Climate Writing Session with Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Dr. Sarah Thomas and Diva Harris

Please join us for the next Irish Writers Centre Climate Writing Session. There is no fee for attending these sessions, they are a gift to all writers to take away and use in their work with the goal of exploring climate action through fiction and creative non-fiction.

The host for the evening is author, Kerri ní Dochartaigh, who will be joined by British-Icelandic interdisciplinary artist and author, Dr. Sarah Thomas, and Caught By The River editor, Diva Harris.

What do we do in these sessions?

Each session lasts one and a half hours and can consist of the following:

• Interview Guest Author – literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, speculative fiction, essay, etc
• Interview Guest NGO, politician, policy maker, or scientist involved in conservation, climate justice, ecology, politics, industry, law, agriculture, finance etc
• Guest publishers and editors
• Discussions

Who is it for?

• Anyone with an interest in averting further climate change through poetry and prose
• Anyone interested in writing fiction (all genres), non-fiction, poetry, memoir, creative non-fiction
• You do NOT have to change the genre you write in, you can simply embed some positive climate solutions into your writing
• You can be at any stage of your writing career, from beginner to published
• Those with a background in climate change, or newcomers who want to know more
• Booklovers

Host and Guests

• Kerri ní Dochartaigh
• Dr. Sarah Thomas
• Diva Harris

Biographies below. 

Kerri ní Dochartaigh is a mother, writer and grower. Her work currently explores ideas of emergency, interconnectedness and ecologies of care. Her first book, Thin Places, was published by Canongate in Spring 2021, for which she was awarded the Butler Literary Award 2022, highly commended for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2021, and shortlisted for the Ireland Francophonie Ambassador’s Literary Award in 2024. Cacophony of Bone was published by Canongate in May 2023 and was longlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2023.  She mentors and teaches worldwide. She lives in the west of Ireland with her family.

Dr. Sarah Thomas is a British-Icelandic interdisciplinary artist, writer and traveller. She is also Climate Officer for the Dumfries and Galloway Climate Hub, hosted by the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Her debut, The Raven’s Nest: An Icelandic Journey Through Light and Darkness (Atlantic Books 2022) is an ecological memoir inspired by a transformative half decade living in Iceland’s Westfjords. It was longlisted for the Nan Shepherd Prize for nature writing, shortlisted for the Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize, and awarded a Nautilus Books Silver Award in the US. She can currently be found tramping the intertidal zone of southwest Scotland. Website: sarahthomas.net Instagram: @journeysinbetween 

Diva Harris is the editor of the arts/nature/culture publication Caught by the River, to which she also contributes a monthly column, Dog Walk Report. She is additionally a freelance writer and editor, a haphazard diary-keeper, and co-host of the Token Girl DJs show on Soho Radio.

Quotes from past attendees:

“I learned a tremendous amount about what can work and what not to do when writing about this topic. This was a very enjoyable, instructive evening. A few hours very well spent.”

“Its a great monthly way for me to stay thinking and writing about these topics. Kerri and Lynn before her are excellent hosts.”

“This was a brilliant time drawing my heart to engage people young or old with stories with positive solutions. Really encourage to use both climate change knowledge in a practical way. Loved every minute of good wholesome advice.”

This event is part of a series of online webinars made possible by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.