Books
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 […]
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 […]
Of This and Other Worlds – an Evening of Literature and Music at the C.S. Lewis Festival, Belfast
Campbell College, Belfast Belmont Road, BelfastC.S. Lewis Festival Curator Jan Carson hosts a bespoke evening of two halves. During the first half of the performance, poet Damian Smyth, novelist, Bernie McGill and Bangor-based folk duo, The Darkling Air, playing alongside The Arco String Quartet, will tell stories and sing songs exploring real world experiences. In the second half, the performers will delve into the more magical elements of their work. To book tickets visit Belfast Welcome Centre, 9 Donegall Square North, Belfast, BT1 5GB Tel. 028 9024 6609 We’ve chosen, “Of This and Other Worlds,” as our theme for this year’s CS Lewis Festival. In the essay collection of the same name Lewis focuses his attention upon speculative writing: fantasy, science fiction and the recently emerged genre of magic realism. Lewis throughout his career was always a great champion of imagination and this year’s festival theme gives us the opportunity to explore and exercise our imaginations as we focus on non-realist art across a range of different forms and expressions. Imagination isn’t just essential to creative practice, imagination helps us to envisage what the future could look like, to find creative solutions to ongoing problems and empathise with those who see the world a little differently from us. Through […]
One Day Writing Workshop at Ballyeamon Barn, Cushendall
Ballyeamon Barn 127 Ballyeamon Road, Cushendall, Ballymena, Antrim, United KingdomA practical one day workshop led by Bernie McGill in the beautiful surroundings of Ballyeamon Barn, Cushendall on the everyday craft of writing and 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, and Sleepwalkers, a collection of short stories, shortlisted for the Edgehill Prize in 2014. She is Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow based at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast. Fee includes lunch. To book please email: liz@lizweir.net
Novel Writing with Bernie McGill
The Playhouse Theatre & Arts Centre 5-7 Artillery Street, Derry, United KingdomThis 16 hour course will run on Saturday 9th & Saturday 23rd February and Saturday 9th & Saturday 23rd March 2019 from 10.00am-2.15pm each day at the Playhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Artillery Road, Derry. In this course, participants will look at: structuring work; writing openings with impact; developing setting; creating credible characters; selecting point of view; writing dialogue; editing and redrafting; outlets for completed work. You will be invited to take part in writing exercises to further develop your work and to share your writing with other class members. Suitable for committed writers who are beginning or developing a novel. Participants should come with a 250 word outline for a novel. Works-in-progress are welcomed. 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 Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House. She has been published in the UK, the US and in translation in Italy and in the Netherlands. Her short fiction has appeared in acclaimed anthologies The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines, and for the theatre she has written The Haunting of Helena Blunden and The Weather Watchers. She works as a professional mentor with the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin and […]
Bernie McGill & Sheena Wilkinson – Northern Irish Fiction Event at IWHC, Manchester
Irish World Heritage Centre 1 Irish Town Way, MANCHESTERWe are delighted to welcome two fantastic Northern Irish writers, Bernie McGill and Sheena Wilkinson, to share their work at the Irish World Heritage Centre, Manchester, on Monday 1st April. 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 Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House (a story of infidelity, secrets and murder in a small Irish island community, inspired by Marconi’s experiments in wireless telegraphy in the late nineteenth century). In 2012, Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey named The Butterfly Cabinet his novel of the year. She has been published in the UK, the US and in translation in Italy and in the Netherlands. Her short fiction has appeared in acclaimed anthologies The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines (all by New Island Books, Dublin), and for the theatre she has written, The Haunting of Helena Blunden and The Weather Watchers. She lives in Portstewart in Northern Ireland with her family, works as a professional mentor with the Irish Writers’ Centre and as a Writer in Schools for Poetry Ireland. She is currently Writing Fellow with the Royal Literary […]
At Sea with Words: Creative Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill
Parochial Hall, Rathlin Island , United KingdomAs part of the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival, author Bernie McGill is hosting a free writing workshop in the Parochial Hall on Rathlin Island on Wednesday 29th May from 11am-1pm. No previous experience required. Come with writing materials and be prepared to write. Numbers are limited. Booking essential. Please phone the Rathlin Visitor Information Centre on 028 2076 0054 to book a place. You'll find the ferry timetable between Ballycastle and Rathlin here, and if you fancy spending a night or two on the island around the time of the festival, you'll find details of accommodation on Rathlin here. The Festival runs from 24th May to 2nd June this year and there's lots on offer, from boat blessings to beach cleans, pop up crab shacks to little pirates' discos. Full programme available here. Bernie McGill is the author of The Watch House, a novel set on Rathlin Island at the time of Marconi's wireless telegraphy experiments of 1898. The Watch House has been shortlisted for the Irish/European Union Prize for Literature. ‘McGill writes about life, love and telegraphy with a poet’s clarity’ The Sunday Times ‘McGill proves once again she is a masterful storyteller . . . historical fiction at its […]
Novel Writing: First Chapters with Bernie McGill at the John Hewitt International Summer School
Market Place Theatre, Armagh Market Street, Armagh, Armagh, United KingdomBernie McGill will take the Novel Writing: First Chapters workshops at the John Hewitt International Summer School at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh, on Monday 22nd, Tuesday 23rd and Thursday 25th July from 2.45pm-4.45pm on each of the three days. In response to audience feedback, we have extended the duration of our popular creative writing workshops to two hours per class and provided space in the Summer School programme for workshop participants to work on their creative writing outside of class time. Each workshop runs over three sessions and class sizes are kept to 15 or fewer to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate. Participants should attend all three workshop sessions. Our seven tutors are all experienced facilitators and published authors. For the full workshop schedule, including Short Story with Heather Richardson, Flash Fiction with Jan Carson, Memoir Writing with Ferdia MacAnna, Poetry with Siobhan Campbell, Poetry with Kathryn Maris, and Getting Started with Nessa O'Mahony, as well as full details of all Summer School events go to the John Hewitt Society website. Spaces are limited – advance booking is essential. To book Novel Writing: First Chapters go to the Market Place Theatre website or telephone the Box Office on 028 […]
Scribes at the Duncairn with Bernie McGill, Natalya O’Flaherty and Danny Morrison
Duncairn Cultural Arts Centre Duncairn Avenue, Belfast, United KingdomThis free event with wine reception (from 6.30pm) is part of the Feile Belfast 2019 programme. There will be readings from each of the three writers and a Q&A, chaired by Marnie Kennedy, as well as an opportunity for questions from the audience. Marnie is Shared Reading facilitator and coordinator of Stories@theDuncairn, a volunteer-led, community literature project in North Belfast. For more information, Tel. the Duncairn on 028 90 747 114 or turn up on the evening. No booking required. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels, The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House (shortlisted for the Irish European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories shortlisted in 2014 for the Edge Hill short story prize. She has been published in the UK, the US and in translation in Italy and the Netherlands. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies Belfast Stories, The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines. She is the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow, based at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast. Amazing spoken word artist Natalya O’Flaherty has shot to national prominence with bravura performances at the National Concert Hall and Electric Picnic, appearing twice on The Late […]