Debut Roundup for Books Ireland, September/October
Follow me to Ground. Sue Rainsford. New Island. Ada lives quietly with her father. They’re not like other people; Ada wasn’t born, she came from the ground, and her father is fond of hunting, naked and…
Helen Cullen
Helen didn’t start writing until she was 30. “I thought authors were born and not made. I had the desire to write before then, but not the confidence.” “I spent my college summers working in RTE….
Darragh Martin
As a child, Darragh wanted to be a journalist. Whilst at school, he had work experience in the then Cork Examiner’s Dublin office. “I had a tiny news article published,” he says. During college he had…
Karl McDermott
Karl has always loved comedy. “We only had one TV channel when I was growing up, and I was obsessed with old black and white movies. I loved comedians like Danny Kaye and old Bob Hope…
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…