Sleepwalkers
Events
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This Train is For by Bernie McGill is shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize
London Review Bookshop 14-16 Bury Place, London, United KingdomThis Train is For by Bernie McGill, published by No Alibis Press, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Edge Hill Prize, awarded annually by Edge Hill University for excellence in a published single authored short story collection. This is the second time that Bernie's work has been shortlisted: her first collection Sleepwalkers was shortlisted in 2014. This year the judges for the prize are Lucy Luck (Agent with CWA), last year’s winner Saba Sams, and Edge Hill University lecturer and short story writer Andrea Ashworth. They will decide the winner between these wonderful shortlisted collections. Follow the links for interviews with the authors: Total by Rebecca Miller (Canongate) Love in the Time of Chaos by Rosemary Jenkinson (Arlen House) Cat Brushing & Other Stories by Jane Campbell (Riverrun) Animals at Night by Naomi Booth (Dead Ink Books) This Train is for… by Bernie McGill (No Alibis Press) The literary world, particularly fiction, has long been dominated by the novel. To recognise the acceleration of what was once an overlooked art form, Professor Ailsa Cox (the world’s only Professor of Short Fiction) founded the Edge Hill Short Story Prize in 2006, highlighting the intricate craftsmanship of short story writing. The Prize […]
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Taster Workshop: Short Story Writing with Bernie McGill
Women's TEC 29 Chichester Ave, BELFAST, United KingdomFocus on Short Story… with Bernie McGill, a workshop for the North Belfast Festival 2024 In this short participative creative writing workshop, you will be offered a number of prompts and writing exercises to help get you started on (or help you to develop) your own short story. Come with an open mind, prepared to write. Bernie McGill is the author of two novels (The Watch House and The Butterfly Cabinet) and two short story collections (This Train is For and Sleepwalkers). She is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for This Train is For (No Alibis Press). www.berniemcgill.com This event will take place at the Women's TEC, 29 Chichester Avenue, Belfast, BT15 5EH. Cost: £5. To book go to Taster Workshop on the North Belfast Festival website. For the full programme of the North Belfast Festival (23rd - 25th February 2024), including tours, exhibitions, talks, performances and workshops visit Look North! The North Belfast Festival.
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Mums Meet and Make: Creative Writing with Bernie McGill at Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady
Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre 24 Main Street, Limavady, United KingdomMOMENTS IN MOTHERHOOD | CREATIVE WRITING WITH BERNIE MCGILL Wednesday 20 November | 9.30-11am Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady Cost: £8 With prompts and support from Bernie you’ll create a poem or piece of prose about your motherhood journey, about your baby, or about yourself. After the workshop we invite you to stay for refreshments. This workshop is suitable for those with children under 1 who are not yet mobile or who will sit in a pram and car seat throughout. Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre is proudly breastfeeding-friendly and baby-changing is available. ABOUT MUMS MEET & MAKE This series of creative workshops is specifically designed for new parents with immobile infants under 1, giving you the opportunity to tap into your creativity, relax, and practice mindfulness. These workshops are enriching, enjoyable and budget-friendly and offer new mums the chance to foster friendships that will last a lifetime. Book at this link. ABOUT BERNIE McGILL Bernie McGill is an award-winning novelist and short story writer and winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her short story collection This Train is For, published by No Alibis Press. Her novel The Watch House was nominated […]
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Mums Meet and Make: Creative Writing with Bernie McGill at Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart
Flowerfield Arts Centre 185 Coleraine Road, PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland, United KingdomWednesday 27 November | 9.30-11am Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart Cost: £8 With prompts and support from Bernie you’ll create a poem or piece of prose about your motherhood journey, about your baby, or about yourself. After the workshop we invite you to stay for refreshments. This workshop is suitable for those with children under 1 who are not yet mobile or who will sit in a pram and car seat throughout. ABOUT MUMS MEET & MAKE This series of creative workshops is specifically designed for new parents with immobile infants under 1, giving you the opportunity to tap into your creativity, relax, and practice mindfulness. These workshops are enriching, enjoyable and budget-friendly and offer new mums the chance to foster friendships that will last a lifetime. After each workshop, we encourage you to stay and enjoy some refreshments. Flowerfield Arts Centre is proudly Breastfeeding-friendly and baby changing is available. Book at this link. ABOUT BERNIE McGILL Bernie McGill is an award-winning novelist and short story writer and winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her short story collection This Train is For, published by No Alibis Press. Her novel The Watch House was nominated in 2019 for the […]
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Meet the Author: Bernie McGill at Suffolk Library, Belfast for Book Week NI
Suffolk Library Stewartstown Rd, Belfast, United KingdomJoin award-winning writer Bernie McGill at Suffolk Library in Belfast on Thursday 23rd October (3pm) for readings and reflections on her evocative fiction. Known for her lyrical style and deep sense of place, Bernie's work has touched readers across Ireland and beyond. Bernie McGill is the author of novels The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House and of the short story collections Sleepwalkers and This Train is For which won the prestigious Edge Hill Prize in 2023. She is an Honorary Member of the Linen Hall Library in Belfast in which building her writing archive is held. This is a free event but booking is advisable. Contact Suffolk Library on 028 9050 9235 Email suffolk.library@librariesni.org.uk Book Week NI takes place this year in libraries across Northern Ireland from Monday 21st to Sunday 26th October 2025. For events near you, check out the Libraries NI website.
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Launch of Literary Archive at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast
Linen Hall Library, Belfast 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, United KingdomIn 2025, acclaimed writer Bernie McGill was invited to donate her literary archive to The Linen Hall Library. To mark the occasion, Hugh Odling-Smee talks to her in the library about her archive and about her writing career, from her novels The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (2010) through to her most recent publication, This Train is For, for which she won the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. A selection of items from the archive will be on display at the event. This event is included in the programme for the 2025 Belfast International Arts Festival. Admission is free but booking is essential. Please book here. The 2025 Belfast International Arts Festival takes place from 14th October - 9th November and features Talks & Ideas, Music, Theatre & Dance, Visual Arts and Special Events in 30 venues across the city. The full programme is available to view here. Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
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Writing Workshop at Ballyscullion Park, Bellaghy with Bernie McGill
Ballyscullion Park 61 Ballyscullion Road, Bellaghy, Derry, United KingdomWriting Workshop: Setting and Place with Bernie McGill at Ballyscullion Park, Bellaghy Saturday, 28th February 2026 10.30am – 3.30pm with a break for lunch* Join writer Bernie McGill for a one-day workshop at Ballyscullion Park on the beautiful shores of Lough Beg. The workshop will focus on writing about setting and place. This will be a practical and participative workshop with the aim of developing existing work or sparking new ideas. Prompts and exercises will take inspiration from the garden and surrounds. All levels of experience are welcome from published writers to first-timers, poets and fiction writers alike. Participants will have the option to find a spot outdoors in the walled garden, weather permitting, and to write indoors in the historic 18th century stable block. Come with writing materials, prepared to write. Bernie McGill is a novelist and short story writer and the winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Prize for her short story collection This Train is For. She is a Writing for Life Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and an Honorary member of the Linen Hall Library in which building her writing archive is held. Her work has been widely anthologised and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 […]
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Short Story Writing Weekend with Bernie McGill at YARN, Ballycastle
YARN, Ballycastle 24-26 Ann St, Ballycastle, United KingdomWhen & Where 11th April 2026, 10 am – 4 pm 12th April 2026, 10 am - 2 pm YARN Ballycastle, 24-26 Ann St, Ballycastle, BT54 6AD, UK About Have you always wanted to try writing a short story? Do you already have an idea? Do you write in other genres and are interested in the form? Whether you’re a first-timer looking for guidance and inspiration or a seasoned writer seeking a fresh challenge, this Short Story Writing Weekend is for you. Join award-winning short story writer Bernie McGill for an enjoyable weekend of participative writing that will help to get your writing on track. Please bring your preferred writing materials (pen/pencil, notebook/laptop, etc.) If you’re already working on a short story, feel free to bring a copy for workshopping. Participants will be encouraged to share their work only if they are comfortable doing so. Saturday 11th April: 10 am – 4 pm What is a short story? How to get started with focus on structure, character and setting. Participants will be offered prompts and exercises to help develop their work. There will be a lunch break, with lunch provided on the day. Tea/coffee & snacks will also be provided. Sunday […]
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Danielle McLaughlin In Conversation with Bernie McGill at Belfast Book Festival
Crescent Arts Centre 2-4 University Road, BELFAST, United KingdomAward-winning Irish author Danielle McLaughlin discusses her new novel, Rituals, with Bernie McGill. Joan is in the habit of living alone, her days shaped by rituals and routines – some ordinary, some less so. When she takes in a lodger, they must learn to negotiate everything from a shared bathroom to the hazards of global warming. Following her acclaimed short-story collection Dinosaurs on Other Planets and debut novel The Art of Falling, Rituals is a tender, funny book about an obsessive mind – and the bravery involved in opening our hearts to change. Danielle McLaughlin’s short-story collection Dinosaurs on Other Planets was published in 2015 by The Stinging Fly Press. In 2019, she was a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient, and won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. Her first novel, The Art of Falling, was published in 2021 by John Murray and was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2022. In 2023 she was a recipient of a Markievicz Award. Her second novel, Rituals, is published by The Stinging Fly Press. Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For. She is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (2010). Her short stories have been widely anthologised, and her work has been […]
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Ballycastle Writers Host Creative Writing Workshops with Bernie McGill and Angela Graham
Sheskburn House, Ballycastle 7 Mary Street, Ballycastle, United KingdomWorkshop 1 Playing with Words with Bernie McGill Whether you write fiction or poetry or memoir or script, we all approach writing from a different angle, drawing on our varied experiences. The aims of this workshop are to try some new exercises, experiment with prompts, allow yourself to have a bit of a play and, hopefully, leave with some new approaches and material that you can work with in the future. The emphasis is on having fun with words. Leave your grown-up at home for the day! Bernie McGill is the 2023 winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her collection This Train is For. She is the author of two novels: The Watch House (nominated for the Ireland European Union Prize for Literature in 2019) and The Butterfly Cabinet (2010). Her work has been widely anthologised and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Bernie is a Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and a Mentor with the Irish Writers' Centre. Her first short story collection, Sleepwalkers was re- published in 2025 by No Alibis Press. She is an Honorary Member of the Linen Hall Library in which building her writing archive is held. Workshop […]
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