In 2025, acclaimed writer Bernie McGill was invited to donate her literary archive to The Linen Hall Library. To mark the occasion, Hugh Odling-Smee talks to her in the library about her archive and about her writing career, from her novels The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (2010) through to her most recent publication, This Train is For, for which she won the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize.

A selection of items from the archive will be on display at the event.

This event is included in the programme for the 2025 Belfast International Arts Festival. Admission is free but booking is essential. Please book here.

The 2025 Belfast International Arts Festival takes place from 14th October – 9th November and features Talks & Ideas, Music, Theatre & Dance, Visual Arts and Special Events in 30 venues across the city. The full programme is available to view here.

Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.