My Portrait by Legendary John Minihan

I’ll be heading to Dublin on Friday September 26 for the launch of First Lines: Irish Author Portraits by John Minihan.

John Minihan is the legendary photographer known for his wonderful portraits of Beckett in Paris. John has been taking portraits of Irish authors which have been made into postcards with the first lines from their work on the other side. I’m honoured to part of it and to celebrate the work of Literature Ireland.

I saw John last weekend where he is the resident photographer at Cork Short Story Festival and am looking forward to seeing him again at this event.

Literature Ireland have been hugely supportive of me, helping to fund translations of my The Good Son into French, German, Hungarian and Russian. A crucial organisation for the translation and promotion of Irish writers abroad.

The other writers featured in the series are Colin BarrettSara Baume, Gavin Corbett, Rob DoyleAudrey MageeMike McCormackLisa McInerneyDanielle McLaughlinAlan McMonagle, Conor O’Callaghan and Sally Rooney.

cropped-cork-world-book-festival

One of the portraits by John Minihan

Winner of The Polari Prize & The McCrea Literary Award
“I devoured it in a day, but I’ve thought about it for many, many more. ”
Bailey’s Prize-winner Lisa McInerney
“A triumph of storytelling. An absolute gem.”
Donal Ryan

 

The Good Son: Now in Hungarian!

Hot on the news of selling The Good Son to Russia, the Hungarian version of The Good Son is in shops now. Called A jó fiú it is translated by Laura Lukács and the word from Literature Ireland is that she has done an excellent job.

Hungarian Cover

I’d like to thank the amazing Literature Ireland who have given translation grants to the publisher which is the third time they have supported The Good Son – also French and German translations.

I love the Hungarian cover. What do you think?

You can even read an extract here.

The novel is with Typotex Publishing as part of their World Literature Series. You can buy it in shops and online now!

 

 

The Good Son Goes to Russia!

Some exciting news. The Good Son will be translated into Russian! I’d never have imagined that a story about a young boy who barely leaves his street in Ardoyne, Belfast, would have something to say to readers in Russia. I’m over the moon!

Russian contract.jpg

Last year The Good Son was chosen out of 160 books by The British Council and The Literary Platform to be one of 12 to take part of The UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature. I now know this lead to the editor-in-chief of new publishing house Arkadia in St Petersburg reading The Good Son and wanting to publish it. So many thanks to The British Council and The Literary Platform.

The publishers are discussing translators and are currently considering either the Russian translator of Kingsley Amis, Richard Adams, Agatha Christie and Michael Ondatji or the translator of Dorothy Parker, Anne Enright and Richard Ford.

Just – wow!

Thanks to my wonderful agent Carrie Kania and the foreign rights team at C&W for their all their hard work.

Celebrating the German Translation of The Good Son

Paul McVeigh & Hans-Christian Oeser at Germany@Home

I will be reading in the series Germany@Home on 29th September 2017 at 19:00. The Goethe Institut Irland has invited me and my German translator to discuss the book in Dublin. Guter Junge is published in Germany by Wagenbach.

“McVeigh is writing with warmth and humor about a time of poverty and violence. His two translators Hans-Christian Oeser and Nina Frey were able to transfer this tone of voice wonderfully into the German translation.”

Admission is free, booking essential via Eventbrite: Paul McVeigh & Hans-Christian Oeser

Language: English
+353 1 6801120

Goethe

Guter Junge

“Told vividly and with grim humour… McVeigh’s lush and, against all probability colourful novel from a black and white world bears the utopia that even in dark times, the hope can not be defeated.” Die Welt

Talking Translation: International Literature Festival Dublin

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

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.

Date Saturday, 27 May

Time 10:30AM
Venue Drury Buildings
Price €5

Translated into Turkish

I’m  very excited that a short fiction of mine “Dig” has been translated in Turkish by Cihan Akkartal for Altzine – a Turkish literary magazine. To read click onto the site – the first box is for your email, the second is the capthca, so just fill in what you see and you can download it.

I went to Turkey earlier this year with The British Council as part of the Authors Meet programme. I visited Izmir and Istanbul and met the magazine’s editor Su Basbugu while there. I hope you enjoy the story and read the rest of the magazine.

altZine Yaz 2016

This flash fiction Dig first appeared, in English, in Unbraiding the short story – an anthology of the authors attending The 13th International Conference on the Short Story which I attended in Vienna, in 2014. This translation was commissioned by MF Opowiadania – Int. Short Story Festival where I read in Wroclaw, in 2015.

Unbraidng Cover

Guter Junge – The Good Son, Germany

German Books Arrive

So the advance copies of Guter Junge (The Good Son German translation) have arrived at the offices of Wagenbach and are about to be sent out to reviewers and booksellers.

German Book 2

The English and French versions of the novel came out in paperback only so this is the first hardback edition of The Good Son and the first hardback of my work – ever. It’s the little firsts that give the most excitement.

Wagenbach brochure

My publishers seem to be as excited as I am as they’ve put the novel on the cover of their Autumn catalogue and produced thousands of postcards to send around bookshops all over  Germany. there are 3 which have different quotes from the book.

Bochure 2

Inside, there’s a great, big spread of the brilliant photo taken by Roeloff Bakker who is also a writer. You should check him out.

Brouchure 3

There’s also a short interview. All of this at the front of the catalogue too. I’ve been invited  over to The Berlin International Literature Festival to read from the novel and I can’t wait.

More news soon…