Kathleen MacMahon
Back in 2016, Kathleen MacMahon holidayed, as usual, with her family on the Costa Brava. Afterwards, whilst her husband flew home, she took a train to Antibes with their twin teenage daughters. She wanted to start…
Caragh Bell
Caragh Bell simply loves writing. She adores her characters – enjoys talking about them, and misses them when, having written, The End, she has to bid them farewell. But that comes as no surprise to the…
Susannah Dickie
A voracious reader, Susannah got her love of books from her grandmother; but as a child she wanted to be an artist with celebrity status. “I started writing prose poetry at university,” she says. “The poems…
Liadan Hynes.
Liadán has always wanted to write – English was her best subject, but being shy, she hated it when her work was read out in front of the class. She wanted to be a journalist, but…
Twelve Things I learned at the 2019 West Cork Literary Festival.
With the 2020 festival cancelled, I’m wishing I was in Bantry, and am remembering last year. Roll on July 2021! 1. John Boyne auditioned for Boyzone – and only then applied to do an MFA in…
Giles Dawnay
During university holidays Giles worked for an adventure company. He taught in Kenya, before setting up a division in Peru. He returned often, leading mountaineering expeditions. And after graduation, he worked in Ghana, then Fiji, as…
Niamh Campbell
At 7, Niamh asked for a real typewriter for Christmas. “I paid for my own ribbons and had to conserve ink. I’ve always known I’d be a writer, but it’s hard to write well. It took…
Finbar Lennon
The eldest of five, Finbar spent the first two years of his life in England. “But in 1950 my father worked as a dispensary doctor in County Meath. Then we moved to Edenderry.” He met Kate…
Stephanie Scott
A lifelong book lover, Stephanie started writing poetry at University. Studying for a PhD, and needing funds, she secured a job with Lehmann Brothers on a graduate programme. “But I was headhunted before the bank fell….
Review. The Switch. Beth O’Leary
Last year, Beth O’Leary produced a debut that really hit the spot. Warm and clever, with characters one wished were friends, The Flat Share featured two people who share a bed – but at different times,…
Cauvery Madhavan
Earlier this year, Cauvery Madhavan was reading from her new novel, The Tainted, at Madras University. At dinner afterwards, she was sitting next to a retired professor of English, who asked her what the book was…
John O’Donnell
A prize-winning poet who was published from the time he was at school, John O’Donnell has four poetry collections to his name. But having enjoyed writing stories as a kid, he then stopped penning them for…