My story With Matchsticks Not Money in The Linnet's Wings Winter 2013

I'm delighted to say that my short story With Matchsticks Not Money has just been published in the Winter 2013 issue of The Linnet's Wings here

Some online readings - for the festive season perhaps.

Here are some ideas for reading short stories and poetry in online literary journals over the festive season.

The beginnings of enthusiasm...

I remember vividly the first book of short stories that ever came my way. I was a  teenager, on holiday from London, accompanying my mother on a trip to her childhood home in Dunlewey. The cottage was empty. Her parents had died decades earlier; their ten children had all emigrated and made their lives elsewhere. My uncle used to come for the summer when his children were young, but now he rented it to a judge from Dublin who came for occasional fishing trips.
A neighbour from the village kept the key for my uncle, and as the judge was not in residence he came with us so my mother could look inside the place where she grew up. Paddy Maire Mor was an old man then, but he would have witnessed the sadness of death and emigration that my mother's family had gone through, and he was aware of her feelings as she moved through the little cottage. As if to distract me from her melancholy, he drew my attention to a shelf of paperbacks by the door, and urged me to take one. I hesitated, not wanting to deplete the judge's holiday reading, but Paddy was insistent.
I have the book beside me now: "The Sphere Book of Modern Irish Short Stories", published in 1972, edited by David Marcus. I remember reading the stories from start to finish, an indiscriminate consumer of pages, unaware of the reputation of many of the writers. Some resonated with me at the time. I knew that Liam O'Flaherty's 'Going into Exile' described an American Wake like the one my mother remembered in the cottage in the 1930's when her eldest brother and sister emigrated, and I could recognise the tensions in Edna O'Brien's 'Cords': a daughter at home in London with a mother ill-at -ease there.
It's only now I recognise how this book was a launching pad for my enthusiasm for the Irish short story. In years to come, I sought out collections by Michael McLaverty and Brian Friel, having grown to love their stories in this collection. It was here I first read John McGahern, in an unforgettable and strange portrait of his father called 'The Bomb Box'.
I've returned to the stories over the years, and it's only recently that some have yielded their riches to me. Elizabeth Bowen's  'A Love Story; 1939' stands out now, but left my younger self unmoved. How could I have overlooked Mary Lavin's 'Happiness'? I joyfully rediscovered its complexity and emotional power during a recent browse, and it sent me on a quest for more. I'm delighted that I could order 'Tales From Bective Bridge' from Faber Finds, and even happier that it has just been delivered.
The book I acquired so long ago is still spurring me on and leading to new discoveries and pleasures.

Christmas with North West Words

This Thursday evening it's the Christmas event at North West Words, Cafe Blend, Letterkenny. We are in for a treat with readings from  the poet, editor of Boyne Berries, and Boyne Writers' group member Michael Farry.

Manchester Writing for Children Prize 2014

Find details of the first ever Manchester Writing for Children Prize 2014 here.
Also, details of the Manchester Poetry Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize can be found here

Get on yer bike and visit Lumiere Derry

Wow is Derry buzzing! There are four nights of Lumiere ending tonight 1st December, and the city is packed and full of fun.

Advice and resources on writing short stories

Sometimes writing advice really hits at the right time, and you read something about writing process that seems so true. In the beginnings of starting to write, I found it difficult to appreciate much of the wisdom on process. With hindsight, I do believe that writing publishable work is something that is learned gradually through trial and error, and mostly through some success and much rejection (damn it!). Here are some resources providing advice on writing short stories that I've found useful.

Interviews with the marvellous William Trevor

If you are like me and enjoy the writings of William Trevor, this is for you. I'm always keen to read anything that this masterful writer has to say about his craft. He is up there as one of my favourites. Recently, I've come across two instances of interviews with him that I found really enjoyable, and not surprisingly, very insightful on writing process.

An interview with The Paris Review from a few years ago here 

Also, since his recent and well deserved award of the inaugral Charleston-Chichester Award for a Lifetime’s Excellence in Short Fiction, there is an exclusive audio interview with him available at Thresholds website here  

Respect Mr Trevor, respect.

North West Words in November - another great night planned

The last Thursday of the month means North West Words in Cafe Blend Letterkenny. And, there's another great line up this month. I'll be there.

 

The Letters Page - issue 2 out soon and a call for submissions for issue 3

The Garden Room Writers have a special interest in The Letters Page  edited by Jon McGregor and a team from The School of English in The University of Nottingham. Our own GRW Ann Hull had a letter in the first issue. What a lovely idea, hand written letters only. To look at issue 1 see here