Interviewing Damon Galgut current Booker Prize-winner

May 6, 2022 / Paul McVeigh Writer / Leave a comment

The Price of Privilege: Damon Galgut

I’ll be meeting Damon Galgut to discuss his writing and his Booker Prize-winning novel The Promise at the International Literary Festival Dublin on May 24. Check it out here.

“As a literary form, the novel has a unique capacity to capture the realities of life. The things we shouldn’t forget. A good novelist understands this. A great novelist takes this knowledge and uses the form to do something unexpected. Damon Galgut was praised by the Booker Prize judges for exactly this feat in 2021 when The Promise was awarded the prestigious prize. Set on a farm on the outskirts of Pretoria, and focusing on a seemingly ordinary family in crisis, Galgut’s novel asks relentless questions of the past and the present, and of the ways in which we deny ourselves and each other when confronted with truth.

Damon Galgut is a South African author, based in Capetown. The author of nine novels, he was twice nominated for the Booker Prize before winning it in 2021 for The Promise.

‘A masterpiece…A moving, brilliantly told family epic’ – Elizabeth Day

**Please note that you also have the option to watch this event live from the comfort of your own home. Make sure you select “Book Online Event” if you wish to do so.**”

Only 10 Tickets Left – A National Day for Writers in Dublin

May 24, 2018 / Paul McVeigh Writer / Leave a comment

homeLogo

What’s happening? Words Ireland @ ILFDublin: A National Day for Writers is a one-day get together for professional and emerging writers working in all forms. It takes place at IMMA, Dublin on Friday 25 May.

What is it, exactly? We’re building the ideal environment for writers to gather together, reflect on your creative and professional practice, catch up with industry leaders and be inspired.

So what will happen on the day? There’ll be writer’s manifestos and lectures, and presentations from writers on their recent projects and collaborations. You’ll hear how your peers manage their time and workload, and develop opportunities for themselves at home and abroad. Opportunities to discuss and debate development and funding of literature in Ireland. Events that will help evolve your thinking on how words can be produced and performed on stage, and another that offers serious industry insight from publishers, agents, book sales analysts, etc.

What are the benefits? As well as informative, writer-centric events, we’re gathering 40 literature organisations and lots of industry personnel together to meet writers in the Great Hall at IMMA. Grab a free tea/coffee and sit down with the people and organisations who regularly offer writers work.

How does it work? There are nine events to choose from on the day. Each is short and sweet, 50 minutes long. You’ll get to choose the events that are right for you, then everyone sits in on the final keynote event. Then free beers!

What’s the line up? The line-up of speakers confirmed so far:

Is it pricey? Early bird tickets are €45 and general admission is €55. That includes free lunch of sandwiches and drinks reception. Group tickets for 3 cost €120 in total, so if you can encourage two more writer friends to join you, it’ll only cost €40 each. Click here to book.

I have a published book that I want to pitch to Film Directors! Great stuff; we have just the thing for you. We’ll be pairing ten ticket holders with ten film directors, so you can pitch your story to each one. More details coming soon.

Words Ireland is a collective of seven literature organisations working collaboratively to create an environment in which writers can develop sustainable writing lives: Children’s Books Ireland, Irish Writers Centre, Literature Ireland, Munster Literature Centre, Poetry Ireland, Publishing Ireland, The Stinging Fly.

Talking Translation: International Literature Festival Dublin

May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 / Paul McVeigh Writer / 1 Comment

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

ILFD

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.

Guter Junge

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.

27 May, Talking Translation: International Literature Festival Dublin

April 25, 2017April 28, 2017 / Paul McVeigh Writer / 1 Comment

Talking Translation – Writing and Rewriting: Writers and Translators in Conversation

Brunch with guests including Paul McVeigh, Rasha Khayat, and their translators Hans-Christian Oeser and Sinead Crowe. The event will feature a discussion between the participants about their work, separately and together, providing some insight into the mysterious workings of the writer–translator relationship and their common search to give voice to contemporary fiction. Brunch will be served in a relaxed and informal setting, offering the opportunity to listen and speak to these remarkable writers and ‘rewriters’.

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.

Book Tickets

Date Saturday, 27 May

Time 10:30AM

Venue Drury Buildings

Price €5