In Conversation with Margot McCuaig at Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival
St Thomas' Church Rathlin Island, County Antrim, United KingdomThe Watch House, a novel set on Rathlin in the years of Marconi’s early wireless experiments is a gripping story about the power of words to connect us, and the power of suspicion to drive us apart. Author Bernie McGill reads from her book, and joins in conversation with Margot McCuaig, writer, filmmaker and Rathlin resident in part-time exile in Scotland. For full updates on the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival which takes place this year from Friday 25th May to Sunday 3rd June, and to be in with a chance of winning return ferry travel from Ballycastle and a voucher for The Manor House, sign up for the newsletter here. Results on Saturday 19th May 2018. Ferry timetable between Ballycastle and Rathlin here. Accommodation on Rathlin here. Bernie will be taking a writing workshop at the Manor House on Thursday 31st May from 2pm-4pm. Free admission but places are limited. To book phone The Manor House on 028 2076 0046.
Belfast Book Festival Meet the Author: Bernie McGill
Books, Paper, Scissors 15 Stranmillis Road, Belfast, United KingdomBernie McGill is one of Northern Ireland’s most respected authors and following the May 2018 launch of The Watch House in paperback, come along and join in the conversation led by BBC’s Helen Mark. Focusing on her career to date and the recent inspiration and setting for The Watch House, Rathlin Island, this is the perfect opportunity for you to get to know the author in an informal and relaxed session at Books, Paper, Scissors bookshop. Bernie McGill studied English and Italian at QUB and graduated with a Masters degree in Irish Writing. She has written for theatre (The Weather Watchers, The Haunting of Helena Blunden), novels, The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet and a short story collection, Sleepwalkers. 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, The Glass Shore and in Female Lines. She is a recipient of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s inaugural ACES (Artists’ Career Enhancement Scheme) Award in association with the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Sue Hubbard & Bernie McGill at Belfast Book Festival
Crescent Arts Centre 2-4 University Road, BELFAST, United KingdomSue Hubbard and Bernie McGill arrive at this year's festival with two novels that have garnered rave reviews from every corner. Tonight they will read from Rainsongs and The Watch House. Sue Hubbard’s Rainsongs conjures the rugged beauty of County Kerry’s coastline and the inner landscapes of its characters in richly poetic and painterly language. It unfolds as a compelling tale of grief, art, and the fragile, quiet ways in which time and place can offer a measure of redemption. In Bernie McGill’s The Watch House, during the summer of 1898, on the small Irish island of Rathlin strangers have arrived from the mainland, laden with mysterious radio equipment. When native Nuala Byrne is sent to cook for the Italian engineer Gabriel, she becomes enthralled by the world of knowledge that he brings from beyond her own narrow horizons. It is a gripping novel, beautiful and lyrical, tender and fierce. Book at Belfast Book Festival.
On the Same Page with Sheena Wilkinson & Bernie McGill
Crescent Arts Centre 2-4 University Road, BELFAST, United KingdomA day-long intensive fiction writing and editing workshop for committed writers facilitated by two of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed fiction writers. Come prepared to write, share your work and learn how to take your skills to the next level. From the first spark of inspiration to sending your work out into the world, Bernie and Sheena will guide you through the process, drawing on their own experiences in publishing and offering practical advice for the submission process. The day will be broken down as follows: 10.00am – 1.00 pm SPARK Generating ideas 2.00pm – 4.00pm SHAPE Editing techniques 6.00pm – 8.00pm SEND Outlets and advice on submission To book go to On the Same Page at the Belfast Book Festival. About the tutors Bernie McGill is the author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, and of two novels: The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet (named in 2012 by Downton creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year). Her work has been placed in the Seán Ó Faoláin, the Bridport, and the Michael McLaverty Short Story Prizes and she won the Zoetrope:All-Story Award in the US in 2008. […]
Fiction Writing Workshops at John Hewitt International Summer School
Market Place Theatre, Armagh Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, United KingdomDevelop your writing skills under the direction of one of our eight tutors who are all experienced facilitators and published authors. Each workshop runs over three days, and each intensive session lasts for 90 mins. Bernie McGill will facilitate the Fiction Writing Workshops at this year's summer school. Her publications include novels The Butterfly Cabinet (2011) and The Watch House (2017) and a short story collection, Sleepwalkers(2013). Her short fiction has been shortlisted for numerous awards and in 2008 she won the Zoetrope All-Story Award in the US. Her work has been anthologised in the award-winning collections, The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines. For a full list of workshops at this year's summer school, including Getting Started with Nessa O'Mahony; Poetry with David Wheatley; Poetry with Siobhan Campbell; Short Story with Mary O'Donnell; Memoir with Ferdia MacAnna, and Radio Drama with Eoin McNamee go to the John Hewitt Society website. Full programme of readings and talks from Monday 23rd to Saturday 28th July also available there. Book the Fiction Writing Workshop online or Tel. the Box Office at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh on 028 3752 1821 or email boxoffice@marketplacearmagh.com.
Fiction Writing Workshop, the Governor’s Room, Linen Hall Library, Belfast
Linen Hall Library, Belfast 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, United KingdomA practical afternoon workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. All levels of experience welcome. Come with writing materials and be prepared to write. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet (named by Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year in 2012), and Sleepwalkers, a collection of short stories, shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014. Book online at the Linen Hall or Tel. the Box Office on 028 9087 2219. The Linen Hall Library is a truly unique institution. Founded in 1788, it is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Ireland. It has a radical and 'enlightenment' foundation, and ever since has prized its independence and has maintained the principle that its resources are owned by the community for the community. It is renowned for its unparalleled Irish and Local Studies Collection, ranging from comprehensive holdings of Early Belfast and Ulster printed books to the 250,000 items in the Northern Ireland Political Collection, the definitive archive of the recent troubles. The Library also boasts the Northern Ireland Theatre and Performing Arts Archive, a unique collection reflecting our rich […]
Dropping Your Gaze: A Day of Mindfulness and Writing with Michelle Gibb and Bernie McGill in the Festival Yurt, Bangor Castle Walled Garden
Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden, Valentine Road, Bangor, United KingdomMindfulness is the practice of learning to be present. It is also beneficial for calming the physical state of the body and quietening the mind. Whether you’re new to writing or have been writing for a while and are looking for a way to rejuvenate your approach, this day of guided mindfulness and writing exercises, led by two experienced facilitators, will refresh and enhance your writing skills and leave you with a simple toolkit that you can use in your everyday practice. Alongside focused writing exercises, you will learn: the importance of breath work and how to calm your breathing; how reducing the mind chatter can help centre your writing focus; a fifteen second calming technique; visualisation guidance and advice; short and simple brain gym exercises. All levels welcome. Please bring a packed lunch. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet and of a short story collection, Sleepwalkers. She has worked for twenty-five years as a creative writing facilitator, is a Writer in Schools with Poetry Ireland and a Professional Mentor with the Irish Writers’ Centre. www.berniemcgill.com Michelle Gibb is a poet, life coach and yoga teacher whose work has been published locally by A […]
Pordenone Legge Book Festival, Italy
Auditorium Istituto Vendramini Via Beata E. Vendramini, 2 33170, Pordenone, ItalyThe Italian translation of The Watch House is published by Bollati Boringhieri on 30th August 2018. Translated by Simona Garavelli, it appears under the title Le parole nell'aria (The Words in the Air). On 22nd September, Bernie McGill will be interviewed by Mary B. Tolusso at Pordenone Legge Book Festival, Italy. È l’estate del 1898 nella piccola isola irlandese di Rathlin. La giovane Nuala Byrne, non vede altra possibilità per garantirsi la sopravvivenza se non sposare l’anziano sarto del paese. Ma sull’isola sbarca uno scienziato italiano, collaboratore di Guglielmo Marconi, cui sono affidati i primi esperimenti del telegrafo senza fili. E quando Nuala verrà arruolata come apprendista, il mondo della scienza le aprirà nuovi, inimmaginabili orizzonti.
Victorian Mavericks at Red Line Book Festival, Dublin
Pearse Museum Saint Enda's Park The Hermitage Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, IrelandIn the Victorian era, women were forced to endure many inequalities in terms of marriage, finances and social status. Viewed as belonging to the domestic sphere, they were expected to provide their husbands with a clean home, food on the table and children. In this special event for Red Line Book Festival, Nuala O’Connor (Becoming Belle), Bernie McGill (The Watch House) and Caroline Busher (The Ghosts of Magnificent Children) explore the lives of Victorian female characters in their novels and the ways those women and girls defied the conventions of the time. Booking information here.
Panel Discussion on The Glass Shore & The Long Gaze Back at Omagh Literary Festival
Strule Arts Centre Town Hall Square, Omagh, United KingdomThe 2018 Omagh Literary Festival will feature a panel discussion on The Glass Shore and The Long Gaze Back Award-winning collections of Short Stories by Women Writers from Ireland, with Sinéad Gleeson, Bernie McGill, June Caldwell and Fiona O'Rourke. Writer, broadcaster and critic, Sinéad Gleeson, is the guest speaker on a lively discussion panel about the significant role played by Irish female writers. She has edited two collections of short stories, namely The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore, both of which have been awarded the Best Irish Published Book at the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards (in 2015 and in 2016). These stories run the gamut from the heartbreaking to the humorous, but always leaving a lasting impression. Sinéad Gleeson reviews books for The Irish Times and presents the Book Show on RTE 1. Sinead is the judge of the Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition 2018 and will announce the short list and winner at the end of the discussion. Bernie McGill is the author of the short story collection Sleepwalkers, shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize in 2014, and of novels The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House. Her work has been anthologised widely, and appears in both The […]