Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Blog, page 49

COVER FOR MY NEW BOOK

Herewith the cover for my new chapbook of short-short stories/flash, coming from Tower Press, and launching at the American Conference for Irish Studies in San Francisco on Friday the 27th September. Galway and Dublin launches also being planned.

Maria Gasol is the cover artist and publisher Jodi Chilson is the designer. I love the job they did!

THE JUNO CHARM - KINDLE

My last poetry collection The Juno Charm (Salmon, 2011) is now available for Kindle. Go .

GLADSTONE'S LIBRARY MYSTERY LADY - flash winner

Gladstone's Library recently ran a writing competition based on a mystery portrait of a lady in red that they own. I'm thrilled to have won the flash section of the comp. I'll be going to Wales for a week to write next year as part of my prize. Congrats to Fiona Knowles-Holland who won the short story section. Thanks to the library for supporting fiction writers, particularly those of us who love the shorter forms.

I was half-awake last night thinking (with gratitude) about the week in Gladstone's - Britain's only residential library - deciding I will take the ferry rather than the aeroplane because I am utterly sick of airport shenanigans. You would think there would be more exciting things on my mind like: 'A whole week to myself!' or simply 'Wales!' but, there you go, even half-asleep I am sorting out the practicalities. However I get there, I am looking forward to it hugely. Once again writing provides an exciting and fun opportunity. Ain't life grand.

PENFEST, CARLOW 2013

Join Kevin Barry, Christy Neary, Dave Lordan, Theo Dorgan, Niamh O'Connor, Ruby Barnes and myself at Penfest, Carlow, in mid-September, for workshops (mine is the short story for beginners), talks and readings. All events are free but you need to book.

For bookings and more see their Facebook page or their website.

'SQUIDINKY' ON SOUNDCLOUD

In their Thursday Taster, New Island have featured me reading an extract from my story 'Squidinky' on Soundcloud. The story was published in Silver Threads of Hope and in The Irish Times. Listen here.

DELAWARE - LEWES CONFERENCE - AFTERS

I am in that strange jet-lag land today - I feel like I'm wading through cottonwool all day. And my lovely Granny-in-law died yesterday, so things are all topsy turvy here.

Delaware was fantastic, as were Pennsylvania and New Jersey; 3 States in 6 days - what fun. Writer Billie Travalini, a native Delawarian, whom I met through a mutual love of short fiction, was my hostess with the mostess in Wilmington, Northern Delaware.
The Lewes Writer's Conference - organised by Billie - was wonderful; lots of enthused and friendly writers and my first taste of the poetry and insights of the rather excellent Devon Miller-Duggan, whose collection Pinning the Bird to the Wall has my brain zinging. In Lewes we stayed with Billie's friends Dr and Mrs Miller, and they couldn't have been sweeter or more welcoming to a wandering Irish writer.

Lilies at Longwood Gardens, PennsylvaniaSo, a few pics. With Granny's death and general exhaustion I haven't the will for more. All thanks to The Arts Council for contributing towards my trip and to Billie and the Millers for hosting me.

Billie's writing desk
Billie Travalini on the deck of her cabin by the Brandywine River in Pennsylvania Pennsylvanian butterfly - it was HUGE I really fancied this cabin across the river from Billie's Speed limit sign by the cabin Me on Billie's Wilmington balcony, Delaware Amish pie fillings at Booths Corner Farmers' Market, Penn. Amish produce, Booths Corner Amish honey, Booths Corner Bathroom mermaid, Lewes Billie opening the Lewes Conference Lighhouse, Lewes - from the ferry to Cape May, New Jersey Cape May, New Jersey, in the rain Dellas diner, Cape May, New Jersey - they do a great veggie burger Me on the Cape May-Lewes ferry

6 YEAR BLOGOVERSARY & GIVEAWAY

It's Women Rule Writer's 6 year blogoversary today, which is hard to believe. So much has happened to me in those six years: divorce, remarriage, new baby, new books, new friends, lots and lots of writing related trips and festivals and conferences. One of the many things I love about being a writer - and about being an active blogger - is that even at this age and stage of life it is possible to make new and proper friends through what I do. There can be very few jobs that provide that opportunity.

I love blogging, I must say. Even if most of the time it feels as though I am talking into the wind. I know there are lurkers out there who never comment, and I know there are those who comment only the odd time. Anyway, I want to thank those of you who do read this blog for taking the time.

I have made tentative moves re. setting up the Irish Literary Bloggers Association and I will be doing more on that towards the end of the year. Things are too hectic for me to do much with it at the moment as I have 3 USA trips in the next 3 months as well as a new fiction chapbook and spring's novel to prepare for. But if you are interested in joining or getting involved email me at nuala AT nualanichonchuir DOT com.

Anyway, to celebrate 6 years a-blogging, I am having a little giveaway. Just leave a comment to be in the draw and I will give one of my books to one lovely blog reader. Simple as that.

POETRY MASTERCLASS - GALWAY

Two one-day masterclasses with poet Stephen Murray in Galway Arts Centre this month. All info in poster above and more info from info@inspireland.ie.

NUDE ON KINDLE

My 2009 published short story collection Nude is now available for Kindle. Yay! With thanks to Salt for giving me permission to digitize it and to my husband for doing all the hard work to get it formatted. It's priced at £4.04 on Amazon.co.uk and US$6.18 on Amazon.com which equates to about €4.65.

Nude was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize, and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler said of it, 'Nakedness rather than sex is the theme of Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Nude, nakedness and hiding linked like natural opposites, the delicacy of encounters and then the blunt proposition, the subterfuge and the revelation. Over it all is an elegant simplicity of language, a quilt of metaphor. Art and beauty are the threads that hold it together and ravel the lives of her characters. A beautiful collection of stories about beauty.'

BUSY-NESS

 
There is a lot happening in my world these days and I am torn between this, that and the other, busy as busy can be(e). I am having fun reading the stories sent in for my guest editorship of The Stinging Fly . 330 flash stories and 262 longer stories were subbed for the issue so there is a ton of reading to do. There are some absolute gems among the stories - my 'YES' pile is enormous and it is going to be very difficult to trim that down.

I fly out to Delaware in the USA in 10 days or so for a writers' conference run by writer friend Billie Travilini whom I meet at the International Short Story Conference every two years. I have been to lots of cool places in the States and, much as I love NY etc., it is always fascinating to visit smaller, more obscure places like Lewes,a sweet coastal town dubbed 'the first town in the first State'. And it's wonderful to experience these places in the company of other writers.

Other than that I am finishing Novel #3, editing  Novel #2 and prepping for the publication of Of Dublin and Other Fictions - my chapbook of short-shorts/flash that is being published in the USA in September. Cover art has now been secured - I can't wait to reveal it. It is by a Donegal-resident Spanish artist and it is both witty and pretty. The chapbook launch takes place in San Francisco at the American Conference for Irish Studies.

I also had a very productive meeting with the New Island team last week to discuss Novel #2 which will be out next spring. We still haven't locked down the title - I want to use an adapted quote from a poem as the title so I am awaiting permission from Harper Collins in the USA. I got a friendly email from them last week (from an Irish employee!) so I have all fingers crossed that it works out. Again, I hope to reveal the title for that shortly. As the novel is mostly set in Scotland, I have been planning the launch - think whiskey and shortbread and lots of tartan :)

Novel #2 features a paperweight that becomes central to the plot. I own that paperweight and today my friend the photographer Úna Spain is going to photograph it with a view to it being used as cover art for the book. I can't wait to see the images and send them on to New Island to consider.

Also Salt, who published my story collection Nude , have given me permission to digitize the book. I thought it would be a very simple process (it's not really - lots of formatting issues) so my lovely husband has taken over that task and is working on it. Nude for Kindle available very soon! And at a special introductory price.

It's all good.