Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Blog, page 29

CORK AFTERS - PHOTOS

I'm in recovery mode after Cork and the short story festival. My favourite festival of them all. I taught a four day novel course to an enthused group of nine writers; I read and took part in a panel; I heard Richard Ford say the short story was a lesser form (than the novel) - ouch!; I listened to writers read, discuss, argue and laugh into the early hours.

I met lovely Canadian writers (again!) - like my fellow reader Matt Rader and also Lynn Coady, who read brilliantly with the sublime Alison MacLeod. We ate, we drank, we pub-crawled, we talked. It was exhausting and exhilarating, as ever. Kudos and gratefulness to Pat Cotter, Jen Matthews and all at Munster Literature Centre and Triskel for making it so good and for welcoming us all in.

My photos are pretty uniformly rubbish - I didn't bring my camera, for some reason, so it was phone snaps all the way. So, if you are not pictured here, it's because the photo I took of you is terrible. Here are a small few pics of the festival and of spots around Cork itself:

Jaki McCarrick reading at the library Paul McVeigh reading at Culture Night in Waterstone's Shane Vaughan reading at Culture Night in Waterstone's Valerie Sirr reading at the library Declan Meade introducing Sara Baume, Davy Byrnes 2014 winner, & Danielle McLaughlin, runner-up Tofu gorgeousness at Café Paradiso Juno sending a postcard to her brothers The butter churn obsession continues apace - this one at The Butter Museum Retro butter packets at The Butter Museum Juno at The Butter Museum Kay O'Mahony's, ShandonEvery time I go to Cork, I think, This is really a great place to visit. My top tips for visitors to Cork: eat at the Quay Co-op, the Farmgate Restaurant in the English Market, and Café Paradiso, Visit the Butter Museum and Mutton Lane Inn. Go to the Crawford Gallery and Vibes 'n' Scribes Book Shop. Enjoy, enjoy. I'm already looking forward to next year's Cork Short Story Festival.

EASONS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS WITH GALWAY WRITERS

Here's the full text of Kernan Andrews's article about the 25 year celebrations at Easons, Galway, from The Galway Advertiser:ELEVEN GALWAY short story writers and poets will be reading from their work in Easons on Mondays and Tuesdays in September.The readings, which begin at 4.30pm, have been programmed by Galway publishing company Arlen House, and are part of a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of Easons’ opening in Shop Street in September 1989.The first reading takes place on Monday September 22 at 4.30pm and will feature Geraldine Curtin giving a short talk entitled Life Stories of Women Prisoners in Galway Jail; Orfhlaith Foyle will read poems of war and conflict as well as reading poems by Ballinasloe writer Nuala Ní Chonchúir which were inspired by the book The Women of Galway Jail; and the Galway Advertiser arts editor Kernan Andrews will read from his short story, Im Niemansland, set in the trenches of WWI.Tuesday 23 will feature two of Galway’s most respected short story writers, as Geraldine Mills will read from her new collection, Hellkite, and Mike McCormack will reading from Forensic Songs.On Monday 29, there will be poetry from Alice Lyons, Peggie Gallagher, and Geraldine Mitchell, while Nuala Ní Chonchúir will read from The Closet of Savage Mementos. Tuesday 30 will see Alan McMonagle and Des Kenny read from the Arlen House short story anthology Noir by Noir West.All are welcome to the readings. Easons will be hosting a number of other in-shop events, including literature and music and events for children.

CORK SHORT STORY FESTIVAL EVENTS 2014

I'm on the train to Cork, very much looking forward to the next five days at the Cork Intl Short Story Festival (CISS). Unbelievably (to me) this is my tenth consecutive visit to the festival. It is truly the best little literature festival in the world - the hospitality and friendliness are second to none. If you are a short story writer and you have never been, beg or bribe your publisher to get you a spot. If that doesn't work, go anyway. You won't regret it.

I am looking forward to Richard Ford's reading tonight (a festival returnee also - see, even Richard Ford can't stay away!). My friend Órfhlaith Foyle reads tomorrow with Valerie Sirr; the wondrous Rachel Trezise and Alison MacLeod read on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. And for Culture Night there's a Flash Fiction event at Waterstone's. There are lots more events, of course, see here. 

As to my events, I'm teaching a 4-day course in The Novel. I'm also doing a short story reading with Canadian writer Matt Rader on Weds. 17th September at 7pm in Triskel. And on Saturday afternoon I'll be yapping on a panel about long and short forms in fiction with Patrick Chapman and Ladette Randolph, chaired by Jennifer Matthews.

Hope to see some of you there!

COLM TÓIBÍN READING - DWF - OFF THE PAGE EVENT

ST STEPHEN'S CHURCH (THE PEPPER CANISTER) | 7PM
WED 1 OCT | €12/€10
DWF returns in October with their OFF THE PAGE
series featuring award-winning author Colm Tóibín.
A new novel by Tóibín is always a major event
and Nora Webster is no exception.
To mark its publication, the Dublin Writers Festival
in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature
hosts a special reading and discussion.MORE INFO & BOOK NOW

CORK SHORT STORY FEST READING

Matt RaderCorkonians!! Cork-bound-people!! I'll be reading at the short story festival there next week with Canadian writer Matt Rader. Weds. 17th, 7pm. Triskel Arts. Please come and cheer us on. Bookings here.

NAIRN AFTERS

Rufus Wainwright has a song that goes, 'Why am I always on a plane or a fast train?' I hear you, Rufus. I am away so much that my kids don't even bother to summons me if they need something anymore. Sniff. My awayness is OTT at the moment and showing no signs of stopping.

Nairn beach, the Moray FirthHaving said that, Nairn in Scotland was beautiful. It's at the bottom of the Highlands, on the coast, and it has this gorgeous balmy climate. A lot of people retire there and it's easy to see why, between the good weather, the cute shops and the decent food available in places like Basil, a café by the harbour.

I had a lovely time at the Nairn Book and Arts Festival: I went to a reading/presentation about tango dancing from Kapka Kassabova, a Bulgarian Kiwi who was seduced by tango and 'followed' it for ten years.
Peter Ross reading from DaunderlustI went to the journalist Peter Ross's reading from his fascinating book of essays/articles Daunderlust - snapshots of the real Scotland, with everything from aria singing chippers to corpse dissection. I did my own reading from The Closet of Savage Mementos and the aforementioned Peter interviewed me. It seemed to go well (Peter kept his end up marvellously) but I sometimes get fed up listening to myself saying the same things about the book and its history, over and over. Occupational hazard, I guess. There were some funny questions put to me (mostly in private) - people really have a hard time separating fact and fiction, it seems. Several people believe that all that happens to Lillis in the novel also happened to me. Very little of it did, in fact. It's kind of amusing though to be quizzed in detail about a personal life that you have invented for a character.

Jacquelyn Pearce installation, Seamen's Victoria HallI went to an afternoon reading from local writers' group The Pen and I and I attended an art exhibition with ethereal, magical work by Jacquelyn Pearce and others. I even went to a jazz concert (unheard of for me) and loved it. It wasn't that awful, crazy jazz but gorgeous, tight, classical jazz from the Tim Kliphuis Trio. Fab.

Beachcombed findsAnd I walked in the rain and beachcombed and did some research for novel #4 and even wrote a little on trains, planes, buses.

The fishwifie from Fishertown at Nairn HarbourAnd now I am thoroughly exhausted and prepping for next week's trip to the Cork Short Story Festival and all I've to do there. It's a fabulously social festival (Nairn wasn't that) so I need to gather my wits this week to be ready for the whirl of lunches, drinks, launches, readings, teaching, panels and chat with lovely story people I'll be meeting. Bring it on ;)

Nairn has some great town flower beds Beach selfie in the rain

FAB REVIEW/ESSAY ABOUT *CLOSET* IN THE DUB REVIEW OF BOOKS

Susan McCallum-Smith gives an extremely thoughtful once over to The Closet of Savage Mementos, and some of my other books, in The Dublin Review of Books. Her theme is motherhood in all its guises, a subject (obsessively) close to my heart. As a Scottish writer and mother, living in Ireland, who has personal experience of adoption, Susan is peculiarly well placed to review the book. She does a great (and humbling) job. Full review/essay here.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND READINGS

I have so many things coming up, that I thought I'd make a list here, in case any of you want to come to classes/workshops/readings, or you know people who might. Here's the schedule for Scotland, Cork, Tipperary, Wexford, Tallaght, Dublin city...

I'm doing a reading from The Closet of Savage Mementos and a Q&A with Peter Ross
Where: Nairn Book and Arts Festival, Scotland
When: Friday 5th September
More here

I'm teaching a 4-day course in The Novel
Where: Cork Short Story Festival
When: 17 - 20 September, daily 9.30am - 12.30pm
More here

I'm doing a short story reading with Matt Rader
Where: Cork Short Story Festival
When: 17th September,7pm
More here

I'm teaching a morning course in Flash Fiction and yapping on a panel
Where: Dromineer Literary Festival
When: Saturday 4th October
More here

I'm doing a reading from The Closet of Savage Mementos
Where: Wexford County Library
When: Sat. 11th October, 3pm

I'm doing a reading from The Closet of Savage Mementos at the Red Line Book Festival, with Donal Ryan, Dermot Bolger and John Sheahan
Where: Civic Theatre, Tallaght
When: Sat. 18th October, 2.30pm
More here

I'm teaching a 1 day course in Writing Effective Fiction
Where: The Irish Writers' Centre
When: Saturday 8th November
More here

And that's quite enough for now - I feel exhausted just looking at that list.

INDO Q&A

This from today's Irish Independent magazine. Questions by Alison O'Riordan, photos by Andrew Downes. Click to enlarge and read:

Click to read

MOLLY KEANE WRITERS' RETREAT - AFTERS

I had a magical time at the Molly Keane House in Ardmore, Co. Waterford at the weekend. I had never been to Ardmore before (how!?) and was unaware what a sweet and charming place it is. But like any place, it's not just the setting, it's the people. I got an enormous and warm welcome from Lani O'Hanlon, the writer who facilitates the annual Molly Keane Writers' Retreat, and from Virginia Brownlow, Molly's daughter, who works tirelessly for everybody's comfort.

View from Molly's terraceThe Molly Keane house is on a rise overlooking Ardmore Bay and it is a gorgeous house of large rooms and nooks and crannies. We had our workshop (and my reading) in the schoolroom, a huge room where Virginia and her sister Sally were educated. Molly, apparently,often wrote in bed.

Window view, Molly's houseThe house is furnished with antiques and with Molly's books and artworks, so there is a huge sense of history and it feels such a privilege to be there to write, to read and to talk about writing. Virginia had fresh flowers from the large garden on every side table and corner; there were fresh scones, gallons of tea, and drinking water with fragrant herbs floating in it. The fire blazed all day and all night. It was one of the warmest, safest writing experiences imaginable.

Upper landing, Molly's house - flowers! Round tower, ArdmoreAnd the most exciting thing is that you, your family, your writing group - anyone! - can rent out the Molly Keane House for holidays or for workshops or private writing retreats. That is surely a unique experience in Ireland. Go here for more information.

And look out for upcoming events at the MK House, including a Film Day in September from Virginia's Oscar-winning husband Kevin Brownlow, and a masterclass with the wonder that is Cork-based writer Thomas McCarthy.

For me, the Molly Keane House is like a sweet, lovely secret but one that is ready for sharing.

Fresh flowers in the house