Abridged Extract from Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook

This is an abridged extract from my article in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2023, discussing what I has learned about the world of short stories.

“In the rush for publication, writing for radio is often forgotten, and the irony is that radio is probably the largest commissioner of short stories in the UK and Ireland. Put BBC Radio 4 Short Story in your search bar and you will find a treasure trove of recordings read by our greatest performers.”

Click here for full extract.

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

Understanding the Industry: PROPHETS, MAKERS AND RISK TAKERS

‘Prophets, Makers and Risk Takers: A Showcase of Writing from Northern Ireland’ is a 2-day festival that brings leading writers in Northern Ireland together, in person and online, to share their ideas and skills with emerging writers, and to promote the best of Northern Irish writing across the world.

I’ll be taking part in the Panel Discussion: Understanding the Industry at 12noon March 9th.

Check out the full programme here.

The Good Son 3rd Editon

Winner of The Polari First Novel Prize

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

Raw, funny and endlessly entertaining’Jonathan Coe

27 Mar, Mairtín Crawford Award: Preparing Short Stories For Submission (Online)

Date Saturday 27 March 2021

Time 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Price Free. Book NowMairtín Crawford Award: Preparing Short Stories for Submission

workshop

Join 2021 Short Story Judges Lucy Caldwell and Paul McVeigh in a lively conversation about submitting your work to Awards. Lucy and Paul will speak about their own experience of Awards – as writers and judges; the specificities of the Mairtín Crawford Award and practical approaches to assembling and presenting work for Submission. 

Lucy and Paul will be in conversation for about 45 minutes, then spend 30 minutes responding to your questions.

Please note that questions must be submitted in advance. To submit a question please email BBFSubmissions@CrescentArts.org by 5pm on Wednesday 24th March. Please include in the email that the question is for the Short Story Workshop. 

Can’t make the 27th? This workshop will be recorded and available to stream online afterwards. 

This event is free to attend and registration is essential. 

Lucy Caldwell is the author of four novels, including the forthcoming These Days (Faber, Spring 2022), two short story collections, including Intimacies, out this May, and several stage plays and radio dramas. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, her awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright, a Fiction Uncovered Award and a Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. In 2019, she edited Being Various, the latest volume in the ongoing Faber series of New Irish Short Stories.

Paul McVeigh‘s debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award and was shortlisted for many others including the Prix du Roman Cezam in France. His short stories have appeared in Faber’s Being Various, Kit de Waal’s Common PeopleThe Art of the Glimpse and have been read on Radio 4 and Sky Arts. He is associate director of Word Factory ‘the national organisation for excellence in the short story’ The Guardian, and he co-founded London Short Story Festival. Paul has edited Belfast StoriesQueer Love: Anthology of Irish Fiction and The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working Class Voices.

Prizes for Belfast Youth

I created a lockdown writing competition with Ardoyne Youth Enterprise. There were three categories based on age with the theme Children of Lockdown. The prizes were awarded this week and I went to the offices to sign books and certificates. You can read the winning entires here.

This was a follow on from the videos I made of The Good Son for AYE during the first lockdown.

With thanks to Arts Council of Northern Ireland for supporting me during the making of those.

West Cork Workshops Half Price!

I’m Teaching the Week-Long  Novel Writing Workshop 

West Cork Literary Festival’s writing workshops are moving online and you can take at a workshop from the safety and comfort of your home. Thanks to the support of Cork County Council they can offer these workshops at 50% of their normal tuition fee. Course details and booking info. 

img_2714

“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

 

My Writing Masterclass for BBC Radio

Writing Masterclass

‘Belfast writer Paul McVeigh tells us how to write a good story’

This is a short video I made for BBC Radio to help budding writers out there. It includes my advice on best writing books and where to begin. I hope you enjoy it.

img_2714

“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

Teaching in Spain 2020

Teaching at the Literary Adventure writing retreat in Spain 2020

I’ll be teaching for the wonderful TLC. Here’s the info from their site…

TLC is thrilled to announce the tutor for its Guardian-recommended Literary Adventure writing retreat 2020 is the award-winning novelist Paul McVeigh. Paul will be joining us September 5th-12th 2020 at the beautiful Casa Ana in the Alpujarra region of Spain. Groups are limited to a maximum of 12 writers, to allow writers the creative space and freedom to help develop their projects in a focussed and supportive environment. The retreat is open to writers of fiction and memoir with works in progress.

The Study at Casa Ana

TLC Literary Adventures offers an environment where inspiration and improvisation meet. You will have access to world-class teaching, get a chance to work, read, listen, learn and relax in a stunning setting which will open the mind and senses. The retreat will include morning workshops, free writing time, readings, and optional afternoon sessions including a poetry workshop, a talk about the publishing industry, and a trip to a nearby village offering artisanal products. The week will end with a series of short, focussed one-on-one sessions, and a chance to share work written during the week with your fellow writers. Daily breakfasts, lunches, three 3-course chef cooked dinners at Casa Ana, and accommodation are included in the ticket price. A full programme including details on accommodation, location and booking can be found here, or you can email us directly: aki@literaryconsultancy.co.uk.”

TLC Literary Adventure 2020 Programme
TLC Literary Adventure 2020 Rooms and Fees

Hope to see you there.

How To Get Published – Belfast

How To Get Published – Belfast in association w/ Writers & Artists and the Open University

8th June 2019 – 9:30am to 4:00pm

Overview

We’re pleased to be partnering with The Open University to bring a day of advice on the writing and publishing process. This full-day conference, held in the heart of Belfast, includes talks on various aspects of the writing journey from best-selling authors, a networking lunch and an informative interactive panel discussion with leading literary agents.

If you’re an aspiring writer with a manuscript and ready to submit, or simply at the beginning of your writing journey, don’t miss out on what promises to be a day essential to helping you work towards producing a publishable manuscript.

Schedule

09.30-10.00: Registration and welcome teas and coffees

10.00-11.00: How to build a narrative with Paul McVeigh

11.00-11.20: Comfort break

11.20-12.20: Researching the story with Garrett Carr 

12.20-13.30: Lunch break (lunch included)

13.30-14.30: Creating your protagonist with Geraldine Quigley

14.30-14.50: Comfort break

14.50-16.00: How to submit your work to agents and independent presses: practical tips from literary agent Nicola Barr and editor Patsy Horton

16.00-17.00: Reception