Author Archives for IWC_admin

“It’s the beating heart of your novel”: Tips for writing a winning synopsis

September 18, 2024 4:08 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

September is upon us, which can only mean one thing: the 2025 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair is now well and truly underway. Each year, our Novel Fair competition awards 12 winners the opportunity to pitch their novel to leading publishers and agents. With the 30 September submission deadline fast approaching, writers everywhere are busy sharpening their manuscripts, shortening their word counts, and – perhaps most importantly – getting that all-important 300-word novel synopsis ready for submission. As every Novel Fair-hopeful will know, writing a synopsis can be a tricky business. What should I focus on? Should I give away my ending? Where do I begin? To help with this, we’ve reached out to a handful of past Novel Fair judges and/or attendees to shed some light on what qualities they believe make for a winning synopsis.  Remember: there’s no one... Read Moreread more.

Culture Night at the Irish Writers Centre

September 5, 2024 11:53 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Oíche Chultúir ag Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann Culture Night at the Irish Writers Centre Friday 20 September 2024 | Free Entry  The Irish Writers Centre will be alight with joyful celebration at this year’s Culture Night, taking place on Friday 20 September, 2024 between 5pm – 9pm. Expect an eclectic series of free events that celebrate Ireland’s diverse literary and art scene. We will also have a workshop taster and drop-in session to get you acquainted with the craft of writing fiction. We have a jam-packed schedule for the night’s festivities – see the full schedule below! Irish Writers Centre. August 2023   Open House at the Irish Writers Centre  5.00pm – 5.30pm Pop in on Culture Night for a cup of tea or coffee, meet the team and find out about all we have to offer.   Headshot of David... Read Moreread more.

Opportunities and Competitions September 2024

September 3, 2024 4:55 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Book bench at front of store Photo description: In 2024 we are spotlighting all the amazing independent bookshops and booksellers on the island of Ireland simply because we love them and we think you should too!  n 2016 Books at One opened its first community book shop in Louisburgh, Co Mayo. Nestled between Ireland’s holy mountain, Croagh Patrick, and Connaught’s highest mountain, Mweelrea. Books at One is a collective of locally managed community bookshops located in Mayo, Dublin and Galway.  Each month we update our Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities webpage, along with our Bursaries & Funding webpage, to ensure we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are some of the highlights coming this month. Bursaries   Culture Moves Europe Individual Mobility Award webinar Deadline: 30th November 2024 (Rolling monthly deadlines from August to 30th Nov 2024)... Read Moreread more.

Ten writers selected for Irish Writers Centre Evolution Programme 2024-2025

September 3, 2024 5:05 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

We are thrilled to announce the ten awardees for the Irish Writers Centre Evolution Programme 2024-2025: Francesca Bratton, Alicia Byrne Keane, Amy Clarkin, Patrick Holloway, Marianne Lee, Tim MacGabhann, Emma McKervey, Roisín O’Donnell, Catriona Shine and Milena Williamson. Evolution is a six-month programme that provides support for ten published writers to advance their careers. Through providing each writer with a tailored suite of supports, this programme aims to ease the difficult journey for published writers who have one or two books under their belt and need further support at a crucial stage of their careers. The suite of supports includes access to courses, one-to-one mentoring (creative and professional), IWC membership, monthly peer-to-peer knowledge sharing forums and an opportunity to be on a paid teaching residency with the School of English and Creative Arts at the University of Galway. The three... Read Moreread more.

Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2025 now open

September 2, 2024 3:03 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

  Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2025 now open Pitch directly to top publishers and agents The Irish Writers Centre (IWC) is calling for submissions to its annual Novel Fair competition. Throughout the month of September, the IWC welcomes unpublished (and unsigned) novelists to get their manuscript sample and synopsis in top shape for submission. Described by The Irish Times as ‘A Dragons’ Den for writers,’ twelve winners will be invited to participate in a two-day event where they will pitch their novels to national and international publishers and literary agents. The IWC team will also help prepare winners for the event and make the most of the opportunity to bypass the slush pile. This competition has been a career-changing opportunity for writers across the island of Ireland and worldwide, with entries last year from 17 countries. Since its inception in... Read Moreread more.

The Irish Writers Centre appoints Mags McLoughlin as CEO

August 15, 2024 12:22 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre today announced the appointment of Mags McLoughlin as CEO. Mags joins the Irish Writers Centre with significant experience in communications, marketing, sponsorship and business development in Ireland and overseas.   Mags McLoughlin (August 2024) Mags joins the Irish Writers Centre with significant experience in communications, marketing, sponsorship and business development in Ireland and overseas. Her scope of work has also included significant change management, resource building, strategy development and funding enhancements. In recent times, her consultancy practice has focused on the non-for-profit sector including time as Interim CEO at Charities Institute Ireland and project management roles for Darkness Into Light for Pieta House, Unicef, Young Social Innovators and social enterprise LIFT Ireland. Prior to this Mags worked as a marketing director in Sydney for a leading financial services group as well as contracting in account director... Read Moreread more.

Announcing our Cill Rialaig Residencies Awardees 2024

August 14, 2024 11:12 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

We are delighted to announce the seven Irish Writers Centre members who have been selected for the Cill Rialaig residencies, in partnership with Cill Rialaig Arts Centre. The chosen writers are Soula Emmanuel, Seosamh Jones, Caitríona Lane, Jessamine O’Connor, Eoghan Smith, Séana Talbot and Stephen Walker. This Autumn marks the tenth consecutive year of Irish Writers Centre residencies with Cill Rialaig. This October, the awarded writers will spend ten days in Cill Rialaig, locally known as ‘the edge of the world’. Roe McDermott, 2023 Cill Rialaig Residency awardee said this about her experience: “…Getting to slow down, inhale the beauty of the landscape, and spend the dark moonlit evenings reading and thinking felt like a generous gift.” WRITER STUDIOS IN THE VILLAGE OF CILL RIALAIG, CO. KERRY   Cill Rialaig Residencies Awardees: Soula Emmanuel was born in Dublin to an... Read Moreread more.

Opportunities and Competitions August 2024

August 8, 2024 2:08 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Photo description: In 2024 we are spotlighting all the amazing independent bookshops and booksellers on the island of Ireland simply because we love them and we think you should too! Books Upstairs is an independent bookstore located on Dublin, on D’Olier Street, close to Trinity College offering new books, second hand books and their famous Books Upstairs Cáfe is a well known venue for book launches. Scroll down to find out more about this iconic Dublin landmark.      Each month we update our Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities webpage, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are some of the highlights coming this month Opportunities:   IMRAM, Irish Language Literature Festival Issues Open Call to Artists Deadline: 9 August, 2024 Tá gairm oscailte d’ealaíontóirí agus do léiritheoirí eisithe ag IMRAM, féile litríochta... Read Moreread more.

Go raibh maith agaibh go léir! Last week’s Bilingual Takin’ the Mic at Pearse Street Library

July 23, 2024 9:43 am Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Go raibh maith agat as a bheith páirteach inár Takin’ the Mic dátheangach! On Wednesday 17th July, at Pearse Street Library, hosted by Ciara Ní É, the Irish Writers Centre held its Bilingual Takin’ the Mic with featured guest poet Charlotte Buckley.    Ciara Ní É, Pearse Street Library (July 2024) Buíochas lenár láithreoir iontach don oíche MC Ciara. Thank you to our incredible MC Ciara for hosting the night. Scríbhneoir agus craoltóir í Ciara Ní É a bhfuil a cuid filíochta léite aici i bPáras, i Nua-Eabhrac, i Londain, sa Bhruiséil, sa tSualainn, agus sa bhaile in Éirinn. Bhí sí ar an liosta ‘100 Women Changing Ireland in 2022’ de chuid an Irish Examiner. Bhí sí mar Ealaíontóir Cónaithe le Scoil na Gaeilge, an Léinn Cheiltigh & an Bhéaloidis UCD 2023, leis an Dublin Fringe Festival in 2022, agus... Read Moreread more.

My Fair Novel: Meet Our Novel Fair Debutantes of 2024

July 24, 2024 4:22 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Many of you will already be aware of our annual Novel Fair competition, providing twelve writers with the opportunity to pitch their debut novels to leading agents and publishers over the course of two days, both in-person at the Irish Writers Centre and online. Running since 2011, this annual ‘speed-dating’ style event lets authors bypass the slush pile and pitch their work, face-to-face, to industry professionals. Since its inauguration, there’ve been 152 Novel Fair winners and you can read all about the past success stories thanks to writer (and former Irish Writers Centre team member) Tom Jordan in this post from last year. In order to whet the appetites of future novelists, ahead of Novel Fair 2025 submissions call (opening this September!), read our first Novel Fair 2025 blog that takes a look at Novel Fair winners whose debut novels... Read Moreread more.

Opportunities and Competitions July 2024

July 3, 2024 4:08 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Photo description: In 2024 we are spotlighting all the amazing independent bookshops and booksellers on the island of Ireland simply because we love them and we think you should too! No Alibis is an independent bookstore located on Botanic Avenue, a brief walk away from Queens University in Belfast. More than simply a bookstore, it is a community hub offering concerts, book launches, poetry readings and lectures.  Scroll down to find out more about this Belfast institution.  Each month we update our Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities webpage, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are some of the highlights coming this month with some notable opportunities including the Literature Project Award from the Arts Council, The Patrick Kavanagh Prize, our own Evolution programme and the Kilkenny County Council Arts Programme. Opportunities: Poetry... Read Moreread more.

“There is no art without stillness, and without reprieve from the constant demands of daily life.” Roe McDermott’s Writers Residency in Cill Rialaig

June 24, 2024 2:55 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to announce its tenth consecutive year of residencies with Cill Rialaig. This residency is an opportunity to escape your day-to-day life and spend 10 days writing in Cill Rialaig, locally known as “the edge of the world.”  Read below a testimonial from Roe McDermott, last year’s Cill Rialaig residency awardee.  This year [2023] I was awarded the immense privilege of getting to stay in Cill Rialaig; itself a creation of imagination, resistance and commitment to art by the inimitable Dr. Noelle Campbell-Sharp whose lifelong commitment to supporting the arts is an inspiration. Saving the remains of a former famine village and rebuilding it as a protected artists retreat is an extraordinary example of community building and creation that we should all aspire to. I went down to Cill Rialaig with the intention of returning... Read Moreread more.

Support Scheme Awardees 2024

June 19, 2024 5:22 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre is pleased to announce the awardees of the support schemes for writers living on the island of Ireland, made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council and Foras na Gaeilge. This year we offered: Associate Membership Support Scheme for writers living in the Dublin City Council area, from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in the arts in Ireland 15 Course Bursaries for writers living on the island of Ireland, made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Awardees receive a course credit worth €165 towards a course at the IWC. Course Bursaries for LGBTQIA+ writers living on the island of Ireland, as part of the Pride Month celebrations. These were made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Awardees receive a course credit worth €165 towards a... Read Moreread more.

Our Young Writer Delegates look back on Belfast Book Festival 2024

June 18, 2024 3:54 pm Published by IWC_admin Leave your thoughts

Last month, writers and book-lovers from far and wide travelled to Belfast for Belfast Book Festival 2024. From 6-10 June, attendees were treated to a week full of readings, conversations, poetry slams, which showcased new voices, diverse writing, Irish and international writing talent. Among the attendees were our IWC/Belfast Book Festival Young Writer Delegates, Jasmin Awoodun, Mary Dunne, Finn Dunne Leavy and Cara Leahy. As part of the festival, our Young Writer Delegates took part in their very own showcase event where they got the chance to perform some of their work, developed with their local writer-mentor Deirdre Cartmill, to a packed audience in The Crescent Arts Centre. Each year, the delegates attend events of their choice and write a review of their experience; here are the reviews our delegates wrote up for #BBF2024!   Late Night Art: Our Queer Lives... Read Moreread more.