The Ten by Ten Workshop (presented by the Irish Writers Centre and The Stinging Fly)

The Ten by Ten Workshop will provide a group of ten writers the opportunity to push forward with their writing over ten Saturdays. The Stinging Fly and The Irish Writers Centre want to enable the ten selected writers to develop their craft and engage more deeply with their work while working with a group of like-minded and similarly motivated individuals. Ideally this workshop is intended for writers already embarked on a specific fiction project, be that a short-story collection or a novel.

The workshop will run in the Irish Writers Centre on Saturday mornings from end of February until mid-May 2026. Anyone applying must be available to attend all ten workshop sessions.

Each week two participants will submit works in progress (a draft of a short story or novel excerpt) to the rest of the group. All work will be shared in advance and closely read by the workshop leader and the other participants. Each participant will have two pieces of work read and discussed by the group over the course of the ten weeks.

In addition to the morning workshop sessions, participants on the Ten by Ten Workshop will be invited to attend two specially programmed Saturday afternoon events at the Irish Writers Centre during the workshop’s run. Further details for these will follow.

How to Apply

Applications for the Ten by Ten Workshop will be accepted via Submittable from Wednesday 9th December until Tuesday 6th January at 5pm (Irish Time).

Places will be offered based on work submitted and the information provided with your application.

We ask you to submit up to 2000 words from the short story or novel you are currently working on. You can also submit up to 10 pages from a previously published work (though this is not required).

The application form includes a cover note. You should use this space to give us as much information as you can about your current writing project(s) and to tell us how you believe your work will benefit from participating in the workshop.

We are committed to pursuing a proactive approach to diversity and inclusiveness. We strongly encourage writers from underrepresented areas of society to apply for these workshops. If you are such a writer, we hope you feel encouraged to join us. If you know such writers, please spread the word (with our thanks).

We aim to return decisions to all applicants by Friday January 23rd.

Workshop Costs

The tuition fee for the Ten by Ten Workshop is €450 (€405 for Irish Writers Centre members).

Two concession-rate places (€360) and one free place will be available for writers who are unwaged or on a low income.

All fees due must be fully paid by Friday February 20th. 

Workshop Dates & Times

Writers Nicole Flattery and Roisin O’Donnell will lead the workshops. Roisín O’Donnell will lead the first five workshops (28 February to 28 March) and Nicole Flattery will lead the remaining five workshops (18 April to 16 May).

The Ten by Ten Workshop will be held on the following dates:

Saturday 28 February 2026 – 11am – 2pm
Saturday 7 March – 11.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday 14 March – 11.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday 21 March – 11.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday 28 March – 11.30am – 1.30pm

Saturday 4 April (Easter Weekend) (BREAK)
Saturday 11 April (BREAK)

Saturday 18 April – 11.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday 25 April  – 11.30am – 1.30pm 
Saturday 2 May – 11.30am – 1.30pm (Bank holiday weekend)
Saturday 9 May – 11.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday 16 May – 11.30am – 1.30pm

Please note, the ‘Ten by Ten’ workshops will be held In-person at the Irish Writers Centre (19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1). For Information on building access, please visit the Irish Writers Centre website. 

Any questions? Contact Eoin: admin [at] stingingfly [dot] org

About the Workshop Leaders

Roisín O’Donnell’s short story collection Wild Quiet was published in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award and longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. Her short stories have been published in The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times and many other places, and have been broadcast on RTÉ Radio. Her first novel Nesting was published in January 2025; it became an instant Sunday Times Bestseller, and was long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Roisin was listed as one of the Observer’s Ten Best New Novelists of 2025. Donal Ryan described Nesting as ‘one of the best and most important novels of our time,’ while the Irish Independent declared it ‘A novel that truly matters.’ Nesting won the An Post Irish Book Award for Novel of the Year 2025.

Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her work has appeared in the London Review of Books, The Stinging Fly and Granta, amongst others. Her story collection, Show Them a Good Time, was published in 2019 and novel, Nothing Special, was published in 2023.