Writing Workshop at Trinity College of FIILI

Earlier the year ‘Il Bravo Figlio’ the Italian translation of ‘The Good Son’ was published leading to my invitation to the Festival of Italian and Irish Literature in Ireland.For the first time, the festival is hosting workshop s in their programme and I’m delighted to be teaching of these inaugural sessions. Here’s the blurb…

The FIILI Association is delighted to announce that this year, for the first time, the Festival of Italian and Irish Literature in Ireland (FIILI 2026) is hosting a Masterclass in Creative Writing, facilitated by award-winning writer Paul McVeigh.

Paul McVeigh’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Book Prize and The McCrea Literary Award. His short stories have been in anthologies, journals and newspapers, and read on BBC Radio, RTE Radio, as well as, Sky ARTS. His debut story collection, I Hear You, was published in March 2025. His writing has been translated into eight languages.

What’s The Big Idea? – Workshop in Creative Writing

How do you combine the personal with political? How do you capture an era or generation? How can you bring conflict onto to the page? You’ll look at techniques to tackle these difficult subjects and techniques to make them come alive on the page.

This event will be held at Regent House, Trinity College Dublin at 10am on the 26th September 2026. It is sponsored by the Irish Writers Centre and organised in collaboration with the FIILI Associaton and the Festival of Italian and Irish Literature in Ireland.

The FIILI Association has made every effort to keep the fee for this Workshop as low as possible. Places are €40 each, and booking is via Eventbrite by clicking here.

The Paul McVeigh West Cork Residency 2027

Applications will open in July 1st 2026. Please follow this website or my social media for more details released over the next weeks.

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Now in its fourth year, previous winners have gone on to get agents, book deals and win literary prizes. 

The residency will take place near Glengariff, West Cork, January 2027. The opportunity is for emerging writers of fiction and non-fiction aged 21 and over living in Ireland and the UK. 

To see last year’s details click here.

Lisbon Experience w/ Paul Burston & David McAlmont

Join us in Lisbon for a special weekend.

“Lisbon has always felt like a city shaped by conversation — long lunches, late evenings, unexpected honesty, and the feeling that people still make time for one another.

This November I’ll be joining Glainne for a small gathering built around culture, connection, and the kinds of conversations that stay with you long after you leave.

Not a conference.Not networking.Just thoughtful people, good company, and a few days in Lisbon.

Lisbon · Nov 13–15

Details here

Interviewing Roddy Doyle at Cork World Book Festival

I’ll be interviewing Booker Prize-winner Roddy Doyle at Cork World Book Festival.

Roddy Doyle with Paul McVeigh

He was last in town for a chat with Roy Keane at the Marquee and we felt it was time to have Ireland’s favourite Dubliner, Roddy Doyle, down to Cork World Book Fest for a conversation with CWBF regular, Paul McVeigh.

Roddy Doyle’s bookshelves and DVD racks are buckling under the weight of his prolific and energetic output that has helped shape how we see ourselves on this small, complex island. Always astute, always brim full of empathy, and always writing to his own rhythm, Roddy Doyle needs no introduction, and this year the Cork World Book Fest is honoured to host one of Ireland’s most cherished authors, teachers, mentors, activists and observers. So sit back and enjoy what promises to be a fantastic afternoon of great joy and humanity.                       

Get tickets for both Quite Simply, How Do We Live? and Roddy Doyle in Conversation and get 20% off!

Saturday 25 April 2026

Triskel | 2pm | €15

Book: https://triskelarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873662502/events