Mia Gallagher
There’s something exotic about the writer, Mia Gallagher. She’s not traditionally beautiful, and doesn’t follow the vagaries of fashion, yet she always stands out. She secures her long hair with a decorative clip – and personalises…
Joe Heap
Writing since he was 12, Joe completed four novels once he left university. “They went to agents but were all turned down.” Meanwhile, he was working as a sub titler, for news and sports. “You repeat…
Arnold Fanning
This extraordinary memoir opens at Heathrow Airport. At the height of a manic phase, the playwright, and debut writer, Arnold Thomas Fanning, rips a defibrillator off the wall, deciding he needs it for his imaginary journey…
Tadhg Coakley
A lifelong, avid reader, Tadhg never thought that he could be a writer. After university he worked as a librarian and environmental researcher, starting in Cork City Library, then transferring to Cork Institute of Technology. “I…
Debut Roundup. July/August 2018
Problems Jade Sharma. Tramp Press. Maya has problems. Living in New York, she’s been married for seven months to Peter. He’s good to her, but she wants nothing more then for him to leave her. Embroiled…
West Cork Literature Festival, 2018
I first attended the West Cork Literature Festival back in 2009 – appearing on a panel on ‘How To Get Published.’ I’ve been back every year since, in various roles, such as teacher, (In 2010, of…
Charlene Allcott
As a child Charlene loved books. “I hung around in the library all day, and I wrote stories for friends at school, and for the school newspaper. But I didn’t think of myself as a writer….
Christie Watson
When, at 17, Christie Watson applied for nursing, her prospects for success seemed slim. Fresh from a few wild years, the early school-leaver fainted at her medical, at the sight of her own blood. Later, arriving…
Caoilinn Hughes.
When Caoilinn was ten, a pastiche she’d written of Father Ted was performed at her school. Encouraged, she started a novel. “I asked my parents for feedback. When they laughed, hysterically, (it wasn’t a comedy,) I…
Emilie Pine
Starting life in Dublin, Emilie’s family moved to London when she was a teenager, where she dropped out of school and became a ‘wild child.’ At 16, saved by a private school, she gained a scholarship…
Review. Andrea Mara
In the late nineties I wrote an article titled ‘mobile manners.’ Commenting on the disturbance caused by phone conversations on the beach, at the theatre, and during a funeral mass, I suggested that some guidelines were…
Cethan Leahy
In college Cethan wrote short film scripts and had a story long-listed for a Penguin Competition. “I got to a workshop. It was really cool.” After his MA, Cethan got an internship in EMC, placing data…