I’m really looking forward to Cork International Short Story Festival next week. I’m especially excited to be chairing an event with Edge Hill Prize-winner Kirsty Gunn and one of my all-time favourite writers Claire Keegan. I’ll also get to see my good friend Liadain O’Donovan give out the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, on behalf of her father, to Carys Davies, that evening.

Liadain O’Donovan at 13th International Conference on the Short Story, Vienna ’14.

After returning home to Brighton, I head off to Wroclaw, Poland on Oct 1 to attend the Międzynarodowy Festiwal Opowiadania – International Short Story Festival where I’m honoured to be joining the other international guests Jon Boilard, Clare Wigfall & Colin Barrett. I’m reading on Saturday Oct 3. You can check out the programme here.

Maybe I’ll see some of you in Cork or Poland. Come and say ‘hello’.