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  • Mary Beckett: A Belfast Woman at Look North! Festival at the Linen Hall Library

    Linen Hall Library, Belfast 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, 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.

    £5

  • Writing Workshop at Ballyscullion Park, Bellaghy with Bernie McGill

    Ballyscullion Park 61 Ballyscullion Road, Bellaghy, Derry, 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 […]

    £44.04

  • Short Story Writing Weekend with Bernie McGill at YARN, Ballycastle

    YARN, Ballycastle 24-26 Ann St, Ballycastle, United Kingdom

    When & Where 11th April 2026, 10 am – 4 pm 12th April 2026, 10 am - 2 pm YARN Ballycastle, 24-26 Ann St, Ballycastle, BT54 6AD, UK About Have you always wanted to try writing a short story?  Do you already have an idea?  Do you write in other genres and are interested in the form?  Whether you’re a first-timer looking for guidance and inspiration or a seasoned writer seeking a fresh challenge, this Short Story Writing Weekend is for you.  Join award-winning short story writer Bernie McGill for an enjoyable weekend of participative writing that will help to get your writing on track. Please bring your preferred writing materials (pen/pencil, notebook/laptop, etc.) If you’re already working on a short story, feel free to bring a copy for workshopping. Participants will be encouraged to share their work only if they are comfortable doing so. Saturday 11th April: 10 am – 4 pm What is a short story? How to get started with focus on structure, character and setting.  Participants will be offered prompts and exercises to help develop their work. There will be a lunch break, with lunch provided on the day. Tea/coffee & snacks will also be provided. Sunday […]

    £150

  • Danielle McLaughlin In Conversation with Bernie McGill at Belfast Book Festival

    Crescent Arts Centre 2-4 University Road, BELFAST, United Kingdom

    Award-winning Irish author Danielle McLaughlin discusses her new novel, Rituals, with Bernie McGill. Joan is in the habit of living alone, her days shaped by rituals and routines – some ordinary, some less so. When she takes in a lodger, they must learn to negotiate everything from a shared bathroom to the hazards of global warming. Following her acclaimed short-story collection Dinosaurs on Other Planets and debut novel The Art of Falling, Rituals is a tender, funny book about an obsessive mind – and the bravery involved in opening our hearts to change. Danielle McLaughlin’s short-story collection Dinosaurs on Other Planets was published in 2015 by The Stinging Fly Press. In 2019, she was a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient, and won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. Her first novel, The Art of Falling, was published in 2021 by John Murray and was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2022.  In 2023 she was a recipient of a Markievicz Award. Her second novel, Rituals, is published by The Stinging Fly Press. Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For. 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). Her short stories have been widely anthologised, and her work has been […]

    £12.50

  • Ballycastle Writers Host Creative Writing Workshops with Bernie McGill and Angela Graham

    Sheskburn House, Ballycastle 7 Mary Street, Ballycastle, United Kingdom

    Workshop 1 Playing with Words with Bernie McGill Whether you write fiction or poetry or memoir or script, we all approach writing from a different angle, drawing on our varied experiences. The aims of this workshop are to try some new exercises, experiment with prompts, allow yourself to have a bit of a play and, hopefully, leave with some new approaches and material that you can work with in the future. The emphasis is on having fun with words. Leave your grown-up at home for the day! Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For. 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). Her work has been widely anthologised and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Bernie is a Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and a Mentor with the Irish Writers' Centre. Her first short story collection, Sleepwalkers was re- published in 2025 by No Alibis Press. She is an Honorary Member of the Linen Hall Library in which building her writing archive is held.   Workshop […]

    £35

  • Novel Writing with Bernie McGill at the John Hewitt International Summer School

    Market Place Theatre, Armagh Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, United Kingdom

    Monday 27th, Tuesday 28th & Thursday 30th July 2026 | 2.45pm - 4.45pm | £80 for three-day workshop course  Spaces are limited - advance booking is essential. These practical and participative workshops will focus on: structuring a novel; writing openings with impact; creating credible characters; building convincing settings and selecting point of view. We will also explore opportunities for further development and submission of work. Suitable for writers who are beginning or developing a novel. Works-in-progress are welcomed.  Bernie McGill is the author of two novels, The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House and two short story collections. She is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For. Her first short story collection Sleepwalkers was republished by No Alibis Press in 2025. Her novels have been published in the UK, the US and in translation in Italy and the Netherlands. Workshop course is delivered over three days. Each workshop lasts two hours and all workshops are delivered at the same time. Participants should attend all three sessions. Tutors are experienced creative writing facilitators and published authors. All levels are welcome. Book via The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre Armagh. The […]

    £80