Luke Cassidy
Luke has always been drawn to books – but he was discouraged from taking English at university. After his MA, he spent a year in Japan teaching English, and on the way home, travelling overland, he…
E.D Thompson
Leaving school at 16, Eirin moved to London – then travelled a bit before returning to Northern Ireland where she trained as a journalist. “I worked as a local reporter for some years, and…
David Diebold
Shortly before Ireland’s first lockdown in March 2020, Molly, the Diebold family dog, was unable to get up. At 17, it was clear that her life was nearing the end. Knowing how much the dog meant…
Grace Wilentz
Grace’s father ran a beatnik bookstore in Greenwich Village, so shegrew up around ageing poets. “Ted Jones used to visit my family, and he asked me about my dreams – then he made up poems for…
Mel O’Doherty
Mel became interested in writing when he was introduced to the novels of Thomas Hardy– but he was in his late twenties when he decided to take action. “I joined a writing course run in…
Seamas O’Reilly
One of 11 children, Séamas has always loved reading and music. He played the flute as a child. “There were 2 cellos in our house,’ he says. “2 pianos, 4 violins and 3 flutes.” He…
Stephen Walsh
A shy child, Stephen spent his time reading, playing computer games and playing the guitar. He also wrote. “At nine, I told my mother I wanted to be a writer, and she said, ‘well do…
Esther Freud
There’s a photograph in Esther Freud’s office of a beautiful young girl in first communion bridal glory. I noticed it on the shelf behind her as we talked of her latest novel, and she said it…
Eimear Ryan
Eimear Ryan started writing her debut novel, holding her breath, back in 2013, shortly after finishing an M Phil in Creative Writing. As a highly successful short story writer, however, Eimear found the longer form harder…
Trev Burke
Badly dyslexic, at a time this wasn’t fully recognised, Trev struggled at school. “I loved drawing in primary school, but that skill disappeared when I was a teenager.” During and after college, Trev worked in bars…
Anamaría Crowe Serrano
Brought up bilingual in County Meath – Anamaría has a Spanish mother and Irish father – she moved to Dublin for college and has lived there since. Straight after getting her MA, Anamaría worked in the…
Harriet Kline
Becoming a writer has been a long-held ambition for Harriet. But being, also, interested in the analytical side of theatre, she chose to study drama with English. “I liked getting inside people’s heads through drama improvisation,…