Join Bernie McGill, Claire Savage and Margot McCuaig as they explore the ways in which landscape - particularly the North Antrim coast, Rathlin Island and its surrounding areas - presents a power and an influence in creative writing. Margot McCuaig is a storyteller and published novelist. She writes, produces and directs award-winning documentary feature films. She also makes live television programmes as a producer and executive producer. She’s a mother and grandmother, sitting at the centre of an amazing family, and she lives in Glasgow, Scotland and Rathlin Island, Ireland; a beautiful city and an inspirational island. Claire Savage published her debut children’s novel, Magical Masquerade, in April 2017, officially launching it at the Belfast Book Festival in June. Chosen as one of Lagan Online’s 12NOW (New Original Writers) for 2016/17, Claire also writes short stories and poetry, with various work published in literary journals. Claire has just received a grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery funding as part of its Support for Individual Artists Programme (under the General Arts Award Scheme). This will support her in her artistic production and promotion, drafting a second novel, and creating a support structure for the first. Bernie McGill’s first novel, The Butterfly Cabinet, […]

This event will be hosted by the Literary Ladies on behalf of Women Aloud NI. On International Women's Day, some twenty local women writers will gather to share and celebrate their work. Come along and join us for what promises to be a marvellous evening! Readers include: Jane Talbot; Freya McClements ; Lynne Edgar; Julieann Campbell; Felicity McCall; Claire Allan; Bernie McGill; Mel Bradley; Maura Johnston; Helen Clarke; Anita Robinson; Marilyn McLaughlin; Madeline McCully; Ellen Factor; Berni Kerr. #IWD2018 #ReadWomen #WomenAloudNI18 @WomenAloudNI @derrywriters

As part of the One City One Book Programme 2018, authors Bernie McGill and Anne Devlin will discuss their stories from The Long Gaze Back. Chaired by author Jan Carson. Anne Devlin was born in Belfast. David Marcus first published her stories in the Irish Press in the 1980’s. Her collection The Waypaver was published by Faber in 1986. She is best known as a dramatist, both for Ourselves Alone (Royal Court, 1985) and After Easter (Royal Shakespeare Company, 1993). She has worked extensively in TV and film. Her most recent work was the radio play The Forgotten(2009). Bernie McGill is the author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, and of the novels The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet. 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. Her short fiction has appeared in The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines, all by New Island Books. She is the recipient of a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Awards and was granted a research bursary in 2013 from the Society of Authors. She lives in Portstewart in Northern Ireland […]

The Long Gaze Back authors Bernie McGill, Lia Mills and Éilis Ní Dhuibhne talk with editor Sinéad Gleeson about the anthology, their work and being a female author in Ireland today. Bernie McGill is the author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, and of the novels The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet. 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. Her short fiction has appeared in The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines, all by New Island Books. She is the recipient of a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Awards and was granted a research bursary in 2013 from the Society of Authors. She lives in Portstewart in Northern Ireland with her family. Lia Mills writes novels, short stories, essays and an occasional blog.  A memoir, In Your Face, describes her experience of mouth cancer treatment in 2006. Her third novel, Fallen, was the Dublin/Belfast Two Cities One Book selection in 2016, in which year she was also the Arts Council Writer Fellow in UCD and writer-in-residence at Farmleigh House. Éilis Ní […]

Crossways: The Irish Scottish Cultural & Literary Festival 9th ~ 15th April 2018 ~ Merchant City, Glasgow Bernie McGill and Beatrice Colin will read from their work at this Crossways Festival event at the Vic Bar in the Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Beatrice Colin is the author of the novel To Capture What We Cannot Keep, published in the US in 2016 by Flatiron Books as well as in the UK, Australia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Poland and the Czech Republic in 2017. She also wrote The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite (published as The Glimmer Palace in the US) and The Songwriter. She has been shortlisted for a British Book Award, a Saltire Award and a Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award and writes short stories, screen and radio plays and for children. One of her children's novels, My Invisible Sister (with Sara Pinto) has been made into a film for TV by Disney in the US. Her novel for children, Pyrate's Boy is written under the name E.B. Colin and published by Floris Books. Beatrice is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. Bernie McGill is the author of the novels The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet and the […]

Ben Okri, in his essay 'The Joys of Storytelling'* has written about how important story has always been in our lives, how the great storytellers kept the darkness at bay from around the fire, how they made the stories real to their listeners. Too often we overlook the importance of concrete, everyday, ‘real' imagery in writing - we think we need to write about the exotic, about what is outside of our own experience, when what we need to do, I think, is examine our own lives, and see what we can use from that. A practical one-day workshop on the everyday craft of writing at the home of international storyteller Liz Weir. All levels of experience welcome. Come prepared to write. Cost includes lunch at the barn. To book please contact Liz Weir liz@lizweir.net *published in A Way of Being Free (Phoenix, London, 2002)

The key to being a commercially successful writer is learning how to get yourself and your book the exposure it deserves. Writers are often responsible for attracting their own audience and it is through the power of publicity that the media, and more importantly readers, will become attracted to your work. Join Mary Byrne (PR Director, Harper Collins Ireland), Patricia Hamilton (Director of the Aspects Festival), Michelle Mac Mullan (Senior News Anchor, Newstalk) and Bernie McGill (author of The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet), during this highly practical, one-day series where they will discuss their own experiences with publicity and offer advice on gaining recognition in the industry. All sessions will allow for Q&A. Running Order 10.30 – 11.40 | Patricia Hamilton, Director of the Aspects Festival, offers insight into how to connect with relevant curators and organisers, and the etiquette of ‘getting out there’. 11.50 – 1.00 | Bernie McGill, author of The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet shares her experiences of working with publishers and publicists as well as navigating the highs and lows of self-promotion. 1.00 – 2.00 | Lunch 2.00 – 3.10 | Mary Byrne, PR Director at Harper Collins Ireland, will discuss book promotion from a publishers perspective including how publishers aim to achieve maximum impact […]

In solidarity of writers who are in prison or otherwise at risk around the world, five Northern Irish writers will read from the work of some of the incredible individuals supported by English PEN’s Writers at Risk Programme. The event will be introduced by Hannah Trevarthen, Events and Development Manager at English PEN. English PEN supports the freedom to write and the freedom to read in the UK and around the world. 

This very special evening of words and music features three artists of exceptional talent presenting poetry, songs and story on the theme of small town living. This will be an intimate and memorable performance not to be missed. Joshua Burnside was born in Ireland, but cites the music of Colombia, Eastern Europe and North America as the greatest influences on his unique sound. Deftly blending folk textures and melodies with elements of electronica, he has made it difficult for pundits to put him in a box. Bernie McGill’s novel, The Watch House, was published in 2017 by Tinder Press. She is also the author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, and The Butterfly Cabinet. 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 2008. Damian Smyth’s five collections are Downpatrick Races (2000), The Down Recorder(2004), Lamentations (2010), Market Street (2010) and Mesopotamia (2014). English Street is due later this year. He is Head of Literature & Drama at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. This event is part of the first ever Hillsborough […]