Polari returns to The Printworks for a festive outing.
Hosted by Paul Burston with guests Alexandra Benedict, Paul McVeigh, VG Lee and Oli Spleen.
7pm doors for 7.30pm start.
Bookstall kindly provided by Printed Matter.
Tickets from OutSavvy – https://www.outsavvy.com/event/30919/a-very-polari-xmas
Or Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.com/…/a-very-polari-xmas-tickets…
Please come and join me to celebrate Book Week NI in Lisburn Library on Oct 21.
Book your free ticket at: lisburnlibrary@librariesni.org.uk
Join award-winning author Paul McVeigh as he discusses his new short story collection, I Hear You, with journalist and critic Niamh Donnelly.
Paul McVeigh’s short stories have been in anthologies, journals and newspapers, and read on BBC Radio 3, 4 and 5, RTE Radio, as well as Sky ARTS. His ten-part short story series, The Circus, aired on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Foyle and BBC Radio 4. He co-founded London Short Story Festival and has edited three anthologies. His collection of stories written for radio, I Hear You, was published in March 2025. His debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Book Prize and The McCrae Literary Award and his writing has been translated into eight languages.
Niamh Donnelly is a journalist, critic, and writer from Dublin. A regular contributor to The Irish Times, she covers books, arts, and a wide range of other topics. Her work can also be found in Business Plus Magazine, The Irish Independent, New York Magazine, The Financial Times, The Business Post, The Sunday Times, and many other publications. Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, Banshee, and elsewhere. She has been shortlisted for five Irish Journalism Awards.
| Date | Monday October 13th |
| Time | 7pm |
| Admission | Free, booking required |
| Venue | Lucan Library |
Free but booking required here.
I’m attending the 17th International Conference of the Short Story in English. I’ve been invited to this bi-annual conference in Lisbon, Singapore and Vienna. This year I’ll be alongside luminous guests such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler and ZZ Packer.
Bring your notebooks with your fragments, your unfinished stories, and ideas that just wouldn’t launch, this workshop will talk you through a method of making them work. Using examples from his work Paul will show you how he has used his method to create powerful narratives then you can try it on your broken stories. You’ll get feedback and input into your ideas. Because he is also a playwright and has written thirteen short stories for BBC Radio 4, Paul will also show you how to write that story for radio. Be prepared to work and learn a lot.
Writers:
Paul McVeigh
Éilís Ni Dhuibhne
Judith Nika Pfeifer
Writers discuss the pros and cons, ways and means of putting your publications before the public. They will showcase specific works, including their own as examples. Robin Hemley will serve as Chair, with Madeleine D’Arcy as Co-Chair. The participants are Robin Hemley, Katie Singer, Evelyn Conlon, Madeleine D’Arcy, Emma Hislop, Rebekah Clarkson, Paul McVeigh, and Robert Olen Butler.
“We’re delighted to welcome back Polari, the multi award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon, for another unforgettable evening in Bradford.
Founded and hosted by author and activist Paul Burston, Polari is known for its high-energy, cabaret-style atmosphere and showcases the very best in established and emerging LGBTQ+ literary talent.
Expect thought-provoking readings, captivating performances, and a celebration of queer voices that’s anything but your average literary event. Uplifting, entertaining, and always inspiring, Polari is a literary salon with heart, flair, and a whole lot of soul.
Wallers Brewery, Sunbridge Wells, BD1 1SX More Info
Belfast Book Festival
Date Tuesday 10 June 2025
Time 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Price: Pay What You Decide – Recommended Price £12.50
Written with Paul McVeigh’s characteristic flair and Belfast wit, I Hear You (Salt, 2025) is a vibrant collection of short stories from the award-winning author of The Good Son.
Specially written for BBC Radio 4, the stories include a ten-part sequence set around Cliftonville Circus, where five roads meet in North Belfast and the old clashes with the new on diversity, social class, acceptance and change.
Paul will discuss his home city, Belfast, and how it has changed through his work; from Troubles era Ardoyne of The Good Son, post-lockdown north of the city in I Hear You and where its modern diversity can clash with the lingering past in his play Big Man. During the evening Actor Tony Flynn will also give readings from Paul’s work.
Join Paul in conversation with writer Cathy Galvin, founder of the short story organisation The Word Factory and The Sunday Times Short Story Award.
Date Thursday 05 June 2025
Time 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Price £40 | £35 – for whole day – check out the rest of the events.
My event is this industry day is…
How does writing for radio differ from writing for the page, stage or screen? Discover how to write and pitch audio at this informative session with RTÉ radio producer and book editor Clíodhna Ní Anluain, BBC audio producer Michael Shannon and Belfast writer Paul McVeigh, author of I Hear You, a dazzling collection of stories written especially for BBC Radio 4.
Stories That Stay with Paul McVeigh, Andrew Meehan & Carol Drinkwater
Date: 29 May 2025
Venue: St John’s Theatre & Arts Centre
Join Paul McVeigh and Andrew Meehan as they discuss their latest works with Carol Drinkwater.
The power of storytelling, their diverse genres, and everything from dark humour and deep emotion to gripping tales of mystery and personal discovery will be explored by the trio.
Paul McVeigh’s I Hear You is a collection of short stories, written especially for BBC Radio 4. The moving short stories are brave, honest, raw and funny and feature the ten-part sequence: ‘The Circus’, set around Cliftonville Circus, where five roads meet in North Belfast.
Andrew Meehan’s much-anticipated Best Friends explores the depth of a relationship between two friends and the complexities of their bond in a world full of uncertainty.
Carol Drinkwater, known for her evocative memoirs and fiction, will share insights from her new book, Summer in Provence which will be published in July.
Tickets: Here.
I will also be at the prize-giving ceremony for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the night before, as one of this year’s judges.
The Best of Everything: Kit de Waal in conversation with Paul McVeigh.
Award-winning writer Kit de Waal in conversation with Paul McVeigh on her latest novel The Best of Everything which is released this month, April 2025.
Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among
the Irish community of Birmingham in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
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. It is now on the GCSE curriculum for schools.
Paul McVeigh’s short stories have been in anthologies, journals and newspapers, and read on BBC Radio 3, 4 and 5, RTE Radio, as well as Sky ARTS. He co-founded London Short Story Festival and has edited three anthologies.
Sunday 27 April 2025
River Lee Hotel | 3pm | Free – booking essential
Beautiful, Wilful & Adrift: Kathleen Murray and Lisa Harding. In conversation with Paul McVeigh.
If John Irving had been born in Carlow, he would have written The Deadwood Encore by Kathleen Murray. There are similarities in Murray’s tragicomedy, her colourful players, her celebration of the heroism involved in fraternal love. There’s so much here to delight in–fizzing dialogue, offbeat characters, flights of fancy and mad escapades… Kathleen has the guts to take on what’s miraculous and eerie, and spins Frank’s story shrewdly, irreverently, and fondly. A brilliant debut.’
‘Gothic and gloriously entertaining, Lisa Harding’s third novel arrives to fill the Secret History-shaped hole in your lives. Wilde is an elite university in Dublin, full of bright young people who talk about poetry and arthouse cinema, act in plays and have turbulent affairs. Jessica and Linda, friends since childhood, are immediately swept up by the glamour and romance. But then Linda meets Mark, a darkly enigmatic figure, and soon tragedy strikes.’ (The Guardian)
Saturday 26 April 2025
Triskel | 7pm | €5
Booking: https://triskelarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873653553/events
Paul McVeigh 