A short story of mine, called ‘A Simple Loss of Balance’, was published a few months back in a UK literary journal called The Nottingham Review. It’s now been added to their online archives, if you fancy giving it a read. This story also earned a Highly Commended in the Colm Tóibín International Short Story… Read More ‘A Simple Loss of Balance’ online
Great news – I returned home elated from the UL winter school with 214 words and having ditched my WIP! On the surface, this might not seem like the best of yields, but in fact I have more than achieved my goal. When I tentatively applied way back in April, I was flummoxed by the… Read More UL winter school, epilogue
Thursday: with such a packed programme this week, I thought that maybe I was being overambitious in also committing to a daily blog diary (bliary? Could that be a thing?), and I would be kicking myself for adding extra homework to the mix. In fact, it has helped me process everything coming at me. Every… Read More UL winter school, day 5
Wednesdayish: it’s a bit like the Big Brother house here. I’m not 100% sure what day it is, or how long I’ve been at the winter school. Because all the guests in Hotel Doolin are winter schoolers, it feels cosy and safe, more like someone’s welcoming country house than a business with public spaces. I… Read More UL winter school, day 4
Tuesday: call me peculiar, but I could get used to being served exquisite meals three times a day, a maid service making my bed and straightening my hung-up towels, not to mention on-tap literary expertise. Day three was a bit difficult for me to get into because I. Can. Not. Sleep. Yesterday and the evening… Read More UL winter school, day 3
Monday: there is very little space left in my tiny, crammed brain so I will keep this brief. Or I may ramble. Let’s see which it will be, shall we? Day 2 of the University of Limerick winter school was nothing if not intense – incidentally, part 1 is here if you’ve just stumbled across… Read More UL winter school, day 2
Sunday: I am a most fortunate writer this week because I find myself, rather unbelievably, at the inaugural University of Limerick Winter School. If you haven’t heard about this, it’s a new five-day writing retreat which aims to help writers complete their novel. The fact that it’s taking place at Hotel Doolin in the wilds of Co Clare… Read More UL winter school, day 1
