I’m delighted to have received ACE funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. This will allow me time to write next year. I’ll be working on my first collection of short stories.
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The Good Son: Now in Hungarian!
Hot on the news of selling The Good Son to Russia, the Hungarian version of The Good Son is in shops now. Called A jó fiú it is translated by Laura Lukács and the word from Literature Ireland is that she has done an excellent job.
I’d like to thank the amazing Literature Ireland who have given translation grants to the publisher which is the third time they have supported The Good Son – also French and German translations.
I love the Hungarian cover. What do you think?
You can even read an extract here.
The novel is with Typotex Publishing as part of their World Literature Series. You can buy it in shops and online now!
Read My 2 George Saunders Interviews
Congratulations to George Saunders on winning the Man Booker Prize for his debut novel Lincoln in the Bardo.
I’ve been lucky enough to have interviewed George twice and was especially honoured to share the stage with him this year at the BBC 3 Free Thinking Festival.
My first interview with him was on the day he won The Folio Prize and the second time was recently on a promotional tour of the UK and Ireland for the release of his award-winning novel.
I hope you enjoy them.
Credit: Paul McVeigh – taken in London before his Folio Prize win
Teaching in Kuala Lumpur Dec 2/3
I will teaching at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur on December 2nd and 3rd. If you are town it would be wonderful if you could come or if you know any writers in KL please let them know. (I’ll also be doing some events… more on that later.)
Thanks to Sharon Baker for organising it, and Grey Yeoh and British Council Malaysia for their generous support. Thanks also to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Culture Ireland for helping my travel around the region.
The class on December 2 ‘Short Sharp Shock’ is for 15-19 year olds. On December I teach my ‘That Killer First Page’ workshop that has already sold out in Bali and Mebourne so grab your tickets quick. Here’s more on that class…
“Northern Irish author Paul McVeigh leads this fiction workshop aimed at writers who are writing short fiction and looking to improve their craft.
You’ll find out what competition judges and journal editors look for in a short story and how to avoid the rejection pile. In a form where every word counts, get tips on where to start your story and how to keep the reader glued to the page. You’ll also look at submission opportunities; how to find them and where you should be sending your stories.
Focus:
How to get the attention of competition judges and editors
Writing fiction with emotional impact
Writing that killer first page
How to edit your story
Where to send your work
Reviews for Paul’s writing:
“A work of genius.” Pulitzer Prize-winning short story writer Robert Olen Butler.
“A wildly impotent new talent.” Laura van den Berg.
“One of Ireland’s most exciting and talented writers.” BBC Radio 4”
Date and Time
Sun, December 3, 2017
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Malaysia
Venue
British Council Malaysia
Ground Floor, Jalan Ampang, Malaysia
West Block Wisma Selangor Dredging 142C, Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan 50450
Malaysia
Ciaran McMenamin, Sally Rooney & June Caldwell this Sunday
I’m chairing this exciting event – Young Blood: Ciaran McMenamin, Sally Rooney & June Caldwell – this Sunday at The Seamus Heaney Homeplace.
All these authors are making a splash with their first books – novels and short stories. Come along and find out all about there journey to publication and how they’ve coped with success.
Show starts at 3pm.
Winner of The Polari Prize
“Pungently funny and shot through with streaks of aching sadness.” Patrick Gale
“I devoured it in a day, but I’ve thought about it for many, many more.” Lisa McInerney
“Funny, raw and endlessly entertaining.” Johnathan Coe
Longlisted for Irish Short Story of the Year
I’m over the moon that I’ve been longlisted for The Irish Short Story of the Year which is sponsored by Writing.ie and part of The Irish Book Awards.
Here are the other longlisted authors:
Gerard Beirne
Sally Rooney
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
Helena Mulkerns
Patricia McAdoo
June Caldwell
John MacKenna
Nuala O’Connor
David Butler
James Lawless
John Connell
Christine Dwyer Hickey
Once the six shortlisted stories are chosen they will be published on Writing.ie so that you can read them and vote.
Writing.ie said:
“The standard was extremely high again this year with a wonderful selection of submissions from publishers, journals and magazines.”
Wish me luck!
Teeling Tales in Melbourne
I’ll be visiting Australia soon teaching classes in Adelaide (more soon) and Melbourne where I’ll also be part of an Irish whiskey tasting night. You’ll learn all about Irish whiskies and it should be a lot of fun! Come along.
“Belfast-born, Paul is a world-renowned storyteller. His brilliant debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize, The McCrea Literary Award and is shortlisted for the Prix de Roman Cezam.
Paul has had works performed in London’s West End and on BBC radio. And is a founder of the London Short Story Festival.
Between Paul’s tales, Martin from Dublin’s Teeling Distillery will share colourful stories around the history and traditions of Irish whiskey, while you taste five award-winning Teeling whiskies.”
Great stories, great whiskey and tasty canapés.
Tickets: $40
Places strictly limited
Drop in or call 9077 7915.
Location: 217 High Street, Northcote, 3070 Victoria, Australia
Date: Thursday 16th November 6.30-8.30pm
My trip to Australia is made possible by the generous support of…
Number 1 in the Charts!
Wow! What an honour. Thanks to The Stephen Nolan Show making The Good Son Book Club Choice of the Month on BBC Radio in conjunction with (and thanking especially for all their support) Libraries NI – it was the most borrowed adult fiction title from libraries across Northern Ireland in September.
This was an event I did for Libraries NI last month
Here’s to libraries!
Short Interview w/ Ubud Festival
“With over 150 speakers from 31 countries, this year’s UWRF lineup is a literary treasure trove of discoveries. Each week in the lead up to the Festival, we’ll speak to a writer whose work you may not yet have encountered, but who could well turn out to be your Festival favorite. For the sixth installment, we spoke to Paul McVeigh, award-winning short story writer and Founder of the London Short Story Festival.”
You can read the short interview here.
The Good Son Goes to Russia!
Some exciting news. The Good Son will be translated into Russian! I’d never have imagined that a story about a young boy who barely leaves his street in Ardoyne, Belfast, would have something to say to readers in Russia. I’m over the moon!
Last year The Good Son was chosen out of 160 books by The British Council and The Literary Platform to be one of 12 to take part of The UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature. I now know this lead to the editor-in-chief of new publishing house Arkadia in St Petersburg reading The Good Son and wanting to publish it. So many thanks to The British Council and The Literary Platform.
The publishers are discussing translators and are currently considering either the Russian translator of Kingsley Amis, Richard Adams, Agatha Christie and Michael Ondatji or the translator of Dorothy Parker, Anne Enright and Richard Ford.
Just – wow!
Thanks to my wonderful agent Carrie Kania and the foreign rights team at C&W for their all their hard work.
Paul McVeigh 