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Last Free Tickets Released Feb 17 for George Saunders, Jenn Ashworth, Kirsty Logan & me

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Last Free Tickets Released Tomorrow Feb 17 for George Saunders, Jenn Ashworth, Kirsty Logan & me talking to Matthew Sweet at BBC 3 Free Thinking Festival. Here’s the information from the website…

BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival: How Short Is A Short Story? Sat 18 Mar. 10.15-11.15am

With US author George Saunders, Jenn Ashworth, Paul McVeigh and Kirsty Logan

Acclaimed American short story writer George Saunders talks to Radio 3 presenter Matthew Sweet about travelling in time to explore Abraham Lincoln’s life during the American Civil War when the President’s beloved young son died. These historical events have inspired Saunder’s first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, whilst his short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, McSweeney’s and GQ.

He compares notes on the art of fiction long and short with Paul McVeigh, Jenn Ashworth and Kirsty Logan, who’ve been commissioned by New Writing North and the WordFactory to write Flash Fiction on the Festival theme of The Speed of Life.

Kirsty Logan is the author of books including The Gracekeepers and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales and a range of short stories.

Jenn Ashworth’s books include Fell, The Friday Gospels, A Kind of Intimacy and Cold Light and a selection of short stories.

Paul McVeigh has won prizes including the Polari prize for his debut novel The Good Son. Born in Belfast he is co-founder of the London Short Story Festival, writes a blog and has represented the UK at events in Mexico and Turkey.

You can hear the specially commissioned stories for the Festival on the free Radio 3 headphones available to borrow in Sage foyer.

Matthew Sweet is author of Inventing the Victorians, Shepperton Babylon and The West End Front. He is a columnist for Art Quarterly and Newsweek and presents Free Thinking and Sound of Cinema on BBC Radio 3 and The Philosopher’s Arms on BBC Radio 4. He was series consultant on the Showtime drama Penny Dreadful and played a moth from the planet Vortis in An Adventure in Space and Time on BBC2.

In association with New Writing North and the WordFactory.

For your information…

  • A second batch of tickets will be released at 12noon on Friday 17 February.
  • A restricted number of tickets will be available on the day on a first come first served basis.
  • Please take your seats 10 minutes prior to the event start time otherwise you may lose your place.

See you in Paris… March 3&4

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Will you be in Paris on March 3 & 4? I’ll be part of festival at the Centre Culturel Irlandais alongside Declan Meade (editor of The Stinging Fly), Mike McCormack (winner of The Goldsmith’s Prize), Paul Lynch (winner of Prix Libr’à Nous) and Lisa McInerney (winner of The Bailey’s Prize).

It will be great to catch up will old friends and see Paris again. A city I nearly lived in once… another story.
It’s especially great to go after my recent shortlisting for an award in France; the Prix du Roman Cezam Inter-CE. And after the lovely review in Le Monde…
“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.”
I hope to see some of you there.

Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival w/ George Saunders

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Well, I can’t believe it! I’ve been a huge fan of George Saunders for a number of years and even got to interview him in London just before it was announced he won the inaugural Folio Prize (you can read the interview here). Now New Writing North have invited me to share the stage with him at the Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival 2017 in Gateshead on March 18th. The panel event will discuss the short story with authors who have written both short stories and novels (George’s first novel will be out soon!). The incredibly talented Kirsty Bennett-Logan and Jenn Ashworth will be there also. The event is free which I hope encourages lots of people to come along .

George Saunders

George Saunders at our interview

As part of the festival I’ve been commissioned to write a new story on this year’s theme of ‘The Speed of Life’ to be used during the weekend and to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. I’m very excited as my first BBC Radio commission was my first big writing break. What’s wonderful about this is, that along with New Writing North and the BBC, Word Factory (of which I’m Associate Director) is also a partner. Lovely synergy. Thanks to all for this opportunity.

PS You can catch me at Word Factory teaching and reading on March 25th.

To find out more about the festival’s weekend of events click here.

‘Un bon garcon’ Shortlisted for French Award

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“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

Some exciting news. Un bon garcon has been shortlisted for the Prix du Roman Cezam Inter-CE in (you’ve guessed it) France. 10 books have been chosen and readers from all over France will vote for their favourites.

It’s great to know that readers in France have been reading Un bon garcon and enjoying it so much they’ve nominated it for this award.

So rub your rabbits foot, cross your fingers, say a prayer… what do the French do for luck? – and maybe I’ll be the winner.

Oh that gives me a thought…. to celebrate my shortlisting I’m giving away a copy of Un bon garcon. All you have to do is answer the question…

What do the French say is good luck if you do it with your left foot?

Write your answer below and I’ll pick a winner at random a week from today.

 

 

 

 

The Good Son in WHSmith Fresh Talent

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Exciting news for me and The Good Son thanks to WHSmith Travel who have chosen me for their Fresh Talent promotion (reported in The Bookseller today). The Good Son will be in all their travel shops in trains stations and airports around the UK. Great news for reaching new audiences.

Special thanks to The Polari Prize (and founder Paul Burston) which, I think, had a lot to do with this.

Here’s what WH Smith had to say in The Bookseller today:

“Polari First Book Prize winner The Good Son (Salt) by Northern Irish author Paul McVeigh, a coming-of-age novel following a young boy growing up during the Troubles in 1980s Belfast, was singled out as “a gem of a novel that blends pathos and humour perfectly through the eyes of its inspired and heroic narrator, Mickey.”

You can read the whole article and find out about the other authors who were chosen, here.

Winner of The Polari Prize
“One of the most engaging protagonists of the year”
Bailey’s Prize-winner Lisa McInerney
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The Good Son on World Book Night 2017

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Rentzenbrink, Marotta & McVeigh titles part of ‘more targeted’ World Book Night 2017

In 2015 The Good Son was on The Reading Agency’s staff picks for Books of the Year. Today it was announced in The Bookseller that The Reading Agency has chosen The Good Son to be part of World Book Night 2017.

It is such an honour and it’s also part of a sweet and incredible story. A couple of years ago I volunteered for World Book Night giving out copies of Jeanette Winterson’s memoir ‘Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal’. Who would have thought that just a few years later my own novel would be chosen as one of the books to be given out to readers nationally?

This also happened to me this year when The Good Son was chosen as Brighton’s City Reads after I had been a volunteer for them for a couple of years. Such a wonderful feeling. It’s the year of cosmic karma – but I’ve gotten so much more out of the deal! It proves something I’ve held close – give and you get 10 times more in return – it may not happen immediately but…. good things come…

New Book Cover

The Good Son: Winner of The Polari Prize
“One of the most engaging protagonists of the year” Lisa McInerney
“It’s a triumph of storytelling, an absolute gem.” Donal Ryan

The Sunday Times Crime Club

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A lovely surprise to find The Good Son is one of novelist Essie Fox’s top picks in The Sunday Times Crime Club.
 
“Gripping… A richly drawn evocation of dramatic times where personal “troubles” are described with tenderness, set against the darkness of violence on the streets.”
 
There’s a link to read the first chapter of The Good Son free and the first of Essie’s new novel “The Last Days of Leda Grey“. 
So if you haven’t read The Good Son yet then dip in with the first chapter. 🙂

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The Good Son: Winner of The Polari Prize
Appearances: Shrewsbury Literature Festival: Nov 25/26

A German Review & My Event in Olpe

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“An exceptional book: Honest, tough, funny, soulful.” WDR

Today I saw a lovely review of Guter Junge by Stefan Keim on WDR in Germany. I met Stefan when he read sections of the book out in Olpe during my recent mini-tour of Germany.

I read to a packed out cinema in Olpe – there was well over 200 people which is on par with my biggest event at Brighton’s City Reads. I had a wonderful time.

 

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The event at the cinema in Olpe

They even had even made a cinema trailer. It was very powerful.

 

 

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A powerful trailer made from images of the conflict in Northern Ireland

If you can read or understand spoken German you can listen to the review here.