Space to Write, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart
Flowerfield Arts Centre 185 Coleraine Road, PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland, United KingdomAre you a writer who’d like to meet up with other writers in the Causeway Coast & Glens area and have some time out to work in a new environment? Space to Write is a free initiative through which we hope you will, literally, find the space and time to write. Flowerfield Arts Centre is offering writers a specific time that they can come together to network/meet and work on their writing in quieter spots in the centre – from the galleries to our reception café area to our ground floor corridor. Writers are invited to gather, find a comfortable space in the arts centre and write quietly for an hour, after which time we will meet in the café area for a cuppa and a chat before heading home. Please note, this isn’t a creative writing workshop. It offers space for individual writers to meet and network at a specific time each week and have some creative space. You may be a first-time or a published writer. You may be a writer working in any genre. You may like to take inspiration from the exhibitions in the galleries at Flowerfield, or to continue with a work-in-progress. There will be no exercises […]
Reading Round at Coleraine Library
Coleraine Library Queen Street, Coleraine, United KingdomWhat is a Reading Round group? Reading Round is a unique type of reading group that differs in a number of ways from traditional-style book groups. Each group is run by a published author who has worked for at least two years in the Royal Literary Fund’s Fellowship scheme. Reading Round is funded by the Royal Literary Fund and is free for members to join. Where and When will it happen? The Reading Round group will meet in the Meeting Room at Coleraine Library starting again in September 2022. Provisional dates (28th September 2022 through to 7th June 2023) to be confirmed. What’s involved? Each week the group listens to a different piece, or pieces, of writing read aloud by the Group Lector. The piece might be a story or a poem though it might also be a speech, memoir or piece of narrative non-fiction. The group then discusses the piece(s) at some length to really try to get under the skin of the text: What effects does it have on us as we read? How does it achieve those effects? Guided by a Lector, the group considers the text in detail, looking at tone, choice of words, viewpoint, the effect of a certain image […]
Focus on Short Fiction with Bernie McGill at the John Hewitt International Summer School 2023
Market Place Theatre, Armagh Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, United KingdomA hands-on, fully participative writing workout that allows you to explore the writing of short fiction, to consider where your strengths as a writer lie and who you’re writing for. Wherever you are on your writing journey, from beginners who are not sure how to proceed, to more experienced writers open to new ways of working, this course will offer exercises and prompts that will help to develop your work in new directions, within a community of fellow writers. Come with an open mind, prepared to write. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels (The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet) and two short story collections (This Train is For and Sleepwalkers). Her work has been widely anthologised and has been produced by BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. She is an Associate Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund. These workshops at the John Hewitt International Summer School in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh, run on Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th & Thursday 27th July 2023 from 2.45pm - 4.45pm. Participants should attend all three workshop sessions. Spaces are limited - advance booking is essential. Book this workshop at the Market Place Theatre Box Office. Full information on events and workshops […]
FREE Writing and Walking Workshop at Artlink Fort Dunree, Buncrana, Co. Donegal
Artlink Fort Dunree Fort Dunree, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, Ireland10.30am-1pm Sunday 12th November 2023 Join writer Bernie McGill for a writing workshop that takes inspiration from the history and natural environment of the site at Fort Dunree that overlooks Lough Swilly and the North Atlantic. This workshop will offer prompts and writing exercises to initiate ideas and will use as inspiration the works-in-progress in the Saldanha Gallery, created by the artists and makers who have been working in response to the Sea Change project. We will also use as inspiration the work of writers from across these islands who have written in response to the sea. Participants will have the opportunity (weather permitting) to explore the site and to write in response to their surroundings at Fort Dunree. Dress for the weather and in comfortable walking shoes and bring writing materials, preferably a hardback notebook (or equivalent) for note-taking outdoors. This is a free workshop but numbers are limited. To book email info@artlink.ie Initiated through partnership work with ARTLINK Fort Dunree during 2023, Sea Change offered three Causeway-based artists and three Donegal-based artists the unique opportunity to work collaboratively to explore our shared cultural heritage of living and working along this stunning island coastline - from the creative inspiration […]
(SOLD OUT) Between the Lights: Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomThe Celtic festival of Samhain traditionally marks the end of the lighter half and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It was believed that at this time, the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. As we head into the darker weeks of the year you are invited to join us for a half-day writing workshop around the theme of passing between the lights. This will be a practical workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. Open to all from experienced writers to first-timers, poets and prosers alike. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. Bernie McGill’s latest publication is the short story collection This Train is For, long listed in July 2023 for the prestigious Edge Hill Prize, published by and available from No Alibis Press. Bernie is author of The Butterfly Cabinet, The Watch House and the short story collection Sleepwalkers (shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014). She is an experienced facilitator and mentor and an Associate Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund. Book this workshop on the Seamus Heaney HomePlace website* Full programme of events at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Autumn/Winter 2023. *Please note this workshop is now sold […]
Michelle Gallen in Conversation with Bernie McGill
Linen Hall Library, Belfast 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, United KingdomThe critically acclaimed author of Big Girl, Small Town and Factory Girls, Michelle Gallen, joins us at The Linen Hall Library for an insightful conversation with Bernie McGill about her work. Fresh from her well-deserved Comedy Women in Print prize, Michelle will delve into how her characters’ narratives are intricately shaped by her deep connection to place, rural life, Northern Ireland politics, and her unique life experiences. Copies of the book will be available to buy on the evening of this event. ABOUT MICHELLE GALLEN Michelle Gallen was born in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the border between what she was told was the “Free” State and the “United” Kingdom. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin, then survived what doctors now suspect was autoimmune encephalitis in her mid-twenties. Her debut novel, Big Girl, Small Town was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Her critically acclaimed second novel, Factory Girls, was published in 2022. She now lives in Dublin with her husband and kids. About Bernie McGill Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly […]