They named a festival after me

I'm famous in Australia.
But what a great idea. A festival of emerging writers. I wonder who the audience was (were?) They even had a speed dating between emerging writers and publishers. (My cousin went speed dating once...)
Actually they mixed emerging and emerged writers so there were presumably people in the audience who weren't related to at least one of the readers.
There is a festival I've never been to in Winchester in the UK where there is the opportunity for emergin authors to meet agents and publishers. I wish they would do the same in Ireland, perhaps in Listowel.

CLÉ Author Editor Tour

There are lots of authors coming to libraries up and down the country. Support you local author/press and show up. Maybe then they'll do some more.

Thursday 30th August 7pm
Balbriggan Library
featuring from Wolfhound Press
Author Tom McCaughren with Editor Aoife Barrett

Friday 7th September 8pm
Glanmire Library
featuring from O'Brien Press
Authors Aubrey Flegg and Judi Curtin with Editor Íde Ní Laoghaire

Tuesday 11th September 7pm
Thurles Library
featuring from Mercier Press
Author Joe Ambrose and Gabriel Fitzmaurice with Editor Eoin Purcell

Tuesday 11th September 8pm
Enniskillen Library
featuring from Kid's Own Publishing
Author Mary Branley with Editor Orla Kenny

Tuesday 18th September 8pm
New Ross Library
featuring from Liberties Press
Author John Montague with Editor Seán O'Keefe

Thursday 20th September 8pm
Tuam Library
featuring from The Lilliput Press
Authors Lorcan Roche and Julia Kelly with Editor Antony Farrell

Friday 21st September 8pm
Clifden Library
featuring from New Island Books
Author Karen Ardiff with Editor Deirdre Nolan

Dé Mháirt 25 Meán Fómhair 8in
Leabharlann Baile Mhúirne
ó Cló Iar Chonnachta
Údar Alan Titley agus Eagarthóir Micheál Ó Conghaile

Thursday 27th September 7pm
Balbriggan Library
featuring from Dedalus
Authors Michael Augustin and Enda Coyle-Greene with Editor Pat Boran

Thursday 4th October 8pm
Killarney Library
featuring from Brandon Books
Author Emer Martin with Editor Steve MacDonogh

Tuesday 9th October 7pm
Thurles Library
featuring from Liberties Press
Authors Chris Ward and Ciaran Buckley with Editor Seán O'Keefe

Thursday 11th October 8pm
Cahersiveen Library
featuring from Arlen House
Authors Geraldine Mills and Nuala Ní Chonchúir with Editor Alan Hayes

Dé hAoine 19 Deireadh Fómhair 8in
Leabharlann An Spidéal
ó An Gúm
Údar Laoise Ní Chomhraí agus Eagarthóir Gabriel Rosenstock

Tuesday 23rd October 8pm
Enniskillen Library
featuring from Wordsonthestreet
Author Patricia Burke Brogan with Editor Tony O'Dwyer

Tuesday 23rd October 8pm
Letterkenny Library
featuring from The Stinging Fly Press
Authors Neil Hegarty and Aiden O'Reilly with Editor Declan Meade

Thursday 25th October 8pm
Tralee Library
featuring from Brandon Books
Author Paul Charles with Editor Terry Fitzgerald

Friday 26th October 8pm
Portrush Library
featuring from Arlen House
Authors Nell Regan and Collette Nic Aodha with Editor Alan Hayes

Thursday 1st November 8pm
Killarney Library
featuring from New Island
Author Karen Ardiff with Editor Deirdre Nolan

Thursday 8th November 8pm
Cahersiveen Library
featuring from Liberties Press
Authors Phil Young and Patrick Skene Catling with Editor Seán O'Keefe

Dé Luain 5 Samhain 8in
Leabharlann Ráth Cairn
ó Cló Iar Chonnachta
Údair Joe Steve Ó Neachtain & Jackie Mac Donncha agus Eagarthóir Micheál Ó
Conghaile

Friday 9th November 8pm
Glanmire Library
featuring from Summer Palace Press
Authors Denise Blake and Kate Newmann with Editor Joan Newmann

Thursday 15th November 8pm
Tralee Library
featuring from The Stinging Fly Press
Authors Ronan Doyle and Kathleen Murray with Editor Declan Meade

Dé hAoine 16 Samhain 8in
Leabharlann Baile Mhúirne
ó Coiscéim
Eagarthóir Padraig Ó Snodaigh

Wednesday 21st November 7pm
Balbriggan Library
featuring from Wolfhound Press
Author & Illustrator Marie Louise Fitzpatrick with Editor Aoife Barrett

Thursday 22nd November 8pm
Tuam Library
featuring from Salmon Poetry
Authors Joan McBreen and Frank Golden with Editor Jessie Lendennie

Friday 23rd November 8pm
Clifden Library
featuring from Summer Palace Press
Authors Denise Blake and Kate Newmann with Editor Joan Newmann

Thursday 29th November 8pm
Portrush Library
featuring from Summer Palace Press
Authors Kate Newmann and Ruth Carr with Editor Joan Newmann

Dé Déardaoin 29 Samhain 8in
Leabharlann an Chlocháin Liath
ó Coiscéim
Eagarthóir Padraig Ó Snodaigh

Friday 30th November 8pm
Bundoran Library
featuring from Arlen House
Authors Nuala Ní Chomchúir and Geraldine Mills with Editor Alan Hayes

Dé Luain 3 Nollaig 8in
Leabharlann Ráth Cairn
Údar Catherine Foley agus Eagarthóir Seán Ó Cearnaigh

Tuesday 11 December
New Ross Library
featuring from Salmon Poetry
Authors Patrick Chapman and Jo Slade with Editor Jessie Lendennie

Gizmo Flushes

If you put this in a story, they would think you made it up.

More Writing (and Reading) Blogs

Here are some more reading and writing websites worth browsing. I know I should spend more time writing and less time reading about writing!

Grumpy Old Bookman is always worth a browse.

The Penguin Blog is refreshingly personal.

Writing Neuroses is another great read from Brighton.

Fifth Estate another UK publishers is worth a dip.

The Bookseller has a number of interesting blogs.

Me and My Big Mouth blogs about books in general.

Louise Doughty's column in the Telegraph. A Writer's Year.

What Sarah said next aka I will write my book (and not spend all the time blogging!)

Cally Taylor's writing spot

Any more?

Bookshop Towns

Did you know Ireland has its own second bookshop town? Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny. The annual event is slowly expanding. This year the weekend is Friday September 15th and Saturday 16th.

I've also been to Hay-on-Wye which is amazing. Directions in this town go something like this. It's in the bookshop that's round the corner from the bookshop, across the street from the bookshop that's opposite the castle. I'd love to go to the book festival there on every May. They have a great selection of Author events.

There are lots of bookshop towns internationally.

Scotland's is in Wigtown.
I also visited Fjaerland in Norway. A beautiful place on the Sognefjord.

The Slush Pile - and how to avoid it

Positive thoughts.

Every author, every single one had to start in some kind of slush pile. An editor, an agent, whatever. Personal recommendations help.
There are 200,000 books published in the UK each year. It only takes one publisher to say 'Yes.'

Less Positive.
Very, very, very few books are picked from publishers' or editors' slush piles.

Things that don't help:
- Not following the submission guidelines
- Including little gimmicky gifts.
- Including a photo, naked or otherwise.
- Sending in a handwritten manuscript, especially in green ink
- Calling the next day to see what the reader thought of it
- Including an endorsement from your mother/father/aunty/child doesn't help )unless he/she is Alan Bennett/Margaret Atwood.)
- Spelling/grammatical errors
- Not addressing a named editor or agent
- Not sending an SAE

Literary Agents Numbers
In 14 years of reading 25-30 manuscripts a month, one agent said they had found 5 good ones.
A Curtis Brown agent received 1,200 manuscripts in a year and took on 2 authors.
Other agents reckon on about 1 in 3,000.
One UK agent said he received 50 manuscripts a month and took on one author a year.
My agent gets 3,000 manuscripts a year.
Another UK agent says he gets 500 submissions a week and takes on and get deals for
maybe 18 a year, mainly non-fiction.
UK agent Carole Blake gets 50 novels a day and takes on 6 new clients a year.

Publishers Numbers
Hutchinsons receive about 1,000 manuscripts a year and only published 1 every 1 or 2 years.
Mills & Boon received 6,000 manuscripts a year and take on about 10 new writers.
Anthony Blond, the publishers writing in The Spectator reckons a number of about 1 in 2,000.
A UK publisher said he gets 20 manuscripts a week from agents alone and reckons he takes on 7 or 8 of them a year. He had never published from the slush pile.

Check out the article from the fabulously wonderful Philip Hensher as well as the Guardian one on the title link.

Do the Write Thing

I have a copy now of the fabulous collection of short stories from the competition on the Seioge and O'Shea show on RTE. It's well worth a dip and all royalties are in aid of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute. All we need now is for everyone with breasts to buy a copy! (It's on Amazon but without a picture at the moment.)

Here's the press release.

Poolbeg Press presents the cream of the newest crop, the very best from hundreds of first-time writers who responded to the call to “Do The ‘Write’ Thing”. Coached through Seoige & O’Shea’s RTÉ ONE talk show by bestselling author Patricia Scanlan, these up-and-coming writers have mined the full range of human experience and given us a fresh and unforgettable view of the diverse and lively society we live in today. All royalties from this publication go to the National Breast Cancer Research Institute.
Do the right thing and treat yourself to this hugely enjoyable collection!

UK Publishing House guidelines

These are the UK Publishing Houses submission Guidelines that I could find online. Check the Artists and Writers Yearbook for more comprehensive and up to date information. If I'm missing any obvious ones, let me know.

There are probably about 40 imprints, give or take, that carry enough prestige to get books into bookshops. Each imprint has a number of editors, but it is unlikely that any imprint will allow publication of a book without the say-so of the senior editor. This means that in the UK, book publishing is controlled by about forty people. Maybe fewer as companies merge.

Avalon Books publish 60 books a year. Secular romances, mysteries, and westerns for the library market. Query letter, synopsis and first 3 chapters.

Bloomsbury have a great writers' place. Adults only, not childrens. Synopsis and two sample chapters.

Canongate books a small independent is no longer accepting unsolicited manuscripts.

Faber & Faber are no longer accepting unsolicited manuscripts except for poetry.

HarperCollins does not accept unsolicited submissions except for Avon Romance. Query by email first. Brief no more than two pages and no attachments.

Hodder Headline UK are. See their guidlines. Short synopsis and first 100 pages

Hodder & Stoughton no longer accept non-agented submissions.

Harlequin Mills & Boon can be worthwhile if you write what it takes. They publish something like 50 books a month but get 6,000 submissions and take on only 10-12 authors a year. 3 chapters and a synopsis.

Pan MacMillan (also Picador) do not accept unagented manuscripts except for MacMillan New Writing. I have my doubts about the advisability of using this service. It's so close to self publishing and the marketing and editing put in by the company seem to be minimal. They get 100 submissions a week and aim to publish one or two a month.

Penguin UK don't accept unagented manuscripts.

Piatkus Press a UK independent accepts unsolicited manuscripts. 3 chapters and a synopsis.

Random House UK accept unsolicited manuscripts by imprint so do your research. Also own Transworld. Synopsis and sample chapter.

Serpent's Tail are an independent publisher dedicated to publishing away from the mainstream. They publish my sister so they're OK in my book. They only accept submissions from agents now.

Tindal Street Press are a West Midlands publisher. They publish 6 adult fiction titles a year. 3 chapters and a synopsis.

Irish Publishers Submission Guidelines

These are the Irish Publishing Houses submission guidelines that I could find online. I'm concentrating on adult fiction. Check the Artists and Writers Yearbook for up to date information.

Blackstaff Press Belfast publish a wide range of books and are always on the lookout for good writing. One or two chapters.

Brandonbooks is based in Kerry. A description about 2 pages long and a sample of 40 continuous pages along with a CV. They publish about 15 titles a year.

Gill & MacMillan have a page of submission guidelines but they are no longer considering fiction, only non-fiction.

Hodder Ireland are not currently accepting non-agented submissions.

Lilliput Press do publish fiction but have no guidelines. I would suggest 3 chapters and a synopsis.

Mercier Press publish a limited number of fiction books each year with their Marina imprint. Synopsis, cover letter, 3 sample chapters (in sequence) and author CV. They prefer emailed submissions to commissioning[AT]mercierpress[Dot] ie

New Island is happy to accept unsolicited manuscripts. 3 chapters and a synopsis. They publish 'very few' fiction or poetry books a year.

Penguin Ireland accept unsolicited submissions. 20-40 pages, synopsis and cover letter. They have 3 fiction titles in their current catalogue.

Poolbeg publish a great catalogue of popular Irish fiction. Synopsis and first 6 chapters.

Apparently the average European country publishes four times as many titles per head as Ireland does. But Ireland relies a huge amount on British publishers. I wonder does Austria rely similarly on German publishers, Belgium on France and Holland etc?

Writing Prompts

I stumbled across this wonderful website, The Polaroid Kid with photos of new age type travellers in the US. They are wonderful prompts for pieces of writing. Choose a photo, preferably with a person in it. Ask yourself:

Who is the person?
What is their name?
Where do they come from?
Where are they now?
Where did they sleep last night?
Where will they sleep tonight?
What did they have to eat today?
What do they really want/ambition?
What is stopping them getting that?
What are they going to do about it?

Recommended blogs

Here are some websites worth browsing:

Trashonista does book review, no holds barred. If a book is bad, they have no hesitation in letting you know. Worth checking out.They also do author interviews, book news, articles about blogging, all sorts.

Miss Snark is a US agent who tells it like it is, in the US anyway. She has closed the blog now. She felt she had nothing new to say so all her wisdom is to be found in her archives.

And the Guardian books blog is always worth a look. This great article judges the recent Booker Dozen only by the covers.

There's the BBC Writers' Room. The BBC pays well once you're in.

Ask About Writing is a website with news and information for Irish based writers of all flavours. Updated weekly.

Notes from the Slush pile seems to be dormant too, unfortunately. Notes on trying to get published in children's books.

Author! Author is a practical blog about the writing life. Again US based.

Are there any UK/Irish ones I'm missing?

Blog Rating

I rated my blog.



No bad words were found. Have to see what I can do about that. Bollocks!

More Rejections

Oh yes. Here we go again. Another rejection from Hodder Ireland. The editor kept it for an extra two weeks beyond the date my agent requested though and had others in the office reading it, so I have to take that as positive. She also asked to see it again when rewritten and will send an email with some bullet point comments as guidance. She mentioned she found bits confusing, which is worrying. I'm so close to the book now, and obviously know what's going to happen, I can't see any confusion.

Feeling very low.

Also have had to bite the bullet and take a 3 month contract job for the money. Mortgage rates being what they are. I hate the idea of the commute, the hours in an office environment and time away from writing and reading. The whole family will have to adapt to the new regime too. I foresee tears (probably mine)

The worst thing is I have to cancel my week in Annaghmakkerig as it is right at the start of the contract. The house is closed from the end of October to January so little chance of a late respite and I was really looking forward to going.

Have a week now to beef up the book as best I can for sending out in the next round.

Francis MacManus Short Story Competition

It's time to brush off the short story you've been working on and hone it for radio presentation. The annual RTE Radio short competition commemorating the life of Francis MacManus is now open for entries. Read the conditions carefully:

Closing Date: 29th October 2007
Wordcount: 1,800 to 2,000 words
Entry: Free limited to one entry per person
Prizes: €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000. Shortlisted entries are also broadcast for a small fee (€100 last I knew)

You can download the detailed rules and entry form online.

It's been on the air now for 20 years. I strongly recommend you listen to some of the previous winners and shortlisted stories. These are available online. It would be nice to have them in book form.

There are some things to look out for when writing for radio. Long sentences are out. The listeners lose the sense if the full stop is too far away. Get a good hook at the start so the listeners don't turn off. Try reading your story out loud to get a feel for the rhythm. Don't have too complicated a plot or a hoarde of characters in case you lose the listener. They can't go back to the start to check who's who. Paint pictures in your listeners head with your words. Many of the featured stories are gloomy, some are humerous, most have an Irish setting but not all.

whatisstephenharperreading

Yann Martel wrote the "The Life of Pi" which won the Man Booker Prize in 2002. It's a great read. He is a Canadian writer and was chosen this April to be one of 50 artists selected by the Canada Council to represent the work of the Council over its 50 years of existance. He received a grant from the council in 1991 which helped him when he was writing his first novel.

You have to read his own account of the acknowledgement (or lack of it) that the group of distinguished artists received from the government but this spurred him on to send the prime minister, Stephen Harper, one book to read every two weeks as long as his governement are in power. Artists are worried in Canada, as in many other countries, where support of the arts fits into the government agendas. The Return on Investment on the arts is a little harder to calculate on spreadsheets than a Honda Factory.

So every two weeks he posts a book to the prime minister, including a short descriptive note about the book and why he should read it and invites the prime minister to comment. The first book received a polite acknowledgement of receipt but his office and since then, nothing. The notes are worth reading. They are on his website whatisstephenharperreading.ca.

The selection includes novels and poetry, which is great and from all over the world, a mix of styles and centuries too. I've only read 3 of them mentioned so far. How many have you read? And here's a question. Which books would you send to Bertie or Gordon to help them in the appreciation of the arts?

Apparently the prime minister said a few years ago that his favourite book was The Guinness Book of Records. Maybe Yann Martel's selections will change his mind.

Woman's magazines

There are still some women's magazines who publish short stories. Here are some I have looked at in the past. Do check that they are still in existance and publish short stories. I strongly recommend reading at least one copy to see the type of story they look at. Usually the protagonist is a woman of the same age range that reads the magazine so The Lady will publish stories about women who are older than those from Woman's Weekly. You can usually ask for writers' guidelines.

Bella - Twist in the tail' type of story of 1,000 words and fiction up to 2000 words. Linda O'Byrne, Bella, H Bauer Publishing, 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DT. Tel:020 724 8000

Best - Will consider stories of 1,000 words. It’s younger women who enjoy stories that are “young, fresh and lively.” Richardson, Best, 72 Broadwick Street, London W1F 9EP

The Lady for older readers

My Weekly Response time varies from a week to six months.

People's Friend with a touch of nostalgia.

Take a Break - Maximum 2,000 words. 1 page is 700 words, 2 page is 1,200 words. Good plots and a twist in the tale ending. Submit to: John Dale, Take a Break, Academic House, 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DT. Response time within 4 weeks.

That's Life - Stories should be written in a chatty, conversational style, preferably with some love interest but not an out-and-out romance. (Max. 1200 words.) 'Twist in the tail' endings are popular too. Jo Checkley, That's Life, H. Bauer Publishing, 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DT

The Weekly News I've never seen this paper but they are supposed to take short stories and respond within 2 months,

The People's Friend. 80 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 8SL Tel:01382 462276/ 223131
Two serials and several shorts a week. send an S.A.E. for their writers' guidelines. Respond within a month.

Woman's Realm. Kings Reach Tower, Stamford St, London, SE1 9LS Tel:020 7261 5000
Two short stories used every week, 1000 - 2000 words. Ring first.

Women's Weekly publish lots of stories in the magazine and in the fiction specials. Gaynor Davies, Woman's Weekly, IPC Connect Ltd, King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS. Tel: 020 7261 6322
Send s.a.e. for guidelines. Response time 8-16 weeks.

Yours aimed at over 50's.

Now the reason I started to write this entry. I picked up someone's copy of the Irish women's magazine "Woman's Way." They also publish short stories and they used to pay. Now they don't offer any payment. So they want people to write for free. Why would anyone want to do that? Do they pay the printers? Do the newsagent's sell the magazine for free? Does the artist do the illustrations for fun? Does the delivery van driver do it for nothing? I think not. So why should the writer? I think it's disgraceful.

This is what C. Hope Clark says and I agree
"Why are they publishing in the first place? For publicity? For recognition? First of all, who is flipping through these no-pay publications looking for writers to snatch up, offer contracts and pay big money? Secondly, if the only credits a writer has is in nonpaying publications, then what are those credits worth?"

Blogging

I added some statistics to my blog to get an idea of how many people get to my blog. I have now reached my 100th visitor. Open the Champagne! There are an average of 8 visitors a day (not including me) and they stay an average of 1 minute 17 seconds - that's a fast reader! - viewing 2 pages per average each. Considering how many visitors stay for 0 seconds, presumeably automated - that's pretty good going, I think. Not quite enough to make a fortune yet but ...

I called for tickets to the Finsceal 2007 but could get not answer. I emailed and have had no response there either yet. Will have to keep trying. Anyone else had any luck?

Swans

I am writing a short story or section of my new novel where someone is looking at swans so I did a bit of research and took some photos. I thought I'd share.

Book Reviews

I bought a load of withdrawn books from the library the other days, at 1 Euro each, a useful source of income for the library and almost guilt free extravagance for me. The selection was eclectic. Titus Groan, Good Night Steve McQueen, a book of short stories by Deborah Moggach.


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(Don't know what I'm doing wrong with the html here! The link works though!)

Anyway, the worst book though was a fairly recently published Irish crime novel. I love crime. Ian Rankin, Aurelio Zen, Janet Evanovitch, Raymond Chandler. But this was the worst written book I have read in years. I kept on with it assuming it would suddenly, magically get better. The writing would sparkle, the plot would spark interest, the settings would be almost tangible, the characters would become believable, engaging and 3 dimensional. But no. It was dire from beginning to end.

I was so incensed, I wrote a bad book review on Amazon. I have never done that before. I felt immediately guilty. I mean, I expect the author is a nice guy but really. What did the publisher, editor and the whole team involved with publishing it think they were unleashing on the reading public? The next Val McDermid? I don't think so. I wrote a handful more positive book reviews for other books I have read recently including A Special Relationship by Douglas Kennedy. Book Reviews on Amazon can have a huge effect on online sales. I don't understand why more writers and publishers don't ensure there are at least a handful of positive reviews for each book they publish. Lots of books have no reviews and look very lonely for the lack of them.

The only positive I could come up with was, if they published this drivel, surely they won't reject my masterpiece???

Patrick Kavanagh Poetry

Well, another rejection for the book from MacMillan, again positive while still saying no. Humbug.

I also got a copy of Revival from Whitehousepoets. I have a poem in there and it's in good company. Poets include Kevin Higgins, Clairr O'Connor, John O'Donnell, John W. Sexton and Noel Monahan.

Meanwhile, I have to let you know about the very prestigious Patrick Kavanagh Award for poets who are still to publish their first collection.

Deadline: 29 September 2007

The award is now in its 36th year. Previous winners include such heavyweights as Eílean Ní Chuilleanain, Paul Durcan, Thomas McCarthy, Peter Sirr, Sinead Morrisey, Conor Callaghan, Celia de Freine and Joseph Woods. Last year's winner was the wonderful and hughly talented Enda Coyle-Greene.

The winner of this year’s award will receive €2,500. There is also a second prize of €1,000 and a third prize of €500. Judges: Paula Meehan and Theo Dorgan. The Award will be presented on the evening of Friday 23rd November 2007 at the opening of the Annual Patrick Kavanagh Weekend in Inniskeen.
For rules and entry forms: Tel /Fax: 00353(0)429378560. E-mail: infoatpkc@eircom.net or download from their website.

Check out the great poem from Iggy McGovern about not winning the Patrick Kavanagh award. If memory serves me, it won the late lamented Rattlebag Poetry Slam.

Previous winners of the Patrick Kavanagh are collected in the book, Dancing with Kitty Stobling.

Finsceal 2007

Finsceal 2007 is Fingal County Libraries annual writers' and readers' events. The most interesting looking day is I Prefer Reading in the Radisson airport hotel on Saturday 29th September. It is programmed by the writer Sarah Webb and looks great.
Book early with the Fingal Arts Office from 10.30 on 7th Aug 01 8906237 or sarah.oneill@fingalcoco.ie

Here's the blurb:

Book lovers unite! If you love books, this day is for you. Find out why some women write grisly crime novels. Is chick lit a derogatory term? Our panel will decide. And hear how best selling UK author, Katie Fforde got her first break.
A stimulating thought provoking day for all readers and writers.

10.00 Welcome
Carmel Turner, Senior Librarian and Sarah Webb, author of When the Boys are Away

10.05 - 10.45 The Great Chick Lit Debate: What Exactly is Chick Lit and is it a derogatory Term?
Our panel of experts discuss this thorny topic - Chaired by Martina Devlin

Katie Fforde - Going Dutch
Catherine Daly - French Affair
Patricia Deevy - Editorial Director, Penguin Ireland
Alison Walsh - Freelance Editor and journalist, Irish Independent

10.45 - 11.15 What Lies Beneath: How Family History and Personal Experience Shape the Novel
Chaired by Tracy Culleton
Geraldine O’Neill - A Different Kind of Dream
Susanne O’Leary - Finding Margot
Martina Devlin - Ship of Dreams

11.15 to 11.35
Coffee and Bookshop with thanks to Hughes and Hughes Books
Your chance to meet and get a book signed by one of your favourite authors.

11.35 to 12.00
The Five Minute Fix
A host of your favourite authors give you a taster of their latest novel or novel in progress

Sarah Webb, Marita Conlon-McKenna, Lucy Diamond, Anne Dunlop, Clare Dowling

12.00 - 12.45 This Writer’s Life: Katie Fforde in conversation with Jacinta McDevitt
One of the UK’s most popular authors talks about her writing life and latest book, Going Dutch. Followed by questions from the floor.

12.45 – 1.45
Lunch and Bookshop

1.45 - 2.30 The Secret Life of the Mammy: The Rise of Mummy Lit
Chaired by Sarah Webb

Sinead Moriarty - In My Sister’s Shoes
Niamh Greene - The Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife
Lucy Diamond - Any Way You Want Me

Plus some short readings from the new collection, Mum’s the Word

2.30 – 3.10 Murder Most Foul: The Truth about Women and Crime
Why do women write crime novels?
Chaired by Vanessa O’Loughlin

Julie Parsons - The Hourglass
Alex Barclay - The Caller

3.10 – 3.30 Coffee and Bookshop

3.30 to 4.30 If At First You Don’t Succeed: The Writer’s Path

For Writers and All Those Interested in Writing and Writers

Chairs: Catherine Daly and Sarah Webb

I Keep Getting Rejected, What’s Wrong with Me?
Coping with Rejection: Two Writers’ Tales
Vanessa O’Loughlin and Megan Wynne (no books published as yet)

I Keep Getting Distracted by the X Factor
Staying motivated and making the time to write: how writers juggle busy lives with writing
Clare Dowling - My Fabulous Divorce; Jacinta McDevitt and Ger Gallagher, Poolbeg authors

Ideas for Books and Writing Good Book Proposals
How authors come up with new book ideas and how they pitch them to their editors
Martina Reilly - All I Want is You; and Marita Conlon McKenna - The Hat Shop on the Corner