Poetry
In Sight of Rathlin Writing Workshops at Corrymeela, Ballycastle
Corrymeela Ballycastle 5 Drumaroan Road, Ballycastle, United KingdomA Day of Free Writing Workshops organised by Ballycastle Writers' Group at Corrymeela, Ballycastle. Special Guest – Joan Newmann 10am Meet and Greet 10.30am Choice of Three Workshops (1) Poetry with Kate Newmann (2) Poetry with Ruth Carr (3) Fiction Writing with Bernie McGill 12.30pm Lunch 1.30pm Choice of Three Workshops (1) Poetry with Kate Newmann (2) Poetry with Ruth Carr (3) Fiction Writing with Bernie McGill 3.30pm Writers' Showcase These workshops are free to participants and can be booked via Ballycastle Writers' Group's Facebook Page. Participants are welcome to book into one or two workshops. Lunch is provided. The day will finish with a Writers' Showcase in which all participants are welcome to read a short piece of their work.
‘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 […]
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 […]
Writing a Novel: 3 Day Workshop with Bernie McGill at Listowel Writers’ Week
Listowel Writers' Week The Square, Listowel, IrelandIn these practical workshops participants will be invited to take part in writing exercises that focus on: structuring a novel, writing openings with impact, developing setting, creating credible characters, and refining point of view. We will also look at opportunities for further developing and submitting work. Suitable for writers who are beginning or developing a novel. Participants should bring a 250-word synopsis. Works in progress are welcomed. 3 Day Workshop - Thurs/Fri/Sat, 2nd-4th June 2022, from 9am to 12:30pm Day 1. We will hear and give feedback on a selection of the novel synopses that participants have brought and look particularly at: Structuring a Novel and Writing Openings with Impact. Day 2. We will hear and give feedback on synopses and look particularly at: Developing Setting and Creating Credible Characters. Day 3. We will hear and give feedback on synopses and look particularly at: Refining Point of View and Opportunities for further developing and for submitting work. We will finish with information and discussion and a Q&A on aspects of writing. 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 […]
Reading Round at Coleraine Library
Coleraine Library Queen Street, Coleraine, United KingdomWhat is a Reading Round group? Reading Round is a unique type of reading group that differs in a number of ways from traditional-style book groups. Each group is run by a published author who has worked for at least two years in the Royal Literary Fund’s Fellowship scheme. Reading Round is funded by the Royal Literary Fund and is free for members to join. Where and When will it happen? The Reading Round group will meet in the Meeting Room at Coleraine Library starting again in September 2022. Provisional dates (28th September 2022 through to 7th June 2023) to be confirmed. What’s involved? Each week the group listens to a different piece, or pieces, of writing read aloud by the Group Lector. The piece might be a story or a poem though it might also be a speech, memoir or piece of narrative non-fiction. The group then discusses the piece(s) at some length to really try to get under the skin of the text: What effects does it have on us as we read? How does it achieve those effects? Guided by a Lector, the group considers the text in detail, looking at tone, choice of words, viewpoint, the effect of a certain image […]