Glen Dimplex New Writers Awards 2008

Awards will be made to the best first book published in the last year in Ireland and the UK by an author within each of the following five categories: Fiction, Poetry, Children’s Book, Biography/Non-fiction and for the best first book published in any genre in the Irish language.

The Glen Dimplex New Writer of the Year 2008 will be chosen from the five category winners.

Each category winner will receive a prize of €5,000. There will also be an overall award for the Glen Dimplex New Writer of the Year with a prize of €20,000.

Shortlist to be announced in October

Festivals

Some up and coming festivals from Poetry Ireland.

Iniscealtra Festival of Arts | 23 May - 2 June
Who: Theo Dorgan, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Eamon Cagney and Ruth Marshall.
What: workshops, exhibitions, music performances, talks and lectures

Listowel Writers Week | May 28 - June 1
Who: Seamus Heaney, Anne Enright, Hugo Hamilton, Lloyd Jones, Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Eileen Sheehan, Billy Roche, Caroline Lynch, Pat Boran, Mary Lawson, John Banville, John Boyne and John F Deane.
What: workshops, readings, talks, networking

Colm Cille Summer School | 3 - 9 June
Who: Dermot Sommers, Gabriel Rosenstock, Paddy Bushe and Anne Hartigan.

Force 12 Writers Festival | 6- 8 June
Who: Kevin Higgins, Geraldine Mills, Maurice Harmon, Seamus Cashman, Frank Goldman and Anne Hartigan.

Spréacha | 9 - 15 June
What:Arts festival for children in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, featuring circus acts, visual art and storytelling.

Bloomsday Festival 2008 | 9-16 June
What: Bloomsday breakfast and outdoor readings across Dublin.
Who: Senator David Norris will perform his one-man show at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire.

Dublin Writers Festival | 11-15 June
Who: Ian Rankin, Colin Bateman, Tom Stoppard, JP Donleavy, Harry Clifton, Marian Keyes and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.

Cork Midsummer Festival | June 15 - July 5
What: Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape, Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, and the theatrical carnival, Sensazione.

Strandhill Summerfest | 25 - 27 July
What: Strandhill Summerfest is a weekend workshop for writers of all ages and levels.
Who: Órfhlaith NÍ Chonaill, Ted Deppe, Annie Deppe and Joe Kearney

Féile na Gréine/Solstice Arts Festival 21 - 23 July
Who: Pat Boran, Celia de Fréine and Aonghas Mac Neacail.

Things that have interested me

Things that have interested me this week.

St Donard festival, Co Down.
Poets and photographers.
Theme: Elements - lots of scope for interpretation there.
Deadline: June 6, 2008.
Prizes: in each category £100, £50 or £25
Winners will be announced and work displayed at the launch of the St Donard Festival, Elements Exhibition on June 20, 2008 at 5.00 pm in Newcastle Library

Submit by email: elements@onlineni.net
Or, post disk to Newcastle Library Main Street, Newcastle, BT33 0AE
One photograph, or, poem to a maximum of 20 lines, will be accepted per person.

A few stories about Andrew Motion (me and Andy, we're like 'this') coming to the end of his decade as the poet laureate and maybe it's time to get a woman poet in there for the first time. He's done good job on increasing the profile of poetry, particularly concentrating on education and exposure to poetry in schools.

And another article about reading and writing blurbs.
Can you write your own for a well known book?
Commonly used vocabularly: 'learns/knows otherwise' 'rollercoaster of --------' (fill in the blank) 'wacky,' 'zany,' 'feisty' (always a girl. can boys be feisty?) 'action packed' 'hilarious/unforeseen consequences' 'heartfelt and life affirming' (like it needs affirming?) 'mesmerising' (hard to read if you're in a trance)

And lots of rhetorical questions:
But who is the mysterious stranger riding into town?
Will Tracy find out the truth before it's too late? (yes)
Why does Hans always wear leather pants?

New words recently added to the Oxford Dictionary. Twonk

Workshop Trevor Bowen Summer School in Mitchelstown

There's a workshop on the short story, at the Trevor Bowen Summer School in Mitchelstown, County Cork, is this week-end facilitated by highly talented, effervescent and terribly good looking Nuala Ni Chonchuir (Hi Nuala!).

Saturday 24th
10.30 – 1pm C.B.S. Assembly Hall, Mitchelstown

Sunday 25th of May
10.30 – 1pm Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown

Fee: €60 for both sessions

To sign up contact Liam Cusack
Tel: 025-84918 OR 086-8248736
Email: cusackliam@eircom.net

There are lots of other interesting sounding events on. See the website. I'll be babysitting my nephews so not much writing going on this weekend I think!

More readings

12 June 2008 at 6.30 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Salmon Poetry presents the launch of Thornfield: Poems by The Thornfield Poets:
IVY BANNISTER, LOUISE C CALLAGHAN, SUSAN CONNOLLY, ENDA COYLE-GREENE, CELIA DE FRÉINE, CECILIA MCGOVERN & MÁIRÍDE WOODS
introduced by Andrew Carpenter
Unitarian Church,
112 St Stephen’s Green West, D2

May 2008 at 6.30 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Cervantes Institute presents
IGGY MCGOVERN & JORGE RIECHMANN
Instituto Cervantes, Lincoln Place, D2
T: 01 6311500; E: cendub@cervantes.es

28 May 2008 at 8 p.m.
Wednesday Series | Reading and Open Mic
The Last Wednesday Series Reading and Open Mic with Oran Ryan, Noel Ó Briain, Quincy R Lehr, Steve Conway, Doog Wood and Donald Moloney.
Cassidys Pub, Westmoreland St, Dublin 2
T: 087-2283351 E: info@seventowers.ie
W: www.seventowers.ie

31 May 2008 at 4.30 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Iniscealtra Festival of Arts presents
NUALA NÍ CHONCHÚIR
The Snug Wine Bar, Mountshannon, Co Clare;
T: 087 6968577; E: jgrady@iol.ie

3 June 2008 at 6.30 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Cinnamon Press presents the launch of
Beneath the Deluge by Catherine Brennan
& On the Back of the Wind Frank Dullaghan
Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen's Green West, Dublin 2

5 June 2008 at 6.30 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Mercier Press presents the launch of
The Essential Fitzmaurice by GABRIEL FITZMAURICE
(launched by Fintan O’Toole);
Unitarian Church,
112 St Stephen’s Green West, D2

5 June 2008 at 7 p.m.
Valerie Sirr winner of the Hennessey New Irish Writing this year
Blanchardstown library

22 June 2008 at 3 p.m.
Poetry Ireland in association with Féile na Gréine Solstice Arts Festival presents
PAT BORAN
Tech Amergin,Waterville, Co Kerry
Admission 5/3;
T: 066 9478956;
E: techamergin@eircom.net

2 July 2008 at 1 p.m.
The first in a series of five July readings from Poetry Ireland in association with the National Gallery of Ireland:
EAVAN BOLAND
The Portrait Gallery, Room 21,
National Gallery of Ireland,
Merrion Square West/Clare St, D2

Oxfam Poems

A competition for a good cause.

Poems for 2009 - Oxfambooks - Poetry calendar competition

Six winning poets will be published alongside six guest poets in the 2009 calendar. This years guest poet are Moya Cannon, Patrick Deeley, Eamon Grennan, Vona Groarke, Dave Lordan and Eilian Nm Chuileanain.

Judge: Patrick Deeley.

Deadline: July 15th 2008

A full set of rules and entry forms are available on their website

Popular Culture discussed in Academia

The Art of Popular Culture: From "The Meeting of the Waters" to Riverdance

A series of audio lectures on the theme, 'The Art of Popular Culture:
From "The Meeting of the Waters" to Riverdance.' See website

1: Sean Ryder, Dept of English, NUI Galway, ŒTom Moore: Ireland¹s First Pop Star¹ (Not yet available)

2: Elaine Sisson, School of Creative Arts, Dun Laoghaire IADT, ŒThe Boy as National Hero: The legacy of Cúchulainn¹ (Available)

3: Eddie Holt, School of Communication, DCU, ŒW.B. Yeats, Journalism and the Revival¹ (Available)

4: Anne Fogarty, School of English, Drama and Film, UCD, ŒJames Joyce and Popular Culture¹

5: Claire Wills, Dept of English, Queen Mary, University of London, ŒNeutrality and Popular Culture¹

6: Paige Reynolds, Dept of English, Holy Cross College, ŒHollywood and Contemporary Irish Drama¹

7: Bill Whelan, Composer, Riverdance, ŒGlobalising Irish Music¹

8: Frank McGuinness, Writer-in-Residence, School of English, UCD, ŒFilming Friel: Lughnasa on Screen¹