Author Archives for IWC_admin

Irish Writers Centre Welcomes New Writers’ and Artists’ Social Welfare Initiative

June 12, 2017 11:24 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre welcomes the launch of a new pilot initiative which will acknowledge the professional status of writers and artists applying for Jobseeker’s Allowance. The pilot was launched today Monday 12 June by Minister for the Arts, Heritage Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humpreys and Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar in Poetry Ireland on Parnell Square.  The pilot is being developed in partnership between the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Arts, Heritage Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, as part of a key commitment to artists under the Creative Ireland programme. The Irish Writers Centre and Visual Artists Ireland have been invited to facilitate the one-year pilot scheme and are approved to certify the professional status of writers and artists through their respective professional membership schemes. Valerie Bistany, Director of the Irish Writers Centre has said of the pilot scheme; ‘The... Read Moreread more.

Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Board of Directors Membership

June 8, 2017 11:49 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Irish Writers Centre Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Board of Directors Membership Closing Date:  extended – Friday 14 July, 2017 Location: Board meetings will be held at the Irish Writers Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Remuneration: Non-remunerated – this is a voluntary position.  Travel expenses are reimbursable. Time Commitment: Approximately 8 X 2hr Board meetings per annum with time required for preparatory reading, and possible additional time commitments depending on membership of sub-committees. Board members may be asked to represent the Board on certain occasions, depending on their availability and interests.   Background The Irish Writers Centre is a flagship resource organisation for writers. It offers professional supports to meet the needs of writers at all stages of their development through training, information, networking opportunities and programmed events. A key part of our role is to offer a comprehensive and innovative toolkit/service to support the professional... Read Moreread more.

Irish Writers Join Experts to Tackle Borders at Home and Abroad

April 25, 2017 10:43 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre has announced the 18 participants for its newest programme, XBorders, an innovative new cross-border project bringing emerging writers together to explore and write about borders through fiction or non-fiction.   With art critic, lecturer and former Turner Prize judge Dr Declan Long, the writers will explore contemporary art practice of the ‘Post-Troubles’ period in Northern Ireland and the ways in which this work has engaged with social change in Northern Ireland. International borders will be explored with anthropologist and border security expert Dr Mark Maguire whose research focuses on international migration, biometric security, counter-terrorism and border control. The writers will be also meet with Eileen Murphy a researcher with the Centre for Innovation Human Systems, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin who will explore the future of biometric border technologies and policies. As fact increasingly moves... Read Moreread more.

XBorders Participants Announced

April 19, 2017 3:08 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

XBorders is an exciting new cross-border project bringing emerging writers together to explore and write about borders through fiction or non-fiction.  As part of the Irish Writers Centre’s Northern Irish programme, one of the goals of this project is to bring together writers from North and South Ireland to workshop on the theme of borders in both a national and international context. This process will be facilitated through seminars and workshops with artists, academics and professionals in the field. Ways of seeing and thinking of borders and their potential for art, and in this instance writing, will be explored. On completion of this research period the writers will attend a workshop on the editing process with a view to preparing their work for online publication on the IWC website.   The participants of XBorders have been selected.    Fiona O’RourkeFreya... Read Moreread more.

IWC Ambassador Anne Enright shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award

April 11, 2017 1:58 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Green Road, by Irish Writers Centre ambassador Anne Enright has been shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The award is the the world’s most valuable prize for a single work of fiction published in English.  The winner will be selected by the five member international judging panel, chaired by Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan, and announced by Lord Mayor, Brendan Carr, Patron of the Award, on Wednesday 21 June. The IWC is delighted to congratulate Anne on this achievement and proud to have her as an ambassador for the centre! See the full shortlist below and read more about the awards here. International Dublin Literary Award shortlist 1. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa (Angolan) Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. 2. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto (Mozambican) Translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw.... Read Moreread more.

Women Across Borders

April 5, 2017 9:22 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

On Saturday 11 March, the Irish Writers Centre marked the occasion of International Women’s Day with WomenXBorders, an all-island cross-border event that brought women from all corners of the country together to take part in a readathon and panel events at 19 Parnell Square. Of this group, over half travelled from Northern Ireland with Women Aloud NI, honouring their name by reading aloud from their works on the train between Belfast and Dublin. They arrived laden with gifts for the centre: writers who had published books in print arranged a selection in the reception area. 19 Parnell Square came to life with the energy and enthusiasm of women keen to connect and network, to hear and learn about each other’s writing lives. The main event kicked off in the Kiely room with welcoming words from IWC director Valerie Bistany, IWC chairperson Liz Mc... Read Moreread more.

Announcing the Jack Harte Bursary recipient for 2017

December 13, 2016 12:39 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Last week we were delighted to award Henrietta McKervey the Jack Harte Bursary at a celebratory evening with IWC members and friends, on Thursday 8 December at the Irish Writers Centre. This is the third year of the Bursary which is presented in association with Annaghmakerrig at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and offers writers a two-week fully resourced residency in spring 2017. The award was named in Jack Harte’s honour as the unsung hero of the literary scene; he has been instrumental in the establishment of the Irish Writers’ Union and, later, the Irish Writers Centre. Liz Nugent was the first recipient of the award in 2015 and Sarah Moore Fitzgerald was the 2016 recipient. Henrietta McKervey is a fiction writer and design and advertising copywriter. She has published two novels: What Becomes of Us (Hachette, 2015) and The Heart of Everything... Read Moreread more.

Irish Writers Centre launches Northern Ireland Programme

November 16, 2016 3:32 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Image: Pictured at the programme launch are: Valerie Bistany, Irish Writers Centre, Damian Smyth, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and writers Jack Harte and Martin Devlin. The Irish Writers Centre (IWC), with support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery funding, is extending its programming into Northern Ireland with a series of specialized courses and residentials in Belfast, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The prestigious Dublin-based institution is also offering 20 free professional memberships to local writers.  The IWC, which supports and promotes writers at all stages of their development, announced the details at a special event, hosted at the Crescent Arts Centre, on Wednesday evening. The information session was attended by writers from across Northern Ireland and provided an in-depth look at the services and resources that the Centre can offer emerging and professional writers, such as workshops,... Read Moreread more.

The Novel Fair Reject’s Tale

October 17, 2016 2:48 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

As the Novel Fair deadline approaches (21 October 2016), we went back through our winners’ stories and were reminded of the old adage, ‘if at first you don’t succeed…’ This week we hear from Aidan J. Herron and how he went from Novel Fair longlistee to sitting across from publishers and agents just two years later…  There was no going back once I dropped my entry into the postbox. I was committed. Writing for educational purposes, familiar territory to me, was one thing. Entering an open competition like the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2013 was quite another. I had never submitted my work to anybody for comment before nor was I part of a writers’ group so I had no idea of what others would think of it. But I believed in my story. And I also had some... Read Moreread more.