Posted by Sue Leonard on Saturday 2nd March 2019
Nicole wrote ‘bad poetry’ and some stories as a teenager but stopped when she went to college.
“I was a better reader than a writer. And I did a lot of theatre as a teenager. I entered competitions and was a complete theatre nerd.”
After taking her MA at 24, Nicole worked in a card shop, and a pub, then became an intern at Lilliput Press.
“Then they gave me a job. It was great. I learned a lot there. I had my first story published in the Stinging Fly. After that I went to New York, and worked in all kinds of jobs, including publisher’s assistant.
“I came home and moved to Galway and decided to commit more to writing. I had two more stories published, and I won The White Review Short Story Prize for Track.”
Declan Meade, of The Stinging Fly asked if he could publish a collection.
“And alongside writing them, I wrote a lot of books reviews, and some freelance stuff. I did some teaching and had a residency at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris. And I won a Next Generation Bursary. That was a huge boost.”
Nicole now has a six figure two book deal from Bloomsbury.
Who is Nicole Flattery?
Date of birth: September 1989,
Education: Loretto Mullingar. Trinity College Dublin: Theatre and Film, MA Creative Writing.
Home: Galway.
Family: “A Boyfriend. Dad was a teacher in Tullamore. Mum was an accountant; my elder sister is a teacher.”
In Another Life: “I’d love to have unlimited focus. And to be interested in music. I feel I have a cultural gap.”
Favourite Writers: Lorrie Moore; Mary Gaitskill; Catherine Lacey; Jean Rhys; Donald Antrim.
Second Book: I’m writing a novel.
Top Tip: “Remain curious. Read, watch films and go and see art. You don’t know what will spark an idea.”
Website: Twitter: @nicoleflattery
The Debut: Show Them a Good Time: The Stinging Fly: €12.95.
This fabulous collection shows lost characters struggling to make sense of their past – and their future. In the longest, Abortion, a Love Story, student friends Natasha and Lucy go on stage in an effort to make sense of their lives.
The Verdict: Unforgeable. A deliciously funny, yet poignant collection to savour and reread.
Published in The Irish Examiner, 2nd March. 2019.
© Sue Leonard. 2019