TERRYGLASS ARTS FEST READING

I'm at TerryglassArts Festival on Friday 18th August, reading from #JoyridetoJupiter, 6pm, Riverrun. Free event!

DROMINEER LIT FEST - PICS AND MINI-REPORT

Cottage at Dromineer, beside Lough Derg

I had a lovely time in Dromineer, Co. Tipperary - what a pretty place. The festival was well attended and very friendly. All thanks to Eleanor Hooker, Bernie McGrath and team for the invite and the warm welcome.

Boats at Dromineer, Lough Derg

Mary Jane Holmes - a friend - who is a writer and editor, and heavily involved with Cork's FISH, won the Flash Fiction prize, and poet Michael Farry came out on top in poetry comp. Big congrats to both of them.

Flash fiction group - pic by Geraldine Wisdom

My flash fiction class were an enthused bunch and we passed a happy couple of hours talking short-short stories.

Michael Murphy, me, Thomas McCarthy, Liz Nugent, Kobus Moolman & Maureen Kennelly

I really enjoyed the Meet the Authors event at Nenagh Arts Centre, where we talked about a book that had influenced us (I chose Edna O'Brien's 1970 novel A Pagan Place) and we read a little from our own work. I was in stellar company: the sublime Thomas McCarthy, the wonderful Liz Nugent, the sweet-and-lovely Michael Murphy and the impressive Kobus Moolman. Great people all. And Poetry Ireland's wonder-director Maureen Kennelly steered us along. It was a great event.

Signing after the Meet the Authors event - pic by Geraldine Wisdom

And our B&B was the swoon-worthy Ashley Park House near Nenagh: a 17th century house with a colonial style exterior, resident peacocks and enormous rooms. We had a suite, with a white muslin-draped four poster bed, working window shutters and a lake view. So beautiful.

Our suite - Ashley Park B&B

View over Lough Ourna from Ashley Park B&B

Welcome pack from the festival - choc, notebook, book, soap, notelets & card. Sweet or what?

FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP - SAT. 4TH - TIPP

There are still places on my flash fiction workshop at Dromineer Literary Festival this Saturday. I'd love to see you! 10am, Lough Derg Yacht Club. More here.

WORLD BOOK NIGHT & BREWERY LANE AFTERS

I am horribly busy these days, feeling quite grumpy because I have so much to do/achieve/complete/work on. But there are nice things in the midst of all the deadlines.

TONIGHT I am reading for World Book Night, from Mother America, in Celbridge library in County Kildare. I'm thrilled because it will be my first time to read with my friend Shauna Gilligan. The other writers on the bill are Mae Leonard and Debbie Thomas. 7pm to 9pm, free admission, refreshments, and all welcome.

The weekend just gone I was in Carrick-on-Suir teaching a two-day course on the short story at the inaugural Brewery Lane Writers' Weekend. And what a lovely weekend it was - the people were great and the hospitality was second to none. Big thanks to Margaret O'Brien for the invitation to participate.

I was so happy to get to Tipp as I managed a side-trip on the way home for essential NIP research. Now all I want to do is go back down there and soak up more of it. Tipperary is so beautiful.

Here are a few pics to give a flavour - I have neither the time nor the wit to report properly.

Juno outside Brewery Lane Theatre, where all the events took place

Richard Hayes of Waterford IT who gave a stunning seminar on Ovid's Metamorphoses

Myself and the class, with Margaret O'Brien on the right

Ormond Castle, Carrick-on-Suir

Country signpost on my research side-trip

Slievenamon, which features in my NIP - I wanna go back, waaah

BREWERY LANE WRITERS' WEEKEND

This is a brand new festival based in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. My workshop is fully subscribed (waiting list only) but you can always come along to Mark Roper's reading and/or Richard Hayes's talk. For myself, I am looking forward to meeting new writing enthusiasts and to having a nose around Carrick - I have never been there before.