
George Saunders (c) Paul McVeigh


George Saunders (c) Paul McVeigh

I’m looking forward to my fist visit to The International Literature Festival Dublin.

I’m part of an event called Talking Translation – Writing and Rewriting: Writers and Translators in Conversation on May 27 at 10.30am – 12.30pm.
At this literary brunch in the fabulous Drury Buildings, broadcaster and presenter Sinéad Gleeson will interview me, Paul Fournel from France and Rasha Khayat from Germany about our work and experiences with translation and translators.
Also present to talk about their translating challenges will be Hans-Christian Oeser, who co-translated my novel The Good Son into German (Guter Junge ), and Sinead Crowe, who is working on the English translation of Rasha Khayat’s novel Weil Wir Längst Woanders Sind. The discussion will be followed by some short multilingual readings, after which the audience will have the chance to ask us questions and talk further with us over brunch.

From the website: Speakers: Rasha Khayat, German author and translator from Arabic and English. Paul Fournel, writer and member of the Oulipo movement. Paul McVeigh, author of The Good Son, published in 2015, and winner of the Polari Prize and the McCrea Literary Award. Hans-Christian Oeser, editor, critic and translator of Paul McVeigh and numerous other writers from Ireland and other English-speaking countries. Sinéad Crowe, German to English translator of authors including Rasha Khayat.
Moderator: Sinéad Gleeson, journalist and broadcaster who presents ‘The Book Show’ on RTÉ Radio, reports on RTÉ’s ‘The Work’s’ and writes for The Irish Times.
Organised by the French Embassy in Ireland, the German Embassy Dublin, the Goethe-Institut Irland and Literature Ireland within the framework of the French- German cultural funds.
I’m judging THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2017
The winner will get €2,000 and publication in the literary journal Southword. If that’s not enough they will also get a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat AND If the winner comes to Cork to collect their prize, they will provide hotel accommodation, meals, drinks and VIP access to the literary stars at the Cork International Short Story Festival (September 13-16, 2017). WOW!

Cork Short Story Festival 2016 by legendary photographer John Minihan
Second Prize is £500 and publication in Southword. Four more shortlisted entries will be selected for publication in Southword and receive a publication fee of €120.
The Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition open to writers from around the world, submissions accepted from May to August annually. It is dedicated to one of Ireland’s most accomplished story writers and theorists, sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre. The Munster Literature Centre is a not-for-profit organisation; all moneys raised from the competition benefits writers and writing.
Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat www.anamcararetreat.com is again awarding a week-long residency to the first prize winner of the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition. Located just outside the colourful village of Eyeries on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork, Anam Cara is a tranquil spot structured to provide support and sanctuary for people working in the creative arts. It offers private and common working rooms as well as five acres of walking paths, thirty-four nooks and crannies, a river cascades and a river island, gardens, and a labyrinth meadow. Editoral consultation is also available. The prize is valued at €700.
Click here for submission guidelines.
Looking forward to reading your entries.
Congratulations to novelist Susmita Bhattacharya who wrote this essay for a competition and wasn’t longlisted BUT it has been published by the internationally prestigious LA Review of Books. Just shows you – never give up on a piece you know is good, it just needs to find the right home! And sometimes the new home is better than the intended one 🙂
The essay talks about the link between the short story and novel in specific work including my novel The Good Son which came from a short story as well as Virgina Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway.




“Paul McVeigh has written a first novel of beautiful generosity, poignant in the delicate manner in which he evokes the brutality of an era. A striking fresco, mixing historical upheavals and hardships of a family shattered.” Le Monde
I’m at the Belfast Book Festival this year, starting with the first event of the fest… I hope to see some of you there.
Wed 7 June 12.45: Interviewing Cairan McMenamin about his debut ‘Skintown’
Sat 10 June 10am-1pm: Workshop – Turning a Short Story into a Novel
Wed 14 June 12.45: Interviewing Ethel Rohan about her debut novel ‘The Weight of Him’
Fri 16 June 8pm: Reading at Polari Literary Salon at Sunflower Pub
Sat 17 June 2-5pm: Workshop – Everything a Debut Novelist Needs to Know

My essay, commissioned by the Writers Centre Norwich for the International Literary Showcase ‘Crossing Borders’ was picked up by The Belfast Telegraph, Northern Ireland’s most popular newspaper. I thought it was just online but was shocked and honoured to see they had included the whole thing over two pages in their print issue.

There has been a terrific response in the North and the South of Ireland and also in the rest of the UK.
I hope you can read it. Let me know what you think.

A few things to note:
– Five mins per performer – poetry and fiction
– BYOB
– Slots are on a first come, first served basis
– Performers should sign up in advance via Eventbrite (free) – or contact Kate at events@irishwriterscentre.ie
Writing about politics in Northern Ireland is a risky business and with every sentence you suspect you’re polishing a rod for your own back.

This is a short essay I wrote for the International Literary Showcase about Crossing Borders – my thoughts on my nationality prompted by the 1916 centenary last year.
“Last year Ireland marked the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. This disastrous rebellion was the spark that led, a few years later, to Irish independence. Freedom was to come at a high price: a peace treaty with the British demanded part of the island remain under their rule which caused a bitter civil war that tore the country apart. The Pro-Treaty side won. A rift had been carved into the psyche of the newly freed Irish, and on the land itself, when the border between North and South was drawn.”
Head over here to read the full essay.
This piece was commissioned as part of the International Literature Showcase’s ‘Crossing Borders‘ series.
Tuesday the 16th : NANTES : meeting in the library “La Manufacture” at 18.30
Wednesday the 17th : QUIMPER : meeting in the library “des Ursulines” at 18.30
Thursday the 18th : PARIS : meeting with the employees of the bank Crédit Agricole at 17.30

“Paul McVeigh has written a first novel of beautiful generosity, poignant in the delicate manner in which he evokes the brutality of an era. A striking fresco, mixing historical upheavals and hardships of a family shattered.” Le Monde