Bernie McGill

Taster Workshop: Short Story Writing with Bernie McGill
2024-02-24 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Dublin) | Women’s TEC, 29 Chichester Ave, BELFAST, BT15 5EH, United Kingdom
Focus on Short Story… with Bernie McGill, a workshop for the North Belfast Festival 2024
In this short participative creative writing workshop, you will be offered a number of prompts and writing exercises to help get you started on (or help you to develop) your own short story. 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). She is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for This Train is For (No Alibis Press). www.berniemcgill.com
This event will take place at the Women’s TEC, 29 Chichester Avenue, Belfast, BT15 5EH. Cost: £5. To book go to Taster Workshop on the North Belfast Festival website.
For the full programme of the North Belfast Festival (23rd – 25th February 2024), including tours, exhibitions, talks, performances and workshops visit Look North! The North Belfast Festival.

Short Story Writing with Bernie McGill at the John Hewitt International Summer School, Armagh
2024-07-22 14:45 - 2024-07-25 16:45 (Europe/Dublin) | Market Place Theatre, Armagh, Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, BT61 7BW, United Kingdom
Join writer Bernie McGill in an investigation of the short story and the ways in which short story writers can make one thing seem to cause the next. This course will offer exercises, prompts and discussion that will help you to develop and revise your work within a community of fellow writers. Come with an open mind, prepared to write.
This course will take place during the John Hewitt International Summer School at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh. Workshops are scheduled for Monday 22nd, Tuesday 23rd and Thursday 25th July 2024 from 2.45 pm to 4.45 pm and cost £70 in total. Participants should attend all three sessions. All levels are welcome. Spaces are limited – advance booking is essential.
To book go to the Market Place Theatre.
Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the prestigious Edge Hill Prize for her short story collection This Train is For. Her first collection, Sleepwalkers, was shortlisted for the prize in 2014. She is the author of two novels (The Butterfly Cabinet (2010) & The Watch House (2017)) and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.
For the full programme of the John Hewitt International Summer School taking place from Monday 22nd to Saturday 27th July 2024, including workshops, readings, panel discussions, performances and art exhibitions visit The John Hewitt Society.

Scribes at the Duncairn: Bernie McGill, Jan Carson & Paul McVeigh chaired by Marnie Kennedy
2024-08-09 18:30 - 20:30 (Europe/Dublin) | Duncairn Cultural Arts Centre, Duncairn Avenue, Belfast, BT14 6BP, United Kingdom
Featuring Paul McVeigh, Bernie McGill & Jan Carson at Duncairn Arts Centre, Duncairn Avenue, Belfast.
Chaired by Marnie Kennedy, Shared Reading facilitator. This event is hosted by Stories@theDuncairn, a volunteer-led, community literary project, in partnership with the Greater New Lodge Community Festival and Féile an Phobail. Café at the Duncairn open for tea, coffee and refreshments. Wine Reception. All welcome!
Doors open at 6.30pm

Paul McVeigh’s short stories have been in numerous anthologies including ‘Being Various’, ‘The Art of the Glimpse’ and ‘Common People’. They have also been printed in ‘The London Magazine’, ‘The Stinging Fly’ and ‘The Irish Times’, on radio at BBC 3, 4, 5; RTE 1, and Sky TV. His ten-part short story series, ‘The Circus’, appeared on BBC Radio 4 in 2023. Paul co-founded the London Short Story Festival and is associate director of Word Factory, ‘the UK’s national organisation for excellence in the short story’ The Guardian. Paul’s debut novel, ‘The Good Son’, won The McCrea Literary Award and The Polari First Novel Prize. His writing has been translated into seven languages.

Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For (No Alibis Press). She is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (2010) and of one further short story collection, Sleepwalkers (2013). Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Bernie works as a Mentor for the Irish Writers’ Centre and is an Associate Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund.

Jan Carson’s critically acclaimed writings explore themes related to identity, place and belonging, but also to angst and alienation, in such works as The Fire Starters (winner EU Prize for Literature, 2019) and The Raptures. She is also very funny! About her latest collection of short stories, Quickly, While They Still Have Horses, the Irish Times said: ‘Long after the reader has closed the book, these tales linger in the mind: vivid, original and moving.’

Writing for Wellbeing with Tanya Gillen and Bernie McGill
2024-10-05 15:30 - 17:30 (Europe/Dublin) | The Arcadia, Portrush, East Strand, Craig Vara, Portrush, BT56 8JE
Join yoga teacher Tanya Gillen and writer Bernie McGill in the beautiful surroundings of the Arcadia, Portrush in this taster session that will combine somatic exercises with writing prompts to aid mindfulness and wellbeing. Whether you’re a practicing writer looking for inspiration or a complete novice, this is an opportunity to relax and write freely. This will be a seated workshop with some gentle movement. Wear comfortable clothing and bring writing materials. No other equipment needed. No previous experience of yoga or writing required. Suitable for 16+. For more details on events happening at Swell Festival the weekend of 3rd – 6th October 2024 see the Swell Facebook Page.
Numbers limited. To book, visit Eventbrite. Tickets £6.13 (including booking fee).

Mums Meet and Make: Creative Writing with Bernie McGill at Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady
2024-11-20 09:30 - 11:00 (Europe/Dublin) | Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, 24 Main Street, Limavady, BT49 0FJ, United Kingdom
MOMENTS IN MOTHERHOOD | CREATIVE WRITING WITH BERNIE MCGILL
Wednesday 20 November | 9.30-11am
Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady
Cost: £8
With prompts and support from Bernie you’ll create a poem or piece of prose about your motherhood journey, about your baby, or about yourself. After the workshop we invite you to stay for refreshments.
This workshop is suitable for those with children under 1 who are not yet mobile or who will sit in a pram and car seat throughout.
Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre is proudly breastfeeding-friendly and baby-changing is available.

ABOUT MUMS MEET & MAKE
This series of creative workshops is specifically designed for new parents with immobile infants under 1, giving you the opportunity to tap into your creativity, relax, and practice mindfulness.
These workshops are enriching, enjoyable and budget-friendly and offer new mums the chance to foster friendships that will last a lifetime.
Book at this link.

ABOUT BERNIE McGILL
Bernie McGill is an award-winning novelist and short story writer and winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her short story collection This Train is For, published by No Alibis Press. Her novel The Watch House was nominated in 2019 for the Ireland/European Union Prize for Literature and The Butterfly Cabinet was named in 2012 by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year. Her first short story collection, Sleepwalkers, was short listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her short fiction has been nominated for numerous awards and in 2008 she won the Zoetrope:All-Story Short Fiction Award in the US. Her work has been anthologised in award-winning collections The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore and more recently in The Black Dreams, Her Other Language, The Danger & the Glory, Belfast Stories and in Female Lines. She is a recipient of a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Awards, including an International Artists’ Development Fund Award to attend the Vittore Branca Centre at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in June 2023. She is a former Writing Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) at the Seamus Heaney Centre and at the School of Computer Science, Queen’s University, Belfast and is a current Writing for Life Fellow with the RLF. She offers One-to-one Mentoring for fiction writers via the Irish Writers’ Centre and is available for school visits via Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Programme.

Mums Meet and Make: Creative Writing with Bernie McGill at Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart
2024-11-27 09:30 - 11:00 (Europe/Dublin) | Flowerfield Arts Centre, 185 Coleraine Road, PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland, BT55 7HU, United Kingdom
Wednesday 27 November | 9.30-11am
Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart
Cost: £8
With prompts and support from Bernie you’ll create a poem or piece of prose about your motherhood journey, about your baby, or about yourself. After the workshop we invite you to stay for refreshments.
This workshop is suitable for those with children under 1 who are not yet mobile or who will sit in a pram and car seat throughout.

ABOUT MUMS MEET & MAKE
This series of creative workshops is specifically designed for new parents with immobile infants under 1, giving you the opportunity to tap into your creativity, relax, and practice mindfulness.
These workshops are enriching, enjoyable and budget-friendly and offer new mums the chance to foster friendships that will last a lifetime. After each workshop, we encourage you to stay and enjoy some refreshments.
Flowerfield Arts Centre is proudly Breastfeeding-friendly and baby changing is available.
Book at this link.

ABOUT BERNIE McGILL

Bernie McGill is an award-winning novelist and short story writer and winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her short story collection This Train is For, published by No Alibis Press. Her novel The Watch House was nominated in 2019 for the Ireland/European Union Prize for Literature and The Butterfly Cabinet was named in 2012 by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year. Her first short story collection, Sleepwalkers, was short listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her short fiction has been nominated for numerous awards and in 2008 she won the Zoetrope:All-Story Short Fiction Award in the US. Her work has been anthologised in award-winning collections The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore and more recently in The Black Dreams, Her Other Language, The Danger & the Glory, Belfast Stories and in Female Lines. She is a recipient of a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Awards, including an International Artists’ Development Fund Award to attend the Vittore Branca Centre at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in June 2023. She is a former Writing Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) at the Seamus Heaney Centre and at the School of Computer Science, Queen’s University, Belfast and is a current Writing for Life Fellow with the RLF. She offers One-to-one Mentoring for fiction writers via the Irish Writers’ Centre and is available for school visits via Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Programme.

Reading at Edge Hill University
2025-02-19 18:30 - 20:00 (Europe/Dublin) | The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, United Kingdom
The Arts Centre at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk welcomes Northern Irish short story writer and novelist, Bernie McGill for a reading from her collection, This Train is For, winning collection of the Edge Hill Prize in 2023.
Bernie will be joined by writers from Edge Hill’s Fiction Writers’ Network who will be reading new work-in-progress.
All are welcome for this celebration of stories and storytelling.
Admission £5; free to Edge Hill University students
To book, visit The Arts Centre’s event page

Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill at Dromore Book Festival
2025-05-05 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Dublin) | Dromore Book Festival, c/o Bridge Books, 3 Bridge Street, Dromore, Co. Down, BT25 1AN, United Kingdom
Have you always wanted to write but didn’t know where to start? Or have you been writing for a while and find yourself in need of a little creative workout? This workshop aims to flex your writing muscles through exercises, prompts and suggestions that will help to get you started, strengthen your writing practice or develop your work in a new direction.
All levels of experience welcomed, from seasoned writers to first-timers, poets, memoirists and fiction writers alike. Come with writing materials, prepared to write.
Suitable for 16yrs +
Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For (published by No Alibis Press). She is the author of two novels: The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet and of one previous short story collection, Sleepwalkers which is due to be republished in 2025. Her work has appeared in a number of award-winning anthologies and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Bernie works as a Mentor for the Irish Writers’ Centre and is a Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund.
Cost: £20. To book visit Bridge Books on Ticket Source.
The first Dromore Book Festival is hosted by Bridge Books Dromore and features a stellar line-up of events including Crime Queens Liz Nugent, Sharon Dempsey and Hannah King; an evening with Donal Ryan; Brian McGilloway in conversation with Stuart Neville; Brian Rowan with Mike Philpott; Claire Allen with Emma Heatherington and much more.
Full programme and booking details here.

Sleepwalkers by Bernie McGill back in print, republished by No Alibis Press
2025-05-19 - 2026-05-19 | No Alibis Bookshop, 83 Botanic Avenue, BELFAST, BT7 1JL, United Kingdom
Bernie McGill’s first short story collection, Sleepwalkers, originally published by Whittrick Press and shortlisted for the prestigious Edge Hill Prize in 2014, has been republished by Belfast’s No Alibis Press. This republication includes the short story ‘Waiting for Joseph’, originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Short Works series. Bernie’s second short story collection, This Train is For, also published by No Alibis Press, won the Edge Hill Prize in 2023.

Reviews for Sleepwalkers:
‘Bernie McGill is one of Ireland’s great storytellers.’
Ian Sansom
‘These stories are bursting with emotional life, whether the dark swirl of grief to the most potent sensuality. Women deftly navigate their self-definition against the violent past and the hopeful future.’
Caroline Magennis in the Irish Times
‘McGill’s plotting is masterful. These are “killer-blow” stories but [she] carefully guards against sensationalism. Her talent for combining keen observation with a kind of symbolic import is evident. Everything is very precisely described, and yet, more unusually, there is a lyric quality to the description. McGill herself brings not only an awareness of literature, but a poetic sensibility to how she layers her short stories as a poet would layer an image – conscious that meaning is ambiguous, contradictory, polyvalent.’
Tess Maginess, Queen’s University, Belfast
‘Bernie McGill has a seductive way of easing the reader in and out of a story, without the need for killer opening sentences or twist endings. Hers is the voice of an authentic storyteller who guides the reader through her fictional world with authority… I rarely read the first story in a book and immediately re-read it, nor do I finish a short story collection and turn straight back to the beginning. In the case of Bernie McGill’s Sleepwalkers, I did both.’
Safia Moore in The Incubator Journal (Issue 4)

Reviews for This Train is For:
‘This Train is For portrays the complexities of the heart with sensitivity and acute psychological insight. Rendered in the most perfect prose, Bernie McGill presents lives in physical and emotional transit, uncertain of the journey’s destination, understanding that sometimes the most important moments in our lives involve travelling not forward, but to moments we thought we had left long behind.’ David Park
‘Bernie McGill is one of the most accomplished short story writers in Ireland today. These stories contain powerful truths and unsettling revelations, delivered in the gentlest voice. An absolute joy of a collection from start to finish with not a word wasted or misplaced.’
Jan Carson
‘Wonderful stories of journeys geographical and of the inner kind.’ Bernard MacLaverty
‘Bernie McGill brings her precise, lyrical, deceptively quiet style to these stories in a collection that gleams. This Train is For is the work of a decade, and it shows; each story burnished; and a book that’s a beautiful addition to No Alibis Press.’ Lucy Caldwell
‘This Train is For is a dazzling exercise in compression, and an exemplification of what the short story form can achieve.’
Neil Hegarty, Fortnight Magazine
‘Beneath the exquisite surface – at once lyrical and plain-spoken – of each of these stories is carried a great freight of feeling that McGill handles with humanity and restraint. An excellent collection from one of the finest short story writers working in Ireland today.’ Louise Kennedy
‘Derry-born Bernie McGill’s second collection of stories has been eight years in the making, and it was worth the wait. There’s a welcome wit peppering the stories… closing lines that satisfy while leaving enough open to keep the reader thinking. It’s a rare achievement that McGill makes look easy. But the best story might be the last, In the Interests of Wonder, which takes an illusionist’s visit to a school and invests it with sinister strangeness. It reminded me of Thomas Mann’s great allegory of power and credulity, Mario and the Magician, and I can offer no higher praise than that.’
John Self, Irish Times
‘Bernie McGill’s new book of short stories is a collection of quiet majesty, featuring 12 perfectly crafted stories, all exploring moments of transition in the lives of the lost and the lonely. With a compassionate skill, these stories are like arrows in flight; we do not know where they have started from, or where they will land but the journey itself is what is important.’
Cathy Brown, Dig With It Magazine
‘The past returns unbidden in Bernie McGill’s artfully unsettling This Train is For, an intricately crafted collection of unexpected journeys through time and the stations of the heart. “This is what it feels like to travel through history,” observes the narrator of the title story as he contemplates the lost Irish place names of the North. The opening tale features echoes of Brian Friel’s play Translations (1980) in its reflection on “the altered landscape of the tongue” – a central theme which McGill makes her own. For the book is a modern meditation on the inextricability of language and history in Northern Ireland, a place where the naming of things, or the not-naming of them, encodes expression with additional layers of meaning.’
Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado, Dublin Review of Books
‘Like many masters of the short-story form, McGill can see into her characters’ hearts and minds with insight and precision, laying bare their deepest preoccupations for the reader to see. Her stories are quiet, subtle and poetic, often conveying the hidden sadness of life. She bears witness to the small rituals and moments of solitude when everyday life must continue, despite the grief, suffering and loneliness we all experience from time to time. [A Fuss is] a brilliant story in the style of William Trevor, especially in its depiction of a life blighted for the sake of respectability. Some of these stories seem deceptively simple on the surface, but as they unfurl, other, more poignant layers are revealed. ‘The House of the Quartered Door’ and ‘Glass Girl’ are excellent examples of this, both hinging on feelings of guilt and notes of ambiguity.’ JacquiWine’s Journal

Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy*
2025-06-28 10:30 - 13:30 (Europe/Dublin) | Seamus Heaney HomePlace, 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, BT45 8HT, United Kingdom
*This workshop is now sold out.
Join Edge Hill Prize-winning writer Bernie McGill for a workshop in the Moyola Hall and Sensory Garden at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. This will be a practical workshop on the craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. Prompts and exercises will take inspiration from the words, sights, sounds and smells of the garden and surrounds.
All levels of experience are welcome, from experienced writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors in the Sensory Garden, weather permitting, or indoors in the Moyola Hall. Come with writing materials, prepared to write.
10.30 am – 1.30 pm
Booking opens on 23rd April at 10am at this link.

The John Hewitt International Summer School 2025
2025-07-28 - 2025-08-02 | Market Place Theatre, Armagh, Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, BT61 7BW, United Kingdom
The much-celebrated John Hewitt International Summer School will run in 2025 from Monday 28th July – Saturday 2nd August at the Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre in Armagh. The theme this year, inspired by John Hewitt’s poem ‘The Colony’ is ‘Our country also: difference and belonging’. The Summer School will feature writing workshops, author readings and talks, panel discussions, exhibitions and evening performances, as well as an open mike and creative writing showcase. The full programme is available at the John Hewitt Society website.
Bernie McGill will facilitate the Short Story Writing workshops taking place on Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 31st July from 2.45 pm to 4.45 pm. (Attendance is required at all three workshops. Fee: £75.) Full details and booking at the Market Place Theatre.
Bernie will be in conversation with internationally acclaimed author Tessa Hadley at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh on Friday 1st August at 1.30pm. Tessa Hadley has penned eight novels including Accidents in the Home (longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award) and more recently, The Past, Late in the Day and Free Love. She has published four short story collections: Sunstroke, Married Love, Bad Dreams and After the Funeral which won the 2024 Edge Hill Short Story Prize, following her previous win with Bad Dreams in 2018. Her most recent book, The Party, was published to critical acclaim at the end of last year. She won the Windham Campbell Prize for Fiction in 2016, and The Past won the Hawthornden Prize for 2016. (Tickets £12.) Booking and details at the Market Place Theatre.
Tickets are available for all individual events; daily tickets are priced at £45; weekly tickets (excluding workshops) are £240; weekly tickets (including a workshop course) are £305.
Bursary applications for the John Hewitt International Summer Scheme covering admission to all events and workshops are open until Wednesday 14th June. Full bursaries include accommodation. Half-bursaries without accommodation are available to those from the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) Council Area. For full information on eligibility and how to apply visit the John Hewitt Society.
See you there!
Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For, published by No Alibis Press. Her first short story collection Sleepwalkers, originally shortlisted for the Edge Hill, has just been republished by No Alibis, now including a new short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4. She is the author of two historical novels: The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House.

Meet the Author: Bernie McGill at Suffolk Library, Belfast for Book Week NI
2025-10-23 15:00 - 16:30 (Europe/Dublin) | Suffolk Library, Stewartstown Rd, Belfast, BT11 9JP, United Kingdom
Join award-winning writer Bernie McGill at Suffolk Library in Belfast on Thursday 23rd October (3pm) for readings and reflections on her evocative fiction. Known for her lyrical style and deep sense of place, Bernie’s work has touched readers across Ireland and beyond.
Bernie McGill is the author of novels The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House and of the short story collections Sleepwalkers and This Train is For which won the prestigious Edge Hill Prize in 2023. She is an Honorary Member of the Linen Hall Library in Belfast in which building her writing archive is held.
This is a free event but booking is advisable. Contact Suffolk Library on 028 9050 9235
Email suffolk.library@librariesni.org.uk
Book Week NI takes place this year in libraries across Northern Ireland from Monday 21st to Sunday 26th October 2025. For events near you, check out the Libraries NI website.

Launch of Literary Archive at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast
2025-11-07 13:00 - 14:30 (Europe/Dublin) | Linen Hall Library, Belfast, 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, BT1 5GB, United Kingdom
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.

Mary Beckett: A Belfast Woman at Look North! Festival at the Linen Hall Library
2026-02-25 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | Linen Hall Library, Belfast, 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, BT1 5GB, United Kingdom
Born in 1926, Mary Beckett is regarded as one of Belfast’s finest writers. Widely acclaimed for her novels and short stories, especially A Belfast Woman, A Literary Woman and Give Them Stones, her work did much to capture and explore the lives and experiences of women, especially working-class women. To mark the centenary of her birth, The Linen Hall Library in partnership with Look North!, brings together two acclaimed Belfast writers, Anne Devlin and Wendy Erskine, to talk about Beckett’s work and her enduring legacy. This session will be chaired by award-winning novelist and short story writer, Bernie McGill.
Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
This event will be hosted by The Linen Hall Library, Belfast on 25th February at 1pm. Tickets £5. Booking details here.

Writing Workshop at Ballyscullion Park, Bellaghy with Bernie McGill
2026-02-28 10:30 - 15:30 (Europe/Dublin) | Ballyscullion Park, 61 Ballyscullion Road, Bellaghy, Derry, BT45 8NA, United Kingdom
Writing Workshop: Setting and Place
with Bernie McGill
at Ballyscullion Park, Bellaghy
Saturday, 28th February 2026
10.30am – 3.30pm with a break for lunch*
Join writer Bernie McGill for a one-day workshop at Ballyscullion Park on the beautiful shores of Lough Beg. The workshop will focus on writing about setting and place. This will be a practical and participative workshop with the aim of developing existing work or sparking new ideas.
Prompts and exercises will take inspiration from the garden and surrounds. All levels of experience are welcome from published writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors in the walled garden, weather permitting, and to write indoors in the historic 18th century stable block. Come with writing materials, prepared to write.
Bernie McGill is a novelist and short story writer and the winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Prize for her short story collection This Train is For. She is a Writing for Life Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and an Honorary member of the Linen Hall Library in which building her writing archive is held. Her work has been widely anthologised and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. She works as a Writing Mentor with the Irish Writers’ Centre.
www.berniemcgill.com
*Tea and coffee will be provided. Please bring a packed lunch.
Book via Ballyscullion Park’s Eventbrite Page.
See the full 2026 schedule of writing workshops at Ballyscullion Park here.

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