Northern Ireland
Online Fiction Writing Surgery with Bernie McGill
Online , United KingdomCourse Summary: Would you appreciate some up-close and detailed feedback on your work? Would you be prepared to share up to 2000 words of your fiction writing with a professional writer and with a group of other writers, at a similar writing stage to you? This short course will offer participants the opportunity to have their writing read and workshopped by writer Bernie McGill, and by a peer group of emerging fiction writers. Course Outline: Participants should submit a maximum of 2000 words of their fiction writing (short story or novel excerpt) at least two weeks prior to the course commencing. The course will consist of 6 x two hour weekly workshops in each of which the work of two participants will be discussed. The work will be circulated to all twelve participants in advance. Participants will be provided with guidelines by the tutor and encouraged to give constructive feedback on what they have read and what they can bring from their reading to their own writing. Participants will be encouraged to complete writing exercises during and between workshops that relate primarily to the specific issues raised in the work. Suitable for writers committed to short or longer form fiction […]
Bernie McGill, Author, Live and Interactive
On ZoomCushendun Big Arts Weekend in association with the John Hewitt Society hosts a live event via Zoom with author Bernie McGill on Saturday 1st May at 5pm BST. Bernie is the author of two novels and one short story collection. Her novel The Watch House was nominated in 2019 for the Ireland/European Union Prize for Literature and The Butterfly Cabinet was named in 2012 by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year. Sleepwalkers was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize in 2014. From 2018 - 2020 Bernie was Writing Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen's University, Belfast. She works as a Lector with the RLF and as a mentor and facilitator with the Irish Writers' Centre. Her new short story collection will be published in 2022. Send questions on Bernie's books, or on writing and publishing in advance to info@cushendunbpt.org or pop them into the Chat via the live event. Book via this link.
Cushendun Writing Workshop and Trail
Old Church Centre, Cushendun 1 Church Lane, Cushendun, United KingdomJoin Bernie McGill for a writing workshop with a difference, featuring a walking trail exploring the literary links in Cushendun MAXIMUM PARTICIPANTS: 10 As part of our Causeway Creative Trails exploring culture and arts across the borough, join facilitator Bernie McGill for a writing workshop with a difference, featuring a walking trail that explores the literary links in the historic conservation village of Cushendun. The workshop will offer prompts and writing exercises to initiate ideas and will use as inspiration the work of writers with associations with the village including Louis MacNeice, Moira O’Neill and John Masefield. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors to write, weather permitting, or at a social distance indoors in the beautifully refurbished Old Church Centre. The group will come together to share work. Dress for the weather and in comfortable walking shoes and bring writing materials. There are a number of places in the village available for lunch, or bring a packed lunch along. Meet at Cushendun Old Church at 10.30am. 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 […]
Walled Garden Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill at Aspects Festival, Bangor
North Down Museum Town Hall, The Castle, Bangor, United KingdomJoin facilitator Bernie McGill for a writing workshop - indoors and out - that takes inspiration from the beautiful surroundings of Bangor Castle Walled Garden and Castle Grounds. The workshop will offer prompts and writing exercises to spark ideas and develop work. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors to write (weather permitting) or at a social distance indoors in North Down Museum. The group will come together to share work. All levels of experience welcome, from seasoned writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. Suitable for ages 16+ Dress for the weather and in comfortable walking shoes and bring a hardback notebook for writing outdoors. Full workshop details and booking at Aspects Festival. 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 new short story collection This Train is For will be published by No Alibis Press in 2022. Eílís Ní Dhuibhne and Evelyn Conlon in conversation […]
Back in the Writing Room with Bernie McGill at Burnavon Arts Centre, Cookstown
Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre Burn Road, Cookstown, United KingdomAfter months of online working, are you ready to get back into the writing room? This workshop, led by writer Bernie McGill, will offer a kickstart to your creative writing with prompts and suggestions to spark new ideas. All levels of experience welcome, from seasoned writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. The workshop will be fully participative with attendees taking part in writing exercises and sharing their work with group participants. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. There will be a short break for lunch (bring your own). Please bring your own notebook and pen. Suitable for age 16+ Book online at The Burnavon. 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 new short story collection This Train is For will be published by No Alibis Press in 2022. *Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
Prophets, Makers and Risk Takers: A Showcase of Writing from Northern Ireland
Accidental Theatre 12-13 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, United Kingdom'Prophets, Makers and Risk Takers: A Showcase of Writing from Northern Ireland' is a 2-day festival that brings leading writers in Northern Ireland together, in person and online, to share their ideas and skills with emerging writers, and to promote the best of Northern Irish writing across the world. Curated by writer Jan Carson, this 2-day hybrid event will take place in-person at Accidental Theatre in Belfast and online. This will be the 3rd edition of Prophets, Makers and Risk Takers and we continue in our desire to be useful to writers and the literature sector in Northern Ireland through skills development, connection and promotion. We hope that the event will show the breadth of talent that Northern Ireland has to offer and will give representatives from UK and international festivals, and global networks, an opportunity to sit at the table and take note. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Dr Caroline Magennis, and participants will include writers Myra Zepf, Maria McManus, Bernie McGill, Reggie Chamberlain King, Olivia Fitzsimons, Sue Divin, Sam Thompson, Sheena Wilkinson, Finn Kennedy, Cat Brogan, Emily DeDakis, Aislinn Clarke, James Patterson and Kerri ní Dochartaigh with representatives from the Irish Writers Centre, Extra Teeth, Storyline […]
Creative Writing Workshop with Bernie McGill: The Growing Light
Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre Burn Road, Cookstown, United KingdomA creative writing workshop that looks forward to the stretch in the days, the growing of the light. This workshop, led by writer Bernie McGill, will offer a kick start to your creative writing with prompts and suggestions to spark new ideas. All levels of experience welcome, from seasoned writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. The workshop will be fully participative with attendees taking part in writing exercises and sharing their work with group participants. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. There will be a short break for lunch (please bring your own). This workshop is suitable for 16yrs + Bernie McGill is the author of novels The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House and of the short story collection Sleepwalkers. Bernie's new short story collection, This Train is For will be published by No Alibis Press in June 2022. Book through the Burnavon Arts Centre.
Launch of This Train is For by Bernie McGill
No Alibis Bookshop 83 Botanic Avenue, BELFAST, United KingdomNo Alibis Press is delighted to invite you to a live event in No Alibis bookshop to celebrate the launch of Bernie McGill's wonderful new collection of short stories, This Train Is For. This launch happily coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of No Alibis Bookstore. About Bernie McGill: Bernie McGill is the author of two novels, The Watch House, (2017, Tinder Press), nominated for the Ireland/European Prize for Literature, and The Butterfly Cabinet, (2010, Headline Review), and one short story collection Sleepwalkers, (2013, Whittrick Press), shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her short fiction has been nominated for numerous awards and in 2008 she won the Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Award in the USA. Her work has been anthologised in award-winning collections including The Long Gaze Back, The Glass Shore, Her Other Language, The Danger & the Glory, Belfast Stories, and Female Lines. "Beneath the exquisite surface - at once lyrical and plain-spoken - of each of these stories is carried a great freight of feeling that McGill handles with humanity and restraint. An excellent collection from one of the finest short story writers working in Ireland today." Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses. This is a free event but […]
David Park & Bernie McGill in Conversation with Emma Warnock at Belfast Book Festival
Crescent Arts Centre 2-4 University Road, BELFAST, United KingdomJoin two of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed writers at this year's Belfast Book Festival as they discuss their latest releases for Novel Journeys Book Club. Bernie McGill’s This Train Is For is a collection of short stories; some unpublished, some stories previously published within award winning anthologies. David Park’s Spies in Canaan is a bold and unsettling parable about guilt, atonement and redemption. Novel Journeys Book Club is a partnership between the Belfast Book Festival, Translink and independent bookstore, No Alibis, to champion the benefits of reading and to stay connected with their passengers and the wider public. Every month, Translink announces a new title via social media to help passengers switch off, unwind and support their mental wellbeing. Bernie McGill was born in Northern Ireland. She has written plays, a collection of short stories entitled Sleepwalkers and two novels, The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House, which was shortlisted for the Irish/European Union Prize for Literature in 2019. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for numerous awards and is anthologised in The Black Dreams, The Cormorant, Her Other Voices, Belfast Stories, Reading the Future, Female Lines, The Glass Shore and The Long Gaze Back. In 2008 she won the Zoetrope: All-Story […]
Book Signing at Waterstones, Coleraine: This Train is For by Bernie McGill
Waterstones, Coleraine 10 Church Street, Coleraine, United KingdomJoin us on Thursday 23rd June at 3.00 pm when Portstewart author Bernie McGill will be signing copies of her new short story collection This Train is For. Bernie McGill’s award-winning stories have been widely praised for their emotional depth and their lyrical language. She is a writer of profound sensitivity and observation. Her masterful deployment of linguistic precision and economy enables her to plumb the depths of human experience while neatly avoiding sentimentalism. This new collection, her first since 2013, contains unpublished stories along with a number of previously published stories featured within award winning anthologies. ‘This Train is For portrays the complexities of the heart with sensitivity and acute psychological insight. Rendered in the most perfect prose, Bernie McGill presents lives in physical and emotional transit, uncertain of the journey’s destination, understanding that sometimes the most important moments in our lives involve travelling not forward, but to moments we thought we had left long behind.’ David Park ‘Bernie McGill is one of the most accomplished short story writers in Ireland today. These stories contain powerful truths and unsettling revelations, delivered in the gentlest voice. An absolute joy of a collection from start to finish with not a word […]