Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Blog, page 10

BOOK SHOW - RTÉ - hist fic discussion

Gavin McCrea, author of Mrs Engels Marita Conlon McKenna, latest novel: Rebel Sisters
I'll be on The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1, Easter Saturday evening, talking historical fiction with Sinéad Gleeson, Gavin McCrea & Marita Conlon McKenna.

MOUNTAINS TO SEA ON SATURDAY

Saturday sees myself and Dónal Ryan take the stage at the Mountains to Sea Festival, in interview with Paula Shields. Here's the blurb from the MTTS website:

'Here is a rare chance to hear two of Ireland’s finest prose stylists discussing their work and their craft with cultural critic, TV researcher and moderator Paula Shields.In his first short story collection, A Slanting of the Sun, Donal Ryan picks up where his acclaimed novels The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December left off, dealing with the human cost of loneliness, isolation and displacement. As The Guardian reviewer noted 'each unit of language is scrupulously positioned, though the overall effect is of effortlessness. Very few writers are capable of portraying desolation with such lyricism'. The title story, A Slanting of the Sun, won the writing.ie Short Story of the Year for 2015.Nuala O'Connor had published two novels, four collections of short fiction, and three full poetry collections but with her extraordinary third novel, Miss Emily, she has made the breakthrough to wider critical acclaim. Dermot Bolger remarked upon O’Connor’s 'luminous prose which has long been one of Ireland’s most treasured literary secrets.' Not any more! Miss Emily was shortlisted for the Novel of the Year in the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards for 2015.'
Date:Saturday March 12thVenue:County Hall, Dún LaoghaireTime:1.00pmCost:€10 / €8 ConcessionAge:Adults

The New York Journal of Books reviews Miss Emily

The New York Journal of Books has reviewed Miss Emily here.

REWRITING, REWRITING, REWRITING

I am busily re-writing novel #4 after another convo with my agent about it. I love how intimate she gets with the book and her suggestions are always sensible. Love it. Sometimes I feel impatient with editing and restructuring because I just want to be DONE, but I am enjoying this work at the moment. It all makes sense and I can see how it's improving the book. And I needed to be back writing. Yes, I am trying to have a quieter year but if I don't write, I go a bit bonkers. And I love my heroine - I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to her yet.
I am reading Gavin McCrea's Mrs Engels at the moment (ahead of meeting him next week) and just WOW. This is a seriously addictive, beautifully written and funny novel. Fab. It will take its place beside other hist fic faves like Andrew Miller's Pure, Cormac James's The Surfacing (appearing at Ennis Book Club Festival soon!) and Michel Faber's glorious The Crimson Petal and the White. Oh, and Longbourn by Jo Baker, I loved that one.
I actually need to read more hist fic, defo more by women. But I have some other tasks in the meantime (reading for upcoming author interviews, for example.). If you have any suggestions for hist fic by women, let me have them.

ANTHOLOGY LAUNCH TOMORROW - DUBLIN!

Friday the 19th February 2016 (TOMORROW!) sees the Irish launch of Tra una vita e l’altra (Guanda, 2015) at the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin. 6.30pm. The anthology is the Italian version of Lost Between published by New Island in 2015. ALL WELCOME!

More details here.

PUBLISHING DAY IN FLORENCE

I am Italy-bound again, which is pretty fabulous. If you know anyone in Florence (or its environs) who might like this event, please let them know. I can't wait. All I am thinking is A Room With a View , a book I fell in love with as a teenager. Will have to re-read it on this trip. Wheee!

FISH JUDGING!

I'm judging this year's Fish Publishing One Page Story Prize. 300 words. Closes: 28th February. More here.

MOUNTAINS TO SEA

Pic from the MtoS websiteDónal Ryan and I are appearing together at the Mountains to Sea Festival on Sat. 12th March at 1pm. Deets here.

KILKENNY NOVEL WRITING COURSE

Kilkenny this weekend to teach a novel writing course. It's sold out but there is a waiting list, I do believe. Contact Mary here.

A hen reviews *Miss Emily*

A hen has written a review of Miss Emily. A hen called Ms. Hen. It's an odd review, to say the least.

A sample: 'Ms. Hen thinks there’s a possibility Miss Emily would die many times over if she read Nuala O’Connor’s novel. But Ms. Hen doesn’t know. Nobody knows what Emily Dickinson would think because not much is known about her.'

See? Odd. Plenty is known about Emily Dickinson. Perhaps Ms. Hen should do her homework. And how exactly does one 'die many times over'?

The rest of it is here if you could be bothered.