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I Hear You: RTE Arena Interview

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I Hear You – Paul McVeigh

CLIP • 15 MINS • 03 MAR • ARENA

Writer Paul McVeigh on his new collection of short stories, I Hear You. 

“It’s been 10 years since Paul McVeigh’s debut novel The Good Sonhit bookshelves, its funny, touching tale of misfit schoolboy Mickey Donnelly’s determination to escape Troubles-plagued Ardoyne earning the author The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award.

Since then he has edited a trio of short story and written a hit play, Big Man, which won an Irish Times Theatre Award when it was staged at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre in 2022. Now he returns to print with I Hear You a collection of short stories which were originally commissioned and broadcast by BBC Radio Four – he talks to RTÉ Arena above.

The collection includes a series of ten interlinked stories called The Circus which introduce a colourful selection of characters from the north Belfast streets, whose varied lives intersect thanks to a local talent competition. Their stories are told with McVeigh’s trademark warmth, wit and humour.”

I talked to RTE Arena about my debut collection of stories ‘I Hear You’

You can listen here.

Buy I Hear You.

Short Story v The Novel in Bookanista

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“I think that’s why a short story can be a good place to start when setting out to write prose. You can experiment with voices, characters, points of view, and so on. If the story isn’t working, you can abandon it and move to another idea. Starting by writing short stories is not to suggest that a short story is merely a stepping stone to writing novels. The short story is a glorious form in its own right, and mastering it can take many years.”

You can read the article here.

You can buy ‘I Hear you’ here.

The Story of ‘Tickles’ in Writing.ie

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“The stories in I Hear You were all written for BBC Radio 4. I thought I’d breakdown the journey of one of those stories from its conception to its afterlife.  

Tickles was the second short story I’d written, and my first for radio. I was commissioned by BBC Radio Ulster producer, Heather Larmour, and it aired on BBC Radio 4. Although this was the only time we worked together, Heather met with me many times and, over many conversations, mid-wived me through writing for radio, teaching me so much about the medium.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Grab your copy of ‘I Hear You’.

London Launch of I Hear You at Word Factory

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Tickets are selling fast for the London launch if ‘I Hear You’ at The Word Factory on March 21st. This will be a wonderful chance to celebrate with friends, old and new, and I’ll be back to my short story home. It has been too long. Thrilled that the brilliant Kit de Waal will be reading and leading a literary conversation with me. 


The launch is at the beautiful Georgian venue, Bloomsbury’s Music Room. Hope to see you there and details – including how to pre-order a copy of the book – here.

*PLEASE NOTE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE NIGHT BY CASH ONLY*

Event at The Secret Bookshelf, Carrickfergus

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Event by The Secret Bookshelf

Friday, 28th March, 6.30pm

Join award-winning novelist Paul McVeigh in conversation about his new book, ‘I Hear You’ – booking is not required but please indicate if you are coming 

The stories in this collection were all written especially for BBC Radio 4, including a ten-part sequence: ‘The Circus’, set in North Belfast. Other stories include ‘Tickles’, a story about a man visiting his mother in a nursing home, ‘Cuckoo’, about a man who feels something sinister has happened to him during surgery; and ‘Daddy Christmas’, where a gay man writes a letter to the son he never had. ‘These moving short stories are brave, honest, raw and funny, doing what fiction does best, showing us the lives of others and in so doing showing us ourselves. Wonderful.’ —Kit de Waal

Paul McVeigh’s stories have been in numerous anthologies including Being Various, The Art of the Glimpse and Common People. They have also appeared in The London Magazine, The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, on BBC Radio 3, 4, 5, and RTE Radio 1, as well as, on Sky ARTS. His ten-part short story series, The Circus, aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2023 and was repeated on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle. Paul co-edited the Belfast Stories anthology, edited Queer Love and The 32: Anthology of Irish Working Class Voices. Paul co-founded the London Short Story Festival and was an associate director of Word Factory, Paul’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The McCrea Literary Award and The Polari First Novel Prize and was shortlisted for many others including the Prix du Roman Cezam.

Teaching Course at Look North Festival

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Workshop: On the Short-Story with Paul McVeigh

Sat 1 Mar 2025 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Girdwood, 10 Girdwood Avenue, Belfast, Antrim BT14 6EG

Tickets: Here

Paul has written short stories to be read out on the radio, the stage and television, as well as, in print, for anthologies, literary journals, magazines and newspapers. He will share his knowledge on writing stories for all these platforms and give practical helpful advice of how to approach them, in terms of how you write and what you do with your story once it’s finished. The workshop is a mix of advice from Paul’s professional experience and the tips he was given by editors, producers and publishers.

Paul’s short stories have been in anthologies, journals and newspapers, and read on BBC and RTE Radio,as well as, Sky ARTS. His ten-part story series, The Circus, aired on BBC Radio 4. He co-founded London Short Story Festival and edited three anthologies. His collection, I hear You, is out March 2025.

Out March 3rd 2025

28 Feb, Belfast Launch of I Hear You

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Launch: Book Launch of Paul McVeigh’s, I Hear You

Fri 28 Feb 2025 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Clifton House Belfast, BT15 1ES

Come join us for the Belfast-launch of the award-winning Belfast author Paul McVeigh’s BBC-commissioned short story collection. I Hear You is made up of 10 linked stories, plus an additional three – all of which were commissioned by, and read out on, BBC Radio 4, plus BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle.

Get your free tickets here.

Out March 3rd 2025

Pre-Order ‘I Hear You’

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Pre-order of ‘I Hear You’ now available at the legendary No Alibis Bookstore, Belfast. A wee exclusive pre-order gift will be announced soon. Be the first in line.

Irish Times: Books to Look Out for in 2025

‘These moving short stories are brave, honest, raw and funny, doing what fiction does best, showing us the lives of others and in so doing showing us ourselves. Wonderful.’ —Kit de Waal

‘From a son paring the bunions on his mother’s feet to a man’s soul getting sealed out of his body, and culminating in a deft interlinked cycle, the stories of I Hear You are warm, frank and unsentimental, bursting with character and idiosyncratic detail, written with Paul McVeigh’s characteristic geniality and Belfast wit.’ —Lucy Caldwell

This collection of stories, written especially for BBC Radio 4, includes a ten-part sequence: ‘The Circus’, set around Cliftonville Circus, where five roads meet in North Belfast. It’s five minutes from the nationalist Troubles flashpoint of Ardoyne, where Paul grew up. It’s close to Holy Cross Girls’ School, where protests targeting primary school children drew international attention.

The Circus is situated in the poorest part of the Belfast – it is also the most divided. Each road leads to a different area – a different class – a different religion. The Circus explores where old Belfast clashes with the new around acceptance, change, class and diversity.

But this is 2024 and a fresh energy exists.

Other stories include ‘Tickles’, a story about a man visiting his mother in a dementia ward where he finds he is the one who had forgotten important things.

‘Cuckoo’, about a man’s collapse and surgery – where he feels something more sinister has happened to him; and ‘Daddy Christmas’, where a gay man writes a letter to the son he never had.

Out March 3rd 2025

Salt Books