My short interview with George Saunders for Word Factory on ‘A Swim in a Pond in the Rain’.
My short interview with George Saunders for Word Factory
The 32 Praised in Independent
“It’s a funny, moving, thought-provoking read, with stories so beautifully rendered you will still be thinking about them long after you finish the book.” Thanks The Independent.ie for including #The32 in their ‘Notions & Necessities’ page.
The Irish News Celebrates The 32
Celebrating Ireland’s working-class writers in The 32
“The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working Class Voices is a new book that celebrates working-class voices from across Ireland. Jenny Lee finds out more from Belfast novelist Paul McVeigh, who edits the collection”
You can read the whole article here.
Great Review of The 32 in New Statesmen
In #the32 “Working-class clichés are dismantled” says the New Statesman
You can read the full review here.
Free Event at West Cork Festival
The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working-Class Voices
Date
Thursday 29 July 2021 Time
7:00 pm Location: Online
Zoom Admission
Free Book Now -The 32 is a celebration of working-class voices from the island of Ireland and it features 16 published writers and 16 new voices writing about their experience of being working class in Ireland. In this event editor Paul McVeigh speaks to four of the contributors Riley Johnston, Dave Lordan, Abby Oliveira and Rick O’Shea.
We read because we want to experience lives and emotions beyond our own, to learn, to see with others’ eyes.
Edited by award-winning novelist Paul McVeigh, this intimate and illuminating collection features memoir and essays from established and emerging Irish voices including Kevin Barry, Dermot Bolger, Roddy Doyle, Lisa McInerney, Lyra McKee and many more. The 32 is published by Unbound on 8 July 2021.
Too often, working-class writers find that the hurdles they come up against are higher and harder to leap over than those faced by writers from more affluent backgrounds. As in Common People – an anthology of working-class writers in the UK edited by Kit de Waal and the inspiration behind this collection – The 32 sees writers who have made that leap reach back to give a helping hand to those coming up behind. Without these working-class voices, without the vital reflection of real lives or role models for working-class readers and writers, literature will be poorer. We will all be poorer.
In Conversation with Billy O’Callaghan
TODAY: Life Sentences – Billy O’Callaghan in conversation with me at 1.30pm for The John Hewitt Summer School.
You can join us here.
Excellent Review of The 32
“The 32 voices in this anthology are truly diverse, culled from all corners of our island.”
A wonderful review of The 32 in The Irish Independent.
“The 32 is an insightful, funny and touching collection, with a range of voices and viewpoints that must be heard.”
You can read the whole interview here.
Teaching at John Hewitt Summer School
Short Story Workshop: Write Short Stories that Stand Out
3 x two-hour workshop sessions
Workshop Description
In this course you will find out what competition judges, anthology and journal editors look for in a short story. You will get tips on where to start the action and how to grab the reader. You will also look at submission opportunities, how to find them and where you should be sending your stories.
Workshop Dates
This workshop will be hosted in the Marketplace Theatre, Armagh on the following dates. Your £66 fee covers all three workshop sessions.
- Monday 26th July 2021, 1430hrs to 1630hrs
- Tuesday 27th July 2021, 1430hrs to 1630hrs
- Thursday 29th July 2021, 1430hrs to 1630hrs
The Good Son: Won The Polari Prize & The McCrea Literary Award
“The Good Son is a work of genius from a splendid writer.”
Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler
“A triumph of storytelling. An absolute gem.” Donal Ryan
Three LGBT Events For Pride Month
On Saturday I chaired a very special event for Belfast Book Festival with Colm Toibin and Mary Dorcey about the Queer Love anthology – it was such a warm conversation about the growing up LGBT in Ireland.
This Saturday coming, June 19th, I’m doing my first event in the USA for Carlow University (sadly online) with Mary Dorcey again. This time however I’m a guest writer and will be reading from my work.
The third event is with Jamie O’Connell who has also has a story in Queer Love. We’ll be talking about that and our novels.
Do come along – the two upcoming are free!
Colm Tóibín and me on BBC Radio
A Taster of the ‘Queer Love’ Event on Saturday 12 June 8pm
This week’s Culture Cafe on BBC Radio Ulster gathers some of the guests at the Belfast Book Festival 2021.
Including Colm Tóibín and me on being part of the literary road map for Irish LGBTQ+ writers and readers starting around 4.40 mins in. The full event takes place this Saturday – you can buy tickets here.
