In response to the Arts Office’s YOUR VOICE MATTERS project we are delighted to announce our next series of Wednesday Weeklies aimed at WRITERS in Kilkenny. This four-week series of online get-togethers will explore various themes on consecutive Wednesdays throughout April. They will be informal but led by experts and writers who will inform and advise.
- DATES: APRIL 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th
- TIME: 10am START
- DURATION: 90mins
- ALL GET-TOGETHERS ARE FREE
- BOOKINGS: deirdre.southey@kilkennycoco.ie
- BOOKING DEADLINE: 22nd MARCH 2022
APRIL 6th
IN CONVERSATION WITH THE NATIONAL RESOURCE ORGANISATIONS featuring the ARTS COUNCIL, POETRY IRELAND & THE IRISH WRITERS CENTRE
This is an opportunity for you to familiarise yourself with the national resource organisations, who they are and what role they play in supporting writers in Ireland.
The Arts Council recognises that literature is integral part of people’s lives in Ireland: books, stories, language and reading are essential to our culture and society. Ireland’s strong international reputation for literature is consistently reinforced by contemporary writers who enjoy critical acclaim, win prestigious literary awards and attract significant readerships around the world. And while digital technology will continue to change the way we engage with literature, the writer and reader will remain at the heart of this artform
Poetry Ireland connects poetry and people. Our commitment to creating performance and publication opportunities for poets at all stages of their careers helps ensure that the best work is made available to the widest possible audience, securing a future for Irish poetry that is as celebrated as its past.
In September 2016, Poetry Ireland moved into its beautiful new home in Dublin’s Parnell Square. We are now embarked on ambitious and innovative plans for the redevelopment of this expansive Georgian townhouse as an all-island institution dedicated to poetry in all its forms. When complete, this development will house the Seamus Heaney Library, a contemporary performance space and a café.
Poetry Ireland receives support from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland and we enjoy rewarding partnerships with arts centres, festivals, schools, colleges and bookshops at home and abroad.
The Irish Writers Centre is the national development and support organisation for writers on the island of Ireland. For over 30 years, the Centre has acknowledged and elevated writers, providing courses, information and resources to meet the needs of writers from all forms and genres. The IWC supports writers through professional training, membership, information, mentoring, creative writing courses, residencies, bursaries and networking. As a resource agency, the Centre connects writers through bespoke programmes, working collaboratively with strategic partners on a local, national and international level. The Irish Writers Centre is committed to removing barriers to participation in literature, placing diversity, equality of opportunity and social inclusion at the heart of our programming.
APRIL 13th
PATHS TO PUBLICATION with AUTHOR HAZEL GAYNOR
In this 90-minute session, participants will be guided through the key steps to being self-published, traditionally published, or a hybrid of both. The session will focus on what a different publishing journey might look like, the pros and cons of each, and what writers can do to give themselves the best chance of being successfully published via either route. The session will focus on practical tips and advice drawn from ten years as an internationally published author, and from experience of being self-published and also traditionally published by one of the Big Five.
APRIL 20th
READ CLOSELY & WIDELY – JESSICA TRAYNOR & ANNEMARIE NÍ CHURREAÍN in CONVERSATION
Writers read not only for research purposes, but because they are part of the dialogue of contemporary writing. Essentially, reading is part of the writer’s day to day job. So, this conversation will cover a variety of topics including, where to begin on your reading journey, how to curate a bookshelf, how to ‘read closely’ and ‘read widely. Essentially, reading supports you to respond to the greater writing community and your own work and once you find your way this can prove to be hugely inspirational.
APRIL 27th
MAKING THE MOST OF SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE PROMOTION (BEGINNERS) with journalist and multimedia content creator ÚNA-MINH KAVANAGH
This session will cover:
- getting started on social media
- its importance of it and usefulness specifically aimed at writers
- Examples of mistakes and best practices on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook
- The power of LinkedIn (the often forgotten but powerful social media!)
- The benefits of a blog or website. This will include a case study, maintenance tips and opportunity for discussion
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
APRIL 6th
IN CONVERSTION WITH THE NATIONAL RESOURCE ORGANISATIONS
Arts Council of Ireland – Sarah Bannan was born in upstate New York, and moved to Ireland in 2000. She has worked in various arts organisations over the years, including Lilliput Press and the Irish Film Institute. Since 2007, she has been Head of Literature with the Arts Council, where she is responsible for the management of all elements of the Arts Council’s policy formulation, development initiatives, grant and relationship management in the area of Literature in Irish and English.
Since her appointment, she has overseen the establishment of Ireland’s children’s literature laureate, Laureate na nÓg, and the Laureate for Irish Fiction. She has extended the Council’s writer in residence partnerships with third level institutions, and has actively encouraged new literary journals, presses and festivals. Sarah has seen the Arts Council’s investment in literature grow considerably in recent years, and has worked to ensure that its supports for writers and picture book illustrators have expanded and kept pace with the growing activity and talent in Ireland – from bursaries, to publishing platforms, to festivals that allow a connection between readers and writers, the Arts Council works to support a diverse and lively literature sector across the country.
Poetry Ireland – Elizabeth Mohen is the Programme Manager for Poetry Ireland, and has been working with the organisation since 2015. Her primary focus is on supporting and promoting both new and established voices, and showing through various initiatives that poetry is for everyone on the island. She is a graduate of English Literature and World Religions at Trinity College Dublin.
Irish Writers Centre – Teerth Chungh is the Deputy Director of the Irish Writers Centre. She is a senior arts manager with a track record of successfully leading arts organisations and buildings on both sides of the Irish Sea. Her extensive experience includes the ability to negotiate and commission, deliver and promote complex events, projects and stage productions. She has held several senior positions (including The Gate Theatre, Draíocht Arts Centre, The Cochrane Theatre and Riverside Studios) where her responsibilities included the day-to-day financial and general management of the organisation and all its activities including programming, producing, advocacy, booking tours, negotiating contracts, promoting the company and artistic work to a diverse range of stakeholders and audiences, staff recruitment and training, She has also been an Executive Producer on numerous productions and touring shows, producing and co-producing the work of individual artists and company, across disciplines, both onsite and offsite and in national and international venues and festivals.
APRIL 13th
PATHS TO PUBLICATION
Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times, USA Today, Globe and Mail, and Irish Times bestselling historical novelist from Kildare. Her debut novel was awarded the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year, and her books have also been shortlisted for the 2016 and 2020 Irish Book Awards, the 2019 Historical Writers’ Association Gold Crown Award, and the 2020 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. She is currently shortlisted for the 2021 Grand Prix du Roman Historique. Her latest novel, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage was described as ‘deeply moving’ by The Times, and was an Irish Times and UK Heatseekers chart top ten bestseller. Hazel’s co-written novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim. Last Christmas in Paris won the 2018 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award, and Meet Me in Monaco was shortlisted for the 2020 Romantic Novelists’ Association Historical Novel award. Their latest novel, Three Words for Goodbye, was selected by Prima Magazine as a Best Novel of 2021. Hazel was selected as a 2015 WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and by Library Journal as one of Ten Big Breakout Authors. She is published in twenty-five territories and her books have been translated into eighteen languages. She is represented by Michelle Brower of Trellis Literary, USA.
APRIL 20th
READ CLOSELY & WIDELY
Jessica Traynor is a poet, essayist and librettist. Her debut poetry collection, Liffey Swim, was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award and in 2016 was named one of the best poetry debuts of the past five years on Bustle.com. The Quick was a 2019 Irish Times poetry choice. Awards include the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary and Hennessy New Writer of the Year. Paper Boat, a new opera commission from Irish National Opera, will premiere in 2022. Slapped Actor, a book of essays, has been longlisted for the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize and the Deborah Rogers Foundation Award in 2021. Residencies in 2021-22 include the Yeats Society Sligo, The Seamus Heaney Home Place and the DLR LexIcon. Her third collection, Pit Lullabies, will be published by Bloodaxe Books in March 2022, and is a Poetry Book Society Spring Recommendation.
Photo by Enda Rown
Annearie Ní Churreaín is a poet from the Donegal Gaeltacht. Her books include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017), Town (The Salvage Press 2018) and The Poison Glen (The Gallery Press, 2021). Ní Churreáin is a recipient of The Next Generation Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and a co-recipient of The Markievicz Award. She has been Writer-In-Residence at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany, Jack Kerouac House in Florida, and Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. Ní Churreáin is 2022 Guest Editor of The Cormorant Issue 7 and The Stony Thursday Book Issue 44. More information visit www.studiotwentyfive.com
APRIL 27th
MAKING THE MOST OF SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE PROMOTION (BEGINNERS)
Úna-Minh Kavanagh is a journalist and multimedia content creator. She is the author of Anseo (2019) and eBook, DIY Gaeilge: 150 Irish Language Resources (2021). She edits the good news website WeAreIrish.ie and is a live Twitch streamer who broadcasts bilingually under the moniker ‘Yunitex’. Úna-Minh has a B.A. in Irish and Journalism (DCU).
- BOOKINGS: deirdre.southey@kilkennycoco.ie
- BOOKING DEADLINE: 22nd MARCH 2022
