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Dropping Your Gaze: A Day of Mindfulness and Writing with Michelle Gibb and Bernie McGill at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, 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 […]
‘Strung on Air’: A St Brigid’s Day Celebration at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomFeaturing Moyra Donaldson, Bernie McGill and Maria McManus, with music from Brigid O’Neill ‘As if St Brigid once more Had rigged up a ray of sun Like the one she’d strung on air To dry her own cloak on’ Seamus Heaney, ‘The Clothes Shrine’ As a celebration of St Brigid’s Day, HomePlace is delighted to present three of Northern Ireland’s leading women writers, reading their work alongside the beautiful music of Brigid O’Neill. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels and one short story collection and her work has been anthologised in the award-winning collections The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore. She is currently Writing Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University, Belfast. Maria McManus is a poet and playwright. Her most recent collection is Available Light and she has published three other collections of poetry. Maria is currently a poetry mentor for the Poetry Society and the creator of Ireland’s first Poetry Jukebox. Moyra Donaldson is a poet, creative writing facilitator and editor who has published four collections. Her most recent collection, Carnivorous, was published by Doire Press in 2019. Critically acclaimed artist Brigid O’Neill is a genre-spanning […]
Creative Writing Workshop at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomCreative Writing Workshop Moyola Hall and Sensory Garden, Seamus Heaney HomePlace* *Please note: this workshop will now take place online Join facilitator Bernie McGill for a writing workshop in the Moyola Hall and Sensory Garden at HomePlace, Bellaghy, inspired by the work of Seamus Heaney. This will be a practical workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. All levels of experience 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 to write, weather permitting, or at a social distance indoors in the Moyola Hall. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. A hard backed notebook or clipboard may be useful for writing outdoors. Dress for the weather! *Full social distancing and safety measures are in place and workshops will have specific guidelines to allow for maximum enjoyment and participant safety. Please Note: in order to send resource material for printing at home in advance of the workshop the facilitator will require participants’ email addresses* Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for Ireland European Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (named by […]
Creative Writing Workshop at Seamus Heaney HomePlace
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomJoin facilitator Bernie McGill for a writing workshop in the Moyola Hall and Sensory Garden at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. This will be a practical workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. All levels of experience 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 to write, weather permitting, or indoors in the Moyola Hall. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. A hard backed notebook or clipboard may be useful for writing outdoors. Dress for the weather! Limited places available. Book here. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (named by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year in 2012). Her collection of short stories, Sleepwalkers, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014. Her work has been published in the UK, the US and in translation in Italy and the Netherlands. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies Her Other Language, Belfast Stories, The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines. She was Writing Fellow […]
Bernie McGill & Rosemary Jenkinson in Conversation at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomIn Conversation with Emma Warnock Seamus Heaney HomePlace is delighted to welcome two of Northern Ireland’s finest writers in a celebration of the short story. Both Bernie McGill and Rosemary Jenkinson have released short story collections this year and have had their work anthologised in many collections. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (named by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year in 2012). Her first collection of short stories, Sleepwalkers, was shortlisted for the prestigious Edge Hill Prize in 2014. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies The Black Dreams, Her Other Language, Belfast Stories, The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore and Female Lines. Her new short story collection, This Train is For, will be published in June 2022 by No Alibis Press. Rosemary Jenkinson is an award-winning playwright and short story writer. Her plays include The Bonefire, which won the Stewart Parker BBC Radio Award, Here Comes the Night and Lives in Translation and she was the 2017 Artist-in-Residence at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. Rosemary’s short story collections include Contemporary Problems Nos. 53 & 54, Aphrodite’s Kiss and Catholic Boy which was shortlisted for the […]
Creative Writing Workshop: Summer Home with Bernie McGill at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomJoin writer and facilitator Bernie McGill for a writing workshop in the Moyola Hall and Sensory Garden at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. This will be a practical workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. Prompts and exercises will take inspiration from the words ‘summer’ and ‘home’ and from Seamus Heaney’s poem of that title. All levels of experience are welcome from experienced writers to first-timers, as well as poets and fiction writers alike. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors in the Sensory Garden (pictured here) to write, weather permitting, or indoors in the adjoining Moyola Hall. Come with writing materials, prepared to write! A hard back notebook or clipboard may be useful for writing outdoors. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet. Her collection of short stories, Sleepwalkers, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014. Her new collection of short stories, This Train is For, is published by No Alibis Press in June 2022. Book at Seamus Heaney HomePlace.
In Conversation with novelists Nuala O’Connor and Martina Devlin at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomJoin writers Nuala O'Connor and Martina Devlin for a discussion about their historical fiction novels based on the lives of real people. Nuala O’Connor’s novel Nora tells the story of Nora Barnacle, one of the world’s most famous muses, bringing her out from behind the shadow of James Joyce. Nora was named a Top 10 2021 historical novel by the New York Times and was the One Dublin One Book choice for 2022. Martina Devlin’s new novel Edith: A Novel is set during the War of Independence and focuses on Edith Somerville, who was one-half of Irish writing sensation Somerville and Ross. Writing with her cousin Violet Martin, she produced some of Ireland’s most celebrated literary works, such as The Real Charlotte in 1894 and The Irish RM stories, which have stayed in print for more than a century. Nuala and Martina will be in conversation with novelist Bernie McGill to explore historical fiction, responsibility to the past and the celebration of fascinating women. Book via Seamus Heaney HomePlace.
(SOLD OUT) Between the Lights: Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street, Bellaghy, United KingdomThe Celtic festival of Samhain traditionally marks the end of the lighter half and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It was believed that at this time, the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. As we head into the darker weeks of the year you are invited to join us for a half-day writing workshop around the theme of passing between the lights. This will be a practical workshop on the everyday craft of writing with the aim of sparking ideas for new work. Open to all from experienced writers to first-timers, poets and prosers alike. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. Bernie McGill’s latest publication is the short story collection This Train is For, long listed in July 2023 for the prestigious Edge Hill Prize, published by and available from No Alibis Press. Bernie is author of The Butterfly Cabinet, The Watch House and the short story collection Sleepwalkers (shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014). She is an experienced facilitator and mentor and an Associate Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund. Book this workshop on the Seamus Heaney HomePlace website* Full programme of events at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Autumn/Winter 2023. *Please note this workshop is now sold […]