Author: Paul McVeigh Writer

International Short Story Conference

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I’m attending the 17th International Conference of the Short Story in English. I’ve been invited to this bi-annual conference in Lisbon, Singapore and Vienna. This year I’ll be alongside luminous guests such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler and ZZ Packer.

Tuesday 17 June, 2025, 14:00-17:00

Paul McVeigh – The Art of the Powerful Short Story Narrative

Bring your notebooks with your fragments, your unfinished stories, and ideas that just wouldn’t launch, this workshop will talk you through a method of making them work. Using examples from his work Paul will show you how he has used his method to create powerful narratives then you can try it on your broken stories. You’ll get feedback and input into your ideas. Because he is also a playwright and has written thirteen short stories for BBC Radio 4, Paul will also show you how to write that story for radio. Be prepared to work and learn a lot. 

Thursday, June 19, Session V: 11:00 AM-12:30 PM

V.A (MOD SUITE 4): Moderator: Kimberly Gentles. 

Writers: 

Paul McVeigh 

Éilís Ni Dhuibhne 

Judith Nika Pfeifer 

Showcasing Publications and How to Make it Work.

Saturday, June 21, 2025 – 1:30 – 3:30 pm

Writers discuss the pros and cons, ways and means of putting your publications before the public. They will showcase specific works, including their own as examples. Robin Hemley will serve as Chair, with Madeleine D’Arcy as Co-Chair. The participants are Robin Hemley, Katie Singer, Evelyn Conlon, Madeleine D’Arcy, Emma Hislop, Rebekah Clarkson, Paul McVeigh, and Robert Olen Butler.  

Milton Keynes Lit Fest Workshop

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Look Again:
The surprises of inner and outer landscapes
A masterclass with Paul McVeigh and Cathy Galvin

Wednesday 2 July 2025; Zoom
7.00pm – 8.30pm; £15/£12

​​​Whatever their form, all stories take place somewhere. Join Belfast-born fiction writer Paul McVeigh and Coventry-born poet Cathy Galvin as they invite you to disrupt your usual writing practice and find a space to look again, and more deeply, at the all-too-familiar landscape of home. 

Whatever your chosen literary form – but with a particular focus on the short story –  this relaxed 90 minute session is aimed at helping you discover the still points and the surprising in the everyday.  Exploring their own work and that of other writers who have inspired them, they will help you consider what lies beneath and within the landscapes we think we know. 

Colleagues in the short story organisation, the Word Factory, Paul and Cathy both write across many forms and enjoy working with other writers: you can expect insight, banter, some suggested reading in advance (not essential) and some writing prompts and recommended reading to follow up in your own time.​

BOOK HERE.

Bradford Literary Festival

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Me with Fiona Keating, Paul Burston, Jason Okundaye & VG LEE. LITERARY SALON

“We’re delighted to welcome back Polari, the multi award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon, for another unforgettable evening in Bradford.  

Founded and hosted by author and activist Paul Burston, Polari is known for its high-energy, cabaret-style atmosphere and showcases the very best in established and emerging LGBTQ+ literary talent. 

Expect thought-provoking readings, captivating performances, and a celebration of queer voices that’s anything but your average literary event. Uplifting, entertaining, and always inspiring, Polari is a literary salon with heart, flair, and a whole lot of soul. 

Saturday, 5 July 2025 | 18:00 – 19:30

Wallers Brewery, Sunbridge Wells, BD1 1SX More Info

Tickets.

Judging Irish Novel of the Year

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Who will win the €20,000 prize for The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year? I’m traveling down tomorrow to Listowel Writers’ Week to help present the prize I co-judged this year.

The shortlist for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is:
Christine Dwyer Hickey – Our London Lives (Atlantic Books, 2024)
Joseph O’Connor – The Ghosts of Rome (Harvill Secker, 2025)
Colm Tóibín – Long Island (Picador and Pan Macmillan, 2024)
Niall Williams – Time of the Child (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024)
Donal Ryan – Heart, Be At Peace (Penguin Random House, 2024)

Workshop at Belfast Book Festival

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Reading Your Work Aloud

Date Wednesday 11 June 2025

Time 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Price£35 | £30

Reading Your Work Aloud With Paul McVeigh

For prose writers of all levels, this workshop with award-winning author Paul McVeigh will help you to read your work aloud with confidence. 

From breathing to bodily awareness, from pacing your work to using the microphone, you’ll receive support and feedback in a friendly environment. 

The workshop is split into two parts: you’ll learn techniques for reading aloud – then practice performing on-stage. 

Please bring a writing excerpt (ideally your own work) no more than three-minutes long. With Paul’s guidance, you’ll learn how to handle nerves, deliver a great story and connect with your audience.

Paul McVeigh’s short stories have been publlished in numerous anthologies, journals and newspapers, and read on BBC Radio 3, 4 and 5, RTÉ Radio and Sky Arts. His ten-part short story series, The Circus, aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2023. He co-founded the London Short Story Festival and was Associate Director of The Word Factory. Paul has edited three short story anthologies and guest edited Southword Journal. Paul has judged numerous international literary prizes and was acting Head of Literature for Arts Council NI. Paul’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The McCrea Literary Award and the Polari First Book Prize and his writing has been translated into eight languages.

Writing Belfast: Stories Of A Changing City 

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Belfast Book Festival

Date Tuesday 10 June 2025

Time 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Price: Pay What You Decide – Recommended Price £12.50

Written with Paul McVeigh’s characteristic flair and Belfast wit, I Hear You (Salt, 2025) is a vibrant collection of short stories from the award-winning author of The Good Son. 

Specially written for BBC Radio 4, the stories include a ten-part sequence set around Cliftonville Circus, where five roads meet in North Belfast and the old clashes with the new on diversity, social class, acceptance and change. 

Paul will discuss his home city, Belfast, and how it has changed through his work; from Troubles era Ardoyne of The Good Son, post-lockdown north of the city in I Hear You and where its modern diversity can clash with the lingering past in his play Big Man. During the evening Actor Tony Flynn will also give readings from Paul’s work.  

Join Paul in conversation with writer Cathy Galvin, founder of the short story organisation The Word Factory and The Sunday Times Short Story Award. 

Tickets here.

Writing For Radio: Belfast Book Festival

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Pathways To Publication: Panel Discussions For Writers 

Date Thursday 05 June 2025

Time 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Price £40 | £35 – for whole day – check out the rest of the events.

My event is this industry day is…

3.15 – 4.00pm > Writing for radio 

How does writing for radio differ from writing for the page, stage or screen? Discover how to write and pitch audio at this informative session with RTÉ radio producer and book editor Clíodhna Ní Anluain, BBC audio producer Michael Shannon and Belfast writer Paul McVeigh, author of I Hear You, a dazzling collection of stories written especially for BBC Radio 4. 

Stories That Stay – Event at Listowel Writers’ Week

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Stories That Stay with Paul McVeigh, Andrew Meehan & Carol Drinkwater

Date: 29 May 2025

Venue: St John’s Theatre & Arts Centre

Join Paul McVeigh and Andrew Meehan as they discuss their latest works with Carol Drinkwater. 
The power of storytelling, their diverse genres, and everything from dark humour and deep emotion to gripping tales of mystery and personal discovery will be explored by the trio. 
Paul McVeigh’s I Hear You is a collection of short stories, written especially for BBC Radio 4. The moving short stories are brave, honest, raw and funny and feature the ten-part sequence: ‘The Circus’, set around Cliftonville Circus, where five roads meet in North Belfast.
Andrew Meehan’s much-anticipated Best Friends explores the depth of a relationship between two friends and the complexities of their bond in a world full of uncertainty. 
Carol Drinkwater, known for her evocative memoirs and fiction, will share insights from her new book, Summer in Provence which will be published in July.

Tickets: Here.

I will also be at the prize-giving ceremony for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the night before, as one of this year’s judges.