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In Conversation w/ Kit de Wall

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Kit de Waal in Conversation with Paul McVeigh

 The Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre

Monday 22 July | 1.30pm | £10

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Fiction

Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up in a household of opposites and extremes among the Irish community of Birmingham in the ‘60s and ‘70s The best-selling author of novels, short stories, anthologies, and radio dramas, her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. In 2022 it was adapted for television by the BBC.

Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah was shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. A prolific writer, she has also published an anthology of working-class memoir, Common People (2019), crowdfunded and edited by Kit, a collection of short stories, Supporting Cast (2020), and a memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes (2022). A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, her new novel Best of Everything will be released in April 2025. kitdewaal.com/

Paul McVeigh is the acclaimed author of the novel, The Good Son. A Co-founder of the London Short Story Festival, his 2023 play, Big Man, premiered at the Lyric Theatre Belfast. paulmcveighwriter.com/

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Interviewing Marlon James at ILFD

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Ten Years of Seven Killings

Marlon James

Celebrating the book’s tenth anniversary and his historic prize win, James takes the stage to discuss his work to date and how the success of A Brief History of Seven Killings shaped the trajectory of his writing career.

On December 3rd 1976 at around 8:30 PM, seven men armed with guns broke into 56 Hope Road where Bob Marley and his band were rehearsing for an upcoming gig. The gunmen managed to shoot Marley’s wife, his manager, a band employee, and Marley himself before fleeing the scene. Later, the gunmen would be tried and executed in a ghetto court with both the singer and his manager present.

A Brief History of Seven Killings reimagines this defining moment in the singer-songwriter’s storied life and career. Spanning three decades, its cast of characters range from drug dealers to journalists, ghosts to the CIA as they navigate the streets of 1970s Kingston, the crack houses of 1980s New York, and the radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s.

This masterpiece of speculative fiction won Marlon James the 2015 Man Booker Prize, making him the first ever Jamaican writer to win the prize. In this event celebrating the book’s tenth anniversary and his historic prize win, James takes the stage to discuss Marley’s legacy, his work to date, and how the success of the book shaped the trajectory of his writing career.

Marlon James is the author of the New York Times-bestseller Black Leopard, Red Wolf. A Brief History of Seven Killings won the 2015 Man Booker Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction, and the Minnesota Book Award. His other publications include The Book of Night Women and John Crow’s Devil.

This event will be chaired by writer Paul McVeigh, Paul’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award. His short stories have appeared in anthologies, journals and his writing has been translated into seven languages.

Date : 

Sat 25 May

Time : 

19:00

Venue : 

Merrion Square Park – Speranza

Price : 

€20 / €18

Book here.

Chairing Wendy Erskine & Bernie McGill at JHISS ’22

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Celebrating the Short Story with Wendy Erskine & Bernie McGill

in conversation with …Paul McVeigh

Wednesday 27th July at 1.30pm Market Theatre, Armagh.

Wendy Erskine’s first collection, Sweet Home, (2018) was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and won the 2020 Butler Literary Award. In her new collection, Dance Move, we meet characters who are looking to wrest control of their lives, only to find themselves defined by moments in their past. In these stories – as in real life – the funny, the tender and the devastating go hand in hand.

“Truly magnificent. These stories buzz with life and verve and humour. A collection that reminds us how glorious the short story can be.” Danielle McLaughlin

Bernie McGill

Bernie McGill has written two novels, The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Irish/European Union Prize for Literature, a collection of short stories, Sleepwalkers, and two plays, The Weather Watchers, and The Haunting of Helena Blunden. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for numerous awards and is anthologised widely. Her latest collection of short stories is This Train is For, published by
No Alibis, June 2022.

“[Bernie] McGill writes about life, love and telegraphy with a poet’s clarity.” The Sunday Times

For the full festival programme go here.

You can still listen to my short story ‘Dady Christmas’ on BBC Radio 4 here.

The Good Son 3rd Editon
You can buy here

Winner of The Polari First Novel Prize

‘A triumph of storytelling. An absolute gem.’ Donal Ryan

‘Raw, funny and endlessly entertaining’. Jonathan Coe

Jamie Attenberg, Cate Kennedy, Rosie Schaap and me!

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The Writing Life: Friendship, Travel & Creativity Across Continents

The Crescent is delighted to welcome two best-selling international authors to Belfast: Jami Attenberg (New Orleans-based author of seven books of fiction and most recently a memoir),  and Cate Kennedy (Australian-based author of two short story collections, a novel, three poetry collections and a memoir). Cate and Jami will be in conversation with Northern Ireland-based writers Roise Schaap and Paul McVeigh, to share their work and discuss travel, writing experience and friendship.

Jami Attenberg is the New York Times best-selling author of seven books of fiction, including The Middlesteins and All This Could Be Yours. She has contributed essays to the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times, and The Guardian, among other publications. She lives in New Orleans.

Cate Kennedy is the author of two short story collections, a novel, three poetry collections and a memoir.  Her awards include the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for Poetry for her collection The Taste of River Water (Scribe, 2011) and the NSW People’s Choice Award for her novel The World Beneath (Scribe 2009, published Australia, the U.S.A, the U.K, France and Hong Kong). Her short story collections are both on the Australian school syllabus as study texts.  She teaches widely both in Australia and the U.S., and has just completed her PhD in Creative Writing.

Rosie Schaap is the author of Drinking with Men: A Memoir and Becoming a Sommelier. From 2011 to 2017 she was a columnist for The New York Times Magazine. Her essays appear in numerous anthologies, most recently the new edition of Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York.  She teaches creative nonfiction at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Irish Writers Centre and her next book, The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country, will be out next year. A native New Yorker, she has lived in the Glens of Antrim since 2019.

Paul McVeigh is a writer, author and performer. His novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Award and the McCrea Literary Award. He is the Editor of three anthologies, including, 32: An Anthology of Irish Working-Class Voices, (Unbound), published in 2021. paulmcveighwriter.com

Date Monday 09 May 2022

Time 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Price£4

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Appearing at Mountains to Sea Festival

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Belfast Stories with Wendy Erskine and Lucy Caldwell & chaired by Paul McVeigh

dlr LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre, Saturday March 28th, 1.30pm.

As editor, of ‘Belfast Stories’ anthology, I’ve been asked to chair this wonderful event. I do hope some of you can come.

“Chaired by novelist Paul McVeigh, we are pleased to welcome two of Belfast’s most compelling voices, Wendy Erskine and Lucy Caldwell for discussion and readings from Belfast stories. This collection of short fiction presents a composite view of local life which invites us to view Belfast afresh through the imaginations of some of its finest writers. Join us and hear each of our guests pay homage to contemporary Belfast in all its vivacity, multiplicity, and complexity.

Wendy Erskine lives in Belfast. Her debut collection of stories, Sweet Home, was published by The Stinging Fly Press in September 2018. It will be published by Picador in the UK in June 2019. Her stories have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and on RTÉ Radio One.

Lucy Caldwell is the multi–award winning author of three novels, several stage plays and radio dramas and, most recently, two collections of short stories: Multitudes(Faber, 2016) and Intimacies (forthcoming, Faber, 2020). She is also the editor of Being Various: New Irish Short Stories (Faber, 2019). Awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Irish Writers’ and Screenwriters’ Guild Award, the Commonwealth Writers’ Award (Canada & Europe), the Edge Hill Short Story Prize Readers’ Choice Award, a Fiction Uncovered Award, a K. Blundell Trust Award and a Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.

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Appearing JLF Doha, Qatar

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JLF Doha, Qatar: Dec 12-14

 

I’m excited to be heading to Qatar soon for JLF Doha. Here are my events at the Qatar National Library.

Fri 13th, 6:20 PM TO 7:05 PM, SPECIAL EVENT AREA 

Writing Conflict: Paul McVeigh, Ahmad Dallal, and Prayaag Akbar in conversation

In a world fraught with conflict, eminent writers speak of how they make sense of the disturbances and dystopias around us. Prayaag Akbar’s award-winning novel Leila, adapted into a popular Netflix series, addresses the ongoing conflicts in society. Paul McVeigh’s debut novel, The Good Son, tells the story of the Irish Troubles in turbulent Belfast. Writer and academic Ahmed Dallal has examined the conflicts of the Middle East.

2:55 PM TO 3:40 PM AUDITORIUM

What is Not Said:​​​​​​​ Celebrating the Short Story: Alex Shaw, Kaltam Jabor M. Al-kuwari and Paul McVeigh in conversation

The brevity of short fiction, illuminating transformative moments in life, eliminating all that is unnecessary, takes it to the heart of the reader. A session which investigates and celebrates the form and function of the short story. Conversations and contextual readings featuring Alex Shaw, author of the popular Aidan Snow SAS series, Kaltam Jabor M. Al-kuwari, the first Qatari women to author a collection of short stories, and Paul McVeigh, author of The Good Son and director and co-founder of London Short Story Festival, Paul McVeigh.

 

I hope to see some of you in Doha!

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Cork Word Book Festival w/ Kit de Waal & Anne Griffin

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RAISING THE BAR FOR NEW FICTION

FRI 26 APR 2019 8:00pm | €8/6

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Kit de Waal and Anne Griffin will be in conversation with me.

“The Trick to Time is Kit de Waal’s second novel, taking place during the IRA pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974. Born in Birmingham to an Irish mother and an African-Caribbean father, de Waal began her writing career at the age of 45, after leaving school at 15. Seeking to address the under-representation of working-class voices in the arts, de Waal has established a creative writing scholarship.

Anne Griffin has worked with various charities following completion of a postgraduate diploma in Youth and Community Work. A recipient of the John McGahern Award for Literature, Griffin’s debut novel is When All Is Said. The protagonist is 84-year-old Maurice, who sits at a bar and toasts five individuals who have most profoundly impacted on his life in five internal monologues.

7.30pm: Join us for a pre-event whiskey tasting event from Master of Malt and discover the wonderful world of Irish whiskey through the distilleries while remembering the characters beautifully brought to life in Anne Griffin’s poignant bestselling novel, When All Is Said. Whiskies from Midleton and Bushmills showcase the incredible spectrum of flavours found in Ireland’s favourite drink and reflected in the toasts raised by character Maurice Hannigan to his loved ones in When All Is Said.”

Book here.

 

I’m chairing Iain Archer, Lucy Caldwell, and ‘Derry Girls’ writer Lisa McGee

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An Evening with Iain Archer, Lucy Caldwell, and Lisa McGee, chaired by Paul McVeigh.

The three Seamus Heaney Centre Fellows for 2019, Iain Archer, Lucy Caldwell, and Lisa McGee will reflect on their diverse creative practices, in conversation with writer Paul McVeigh.

This is the closing event for the Writing Through Conflict symposium, hosted by the School of AEL and the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s, in partnership with National Museums NI.

Iain Archer is a Grammy nominated musician from Bangor, who has written and produced for artists such as Snow Patrol, Jake Bugg, Liam Gallagher and James Bay. He has received two Ivor Novello Awards and a third nomination. As well as his critically acclaimed solo career, Iain is a member of the band Tired Pony.

Lucy Caldwell is an award-winning Belfast-born author of three novels, several stage plays and radio dramas, and a collection of short stories. She is the editor of Being Various: New Irish Short Stories (Faber, 2019).

Lisa McGee is a stage and screen writer from Derry, she studied Drama at Queen’s University Belfast. Her plays include The Heights, Nineteen Ninety Two, and Girls and Dolls, and Jump, which has been adapted into a film. Lisa is the acclaimed writer and creator behind the hit Channel 4 sitcom’s London Irish and Derry Girls.

Date And Time: Tue, 5 March 2019, 18:00 – 19:00

Location: Ulster Museum, Belfast BT7 1NG

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Me, Gavin Corbett, Lisa McInerney & Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

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Brooks Literary Salon with Paul McVeigh

I’ll be talking to literary guests including Bailey’s and Encore Prize-winner Lisa McInerney, Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year winner Gavin Corbett and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne who received the Irish Pen Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature and a Hennessy Hall of Fame Award for Lifetime Achievement. Join us at the beautiful, boutique, Brooks Hotel situated in the fashionable heart of Dublin city for a one-off special evening of readings and discussion. Brooks are offering a special pre-salon deal – two tapas plus a glass of house wine at €18.50 per person.

Featuring Lisa McInerney who’s work has featured in Winter Papers, The Stinging Fly, Granta, The Guardian, BBC Radio 4 and various anthologies. Her story ‘Navigation’ was longlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Her debut novel The Glorious Heresies won the 2016 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2016 Desmond Elliott Prize. Her second novel, The Blood Miracles, won the 2018 RSL Encore Award.

Gavin Corbett is from Dublin. He is the author of three novels: Innocence, This Is the Way, and Green Glowing Skull. He is a winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and teaches across the creative writing programmes at UCD.

N Dhuibhne is an Irish novelist, short story writer and playwright in both Irish and English. Eilis has won many awards for her work, including the Stewart Parker Award for Drama, Bisto ‘Book of the Year’ Award, several Oireachtas awards for play and novels, and a shortlisting for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her most recent books are Selected Stories (Dalkey Archive Press 2017), and a memoir, Twelve Thousand Days (Blackstaff Press, 2018). She received the Irish Pen Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2015, and a Hennessy Hall of Fame Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016.

Hosted by Paul McVeigh who’s debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award. His short stories have been in The Stinging Fly and The London Magazine, read on BBC Radio, and performed on Sky Arts TV. ‘Hollow’ was shortlisted for Irish Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2017. He is the co-founder of the London Short Story Festival and his writing has been translated into seven languages.

Brooks Hotel, 62 Drury St, Dublin 2. October 12th 7-9pm.

Tickets here.

Paul will be teaching his ‘That Killer First Page’ class at the same venue the next day, Saturday 13th.

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