, 2nd £200, 3rd £100.

CLOSING DATE: 31st July 2009

Winners will be announced at the Hay Winter Festival in November 2009.

The results will be published on the website, if you would like to be informed by post please send a SAE marked "winners" to Hay & District Community Support, Oxford Road, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford, HR3 5AL.

ARTS MINISTER ON BUDGET CUTS TO THE ARTS

Here are the official comments on the Supplementary Budget, April 2009, by Martin Cullen TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism.

Minister Cullen said: “The Arts, Sport and Tourism sectors are important drivers within the economy - both as contributors to economic growth and to employment levels. One fifth of the working force in our country earn their living from tourism/hospitality, arts and sports. Between them they generate almost six and half billion euro in foreign currency earnings per year.”

With particular reference to Arts and Culture the statement said:

Expenditure in relation to the Arts, Culture and Film sector has reduced by €41m from €221m in 2008 to €180m in 2009, a reduction of 18.5%. Within this, the reduction in relation to current expenditure has been 6% while the reduction in relation to capital expenditure has been 42%, owing primarily to the completion of once off major capital projects such as the Wexford Festival Opera House and the Gate Theatre extension.

The Minister said: “The bulk of the cuts in this sector have been concentrated into capital expenditure to protect day to day expenditure and ensure venues remain open, job losses are minimised and the contribution to cultural tourism enhanced." Pre 2009 commitments in respect of local arts and culture (capital) infrastructure will be honoured. Current funding to the Arts Council, the state agency which develops and supports the arts in Ireland will be confirmed on the publication of the Revised Estimates.

OK. 'Cultural Tourism' is all very well but day-to-day, your average living, breathing, working individual artist is not that concerned with Cultural Tourism. She is concerned with having the time and space to practice her art and with, somehow, earning a living from it. Swinging cuts in the Arts Sector are not good for that individual artist.

I think the Arts needs a department of its own and should not be lumped in with Tourism, which has much more commercial concerns. Or with Sport, which gets ENORMOUS corporate sponsorship and media coverage.

NO GRANTS GALLERY WRITING EXHIB

Temple Bar Cultural Trust are hosting the all new Creative Writing Exhibition which will take place at the No Grants Gallery from May 1st – 15th, Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

One of my poems 'Dancing With Paul Durcan' was selected for this and I've been busily making a collage - a pet activity of mine, when I have time - for the exhibition. Sneak preview above!

The exhibition will officially launch on Tuesday May 5th with an open-mic evening from 6pm – 8pm. I plan to be there to read my poem and hear and see the other writers'/artists' work. Lunchtime readings will take place throughout the 2 weeks so log on to www.templebar.ie for more details soon.

Speaking about the new Creative Writing Exhibition, Gallery curator Carol Eakins said, “This exhibition is a celebration of verbal, visual and performance art and an opportunity to show the written word combined with an artistic eye and the spoken tongue to bring all creative writing to life. As a curator, artist and poet myself the creative writing exhibition is an opportunity for writers both professional and amateur to exhibit their work in an environment that shares their passion and enthusiasm for the arts.”

NGG (No Grants Gallery) is a new gallery and exhibition space for artists who are currently working without public funding support. The new gallery is curated and managed by Dublin artist Carol Eakins and the system is very simple - artists will pay a nominal fifty euro fee for a two-week exhibition slot and also receive promotional support from TBCT.

PROOFS, READING PETINA, RE-ISSUES

"I think of my writing as a compulsive form of theft. Every story I have written is based on at least one true thing." Petina Gappah

I have proofs coming out my ears. Nude proofs. The re-issue of The Wind Across the Grass (my first collection) proofs. All done for now. It is amazingly daunting/rewarding work, reading proofs. Your stories look like a proper book all of a sudden and you start to get a bit excited at the prospect of the actual book.

I'm delighted that Arlen House are re-issuing The Wind Across the Grass (with four bonus stories!). It's been out-of-print for ages, so it will be great to have it available again.

Back to reading now and preparing for Cúirt. I'm reading Petina Gappah's début An Elegy for Easterly. Petina is a Swiss-resident, Zimbabwean native and her stories are set in Zimbabwe. The title story is masterful: dark and moving. I've only read four stories from the book to date and, so far, so impressive. Petina blogs here. She'll be reading at Cúirt next week, on Thursday the 23rd at 1pm, with Helen Simpson. Sadly I'll miss the reading as I'll be doing my visit at Castlerea Prison.

As for my preps for Cúirt, today I'll be selecting masterclass participants and preparing my Arts Centre and Prison classes. In between an ante-natal visit at the hospital and starting a collage based on a poem about Paul Durcan...but more of that anon!

AN EASTER STORY

Image: Finn's lovely Easter display

CÁISC SHONA! HAPPY EASTER!

The best I can do for an Easter-themed piece of writing is a story of mine, Sloe Wine, which appeared in Litro two years ago - and which will be in my new collection Nude (Salt, Sep. 2009). It is set, mostly, on Easter Sunday.

Litro is a free monthly literary magazine, published by Ocean Media and distributed online, widely near London Underground stations, in libraries, galleries, bars, cafés and other venues in London and beyond.

BOYLE POETRY COMP 2009

I'm reading at the Boyle Arts Festival this year; it's on from the 23rd July to 31st July. My reading's on Saturday the 25th at 4pm.

Their old 2008 website is still up but I'm sure the new one follows soon...

Here's the details of their poetry competition, judged this year by Galway's Pete Mullineaux:

Closing date 15th June 2009

Competition Rules

1. Entrants may submit as many poems as they wish. €5 per poem. Cheques or postal orders made payable to Boyle Arts Festival.
2. Prizes are €300 for the winning poem and €50 for the four runners up. In addition there will be ten highly recommended poems. Prizes will be awarded on Sunday 26th July at a ceremony during the Boyle Arts Festival. All winners will be invited to attend and to read their poem.
3. All poems must be the unpublished, original work of the author.
4. Poems must be typed on one side of A4 paper.
5. Maximum length of poem is 40 lines
6. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form or a photocopy of it. The name of the entrant must not appear on the poem itself.
7. The judge’s decision is final.
8. Entrants are reminded to keep copies of their work as poems cannot be returned
9. Submission of a poem implies the competitor’s acceptance of the rules.

Please return Entries to Poetry Competition, Boyle Arts Festival, King House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Note: They say that entry forms can be downloaded at www.boylearts.com (though I can't find it there yet...)

E-mail info@boylearts.com

WRITERS' EVENING at ORIGIN GALLERY

Painting of a view from Cill Rialaig by Andrew Newland

There's a private viewing of Emer Martin’s exhibition “Oh Rider of the White Horse” based on ‘stories’ by seanachaí Seán Ó Connaill at the Origin Gallery next week.

The main purpose of the evening is to inform writers about the proposed
6 MONTH WRITERS RESIDENCY PROGRAMME AT THE CILL RIALAIG RETREAT in KERRY from OCTOBER 2009 – MARCH 2010

Over 2,000 artists, mainly visual, have enjoyed residencies at the Cill Rialaig Retreat on remote Bolus Head, near Ballinskelligs.

Writers who have enjoyed the experience include Jane Urquhart (Canada), Jane Considine (Ireland), Emer Martin (Ireland), Eddie Lenihan (Ireland), and Sue Hubbard (UK, novelist and poet).

You are invited to go and have a glass of wine and hear what writer and artist Emer Martin got from the Cill Rialaig Experience.

DATE: Thursday 16th April 2009 from 6.30 – 8.30pm

RSVP: theorigingallery@gmail.com

VENUE: Origin Gallery, 83 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2

MAVIS GALLANT ON WRITING

I have finally opened and begun to read (backwards) the Mavis Gallant book I bought in Paris back in November, Paris Stories. It's one of those books that smells and feels inviting, so I was giddy when I pulled it from its bag. I get extremely sidetracked with books I have to read for reviewing etc. and with other new books. I was flopping about last night moaning that I had 'nothing to read' - which is completely untrue in this house full of books - when I remembered Mavis's book.

Mavis Gallant is an extraordinary writer; her characters are achingly real and her observations on human nature are pinpoint accurate. I'm very happy to see that Granta will have an interview with her, by Jhumpa Lahiri, in their special 30th anniversary summer issue. Now, that I will be buying. She is notoriously reluctant about giving interviews, as she feels her work should speak for itself. She's right of course but, like many others, I am very curious about her. I am hoping she will be at the short story conference I'm reading at in Toronto next year (even though she has lived in Paris since about 1950). I can dream, right?

So, I read a few stories and the afterword last night, and I want to share a few quotes from the great woman herself:

'I still do not know what impels anyone sound of mind to leave dry land and spend a lifetime describing people who do not exist. If it is child's play, an extension of make-believe - something one is frequently assured by persons who write about writing - how to account for the overriding wish to do just that, only that, and consider it as rational an occupation as riding a racing bike over the Alps? Perhaps the cultural attaché at a Canadian embassy who said to me "Yes, but what do you really do?" was expressing an adult opinion.'

'The impulse to write and the stubbornness needed to keep going are supposed to come out of some drastic shaking up, early in life. There is even a term for it: the shock of change. Probably, it means a jolt that unbolts the door between perception and imagination and leaves it ajar for life, or that fuses memory and language and waking dreams.'

'The first flash of fiction arrives without words. It consists of a fixed image, like a slide or (closer still) a freeze frame, showing characters in a simple situation.'

'Stories are not chapters of novels. They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. Read one. Shut the book. Read something else. Come back later. Stories can wait.'

Hear, hear, Mavis!

"TAPAS FOR THE MIND!?"

I got the first proofs of my forthcoming short story collection on Friday - which is very exciting - and I'm working on them now, trying to read through the MS one word at a time. It's laborious but satisfying work. After a long immersion in poetry writing, it feels good to be back in the thick of short stories again. How I love short fiction!

James Lasdun - for whom I have a soft spot since I was told he championed my first collection when on the Frank O'Connor jury back in 2005 - had a great article/review in Saturday's Guardian.

He talks in the piece about the muddled position of the short story in the literary world, wondering if 'it may be that people regard it as somehow highbrow or artsy; an insider sport for practitioners and aficionados only.' But he also feels that 'there are signs that the form may be about to come into a new prominence. At any rate publishers seem to be embracing the form with new enthusiasm.'

I find it hard to know what to think about the position of the short story; I've been hearing that it's about to be the next big thing for years and it never quite seems to happen. Maybe it depends how we define 'prominence'? The short story is alive and well in certain areas: the worlds of the writing workshop, of small publishing houses and of literary competitions, for example. But as a form that the general reader/book-buying public embrace, it seems to win out only when stories are packaged as an anthology, with various already-famous writers attempting the form. And I say 'attempting' quite deliberately. There are those well-known writers who should definitely walk away from the short story and stick with the novel.

One such new anthology Midsummer Nights is based on the theme of opera, and it was reviewed relatively favourably in Sunday's Business Post. But I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the reviewer concluded the piece by saying '...this book is full of tasty little appetisers that will hopefully find you going in search of more. Think of it as tapas for the mind.' Presumably the 'more' is the novels of the writers of the stories who include Colm Tóibín, Ruth Rendell, Sebastian Barry and grammar queen Lynne Truss.

I wish that more reviewers of short fiction collections were indeed afficionados of the form. I can't count the amount of reviews that I've read by reviewers who clearly have no love for, or real knowledge of, what short fiction is. Often they lament the very shortness of the stories (!?) and they seem to want to be reading a novel, instead of accepting that the story is as different to the novel as the poem is. James Lasdun reckons the short story trails 'into the House of Fame a humble fourth after novels, plays and poetry.'

That's why places like The Short Review are so very important. There, genuine story lovers read and review contemporary and classic collections and their enthusiasm and specialist knowledge is both palpable and refreshing. There would be no point in me, for example, reviewing chick lit as it's not a genre I like; similarly only true lovers of the short form should be considered to review it.

Anyway, it's back to the proofs of Nude for me. And I hope that, come September, when it's sent out to greet the world that I get reviewers who, if they don't exactly like it, at least understand where it's coming from and treat it as more than mere literary tapas.

EXTENDED SUBS DEADLINE - CÚIRT

This just in from Cúirt:

EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Master Classes & Poetry Grand Slam 2009 - Thursday 9 April!

Prose Workshop with Nuala Ní Chonchúir Wednesday 22 April 10.30am- 12.30pm at Galway Arts Centre

Cúirt Writer in Residence Nuala Ní Chonchúir will lead participants in an intensive workshop which will focus on short fiction.

Nuala Ní Chonchúir Lives in county Galway. Her third short fiction collection Nude will be published by Salt in the UK in September 2009. Nuala was chosen by The Irish Times as a writer to watch 2009.

Poetry Workshop with Jane Hirshfield Friday 24 April 10.30am-12.30pm at Galway Arts Centre

Renowned US poet Jane Hirshfield will lead participants in a discussion of their submissions.

Jane Hirshfield whose work has been called 'passionate and radiant' by The New York Times Book Review, is the author of six books of poems, most recently After, Bloodaxe Books (UK), Harper Collins (US) both 2006.

Poetry Grand Slam Saturday 25 April 3pm Roisin Dubh - Dominick St.

The year round activity of slamming culminates in the 7th Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam in which up to 20 performers have just three minutes to impress the judges under the gaze of MC Pete Mullineaux. The overall winner goes on to perform in Slovenia. Guest performer this year is Andrej Khadovich from Belarus, known for his lively performances.

Submission Details:

Prose workshop- Please send a sample of your work (max 750 words)

Poetry workshop-Please send two sample poems (max 75 lines)

Poetry Grand Slam-Please send one poem( up to 3 minutes in length) with contact details to:
email - siobhan@galwayartscentre.ie (email submissions preferred)
By post - Siobhán Singleton, Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick St. Galway. Please mark event on submission. Enquiries 091-565886

Successful participants will be notified by April 17. Fee for entry €15 - Master classes & €5 Poetry grand slam.

Full Cúirt programme available online at www.galwayartscentre.ie/cuirt

Irish Women's Writing: A Feminist Look

Image from the Velvet Banana blog. Unknown artist.

My article Irish Women's Writing: A Feminist Look is now live at Indieoma here.

It would be great if y'all would register** with the site and leave a comment. I know the article is long (I have a lot to say on the subject!) but you could always print it out and relax in your chair to read it.

Here's a taster:

"So what of the literary world? How do women fare there? As a feminist and full-time, female writer in Ireland, perhaps my biggest difficulty is with the wholesale promotion of chick lit. The problem is that, in Ireland – despite Irishwoman Anne Enright winning the Man Booker Prize last year, and despite iconic Irish writers such as Edna O’Brien – chick lit is held aloft as the women’s genre, as if no Irish women writers were writing quality literary fiction."

** I've just been told it's not necessary at the moment to register in order to leave a comment at Indieoma, so that's good.

CALL FOR SUBS - THE CATHACH

This arrived into my inbox yesterday:

THE CATHACH is a new online literary magazine, to be published twice yearly in a summer and winter edition by Sligo County libraries, with the aim of showcasing quality new writing in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. While honouring the literary traditions of Sligo and the Northwest, THE CATHACH will feature work from both new and established writers throughout Ireland and abroad. At a time when many smaller literary magazines are facing difficulties, it aims to provide a vital outlet for the best contemporary writing, making exciting new work freely available to a vast online readership around the world.

Submissions to THE CATHACH are now invited. The next issue is: July 09. Submission deadline is May 22nd.
Short Fiction or Non Fiction up to 4000 words will be considered. Poems may be any length.
Work to be submitted by email to: editorthecathach@sligococo.ie
Authors retain all copyright in their work.