Major Line-up of Writers for Western Writers' Centre

national | arts and media | press release Friday September 14, 2007 14:01 by Fred Johnston, Manager - Western Writers' Centre - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maud, westernwriters at eircom dot net 34 Nuns Island, Galway. 091.533594

Season of prestigious writers and readers in Irish and English

The Western Writers' Centre is running a number of varied readings over the next couple of months, including readings at The Whitehouse in Limerick and in Cill Reilig Arts Centre in Kerry in connection with the Touring Experiment, with participants including Colette Nic Aodha and Dairena Ni Chinneide.

In the Galway region, Feasta Editor Padraig Mac Fhearghusa reads as Gaeilge at The Imperial Hotel, Eyre Square, on Thursday, September 20th. Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa was born in Ballineen in West Cork. His collections are Faoi Léigear (Baile Átha Cliath, An Clóchomhar Tta., 1980); Mearcair (Baile Átha Cliath, Coiscéim), which won the Oireachtas na Gaeilge National Poetry Prize in 1996; and An Dara Bás (Coiscéim, 2002), which won the Oireachtas na Gaeilge National Poetry Prize in 2002. Among his other publications is Tóraíocht an Mhíshonais (The Pursuit of Unhappiness), an Irish language introduction to Freud and Jung (Coiscéim, 1997). He is current editor of the Irish language literary monthly, Feasta. He lives in Tralee.
The following day, September 21st, novelist and columnist with The Sunday Independent, Martina Devlin, reads for us at The Imperial Hotel. Martina Devlin was born in Omagh, Co Tyrone and lived in London for seven years - where she worked as a journalist - before settling near the sea in Dublin. She started writing fiction in her spare time after winning a Hennessy Literary Award for her first short story in 1996. This was followed by four novels: Three Wise Men, Be Careful What You Wish For, Venus Reborn (nominated for the Sunday Independent-Hughes and Hughes Irish Novel of the Year award) and Temptation. Then came The Hollow Heart, a memoir about her experiences of IVF treatment and her efforts to come to terms with infertility. Her sixth book is a historical novel, Ship of Dreams, which opens on a Titanic lifeboat. It was inspired by her great grand-uncle, who drowned on the TitanicBoth readings are at 8pm, admission is €8 and €5. Padraig Mac Fhearghusa is one of a number of readings sponsored for us by Foras na Gaeilge; Martina Devlin is sponsored by Easons, Galway, and will be signing books in Easons on Saturday, September 22nd.
Frank Golden will read for us, sponsored by Galway County Council, at the Clarinbridge Arts Festival on October 1st, starting at 8pm, in Claire's Restaurant, Clarinbridge. His exhibition of paintings is on show there also. Frank Golden was born in Dublin but has been living in the Burren, Co. Clare, for over a decade. His books include In Partial Settlement, On Route to Leameneh and his novel The Two Women of Aganatz. In recent years he has worked on TV and film projects and is currently writing a new novel. He has received awards from the Arts Council of Ireland and the Irish Film Board.
Novelist and Aosdána member Evelyn Conlon will read for the Western Writers' Centre at O'Sullivan's Royal Hotel, Gort, Co. Galway, on November 17th. Admission €8 and €5 and the reading is sponsored by the Arts Council. Evelyn Conlon was born in Monaghan in 1952. Her collections of short stories are My Head is Opening (Attic Press, 1987); Taking Scarlet as a Real Colour (Attic Press 1989); and telling, new and selected stories (Belfast, The Blackstaff Press, 2000). Her novels are Stars in the Daytime (Belfast, The Blackstaff Press, 1993); and A Glassful of Letters (The Blackstaff Press, 1998). She was awarded Arts Council bursaries in 1988 and 1995, and is a regular commentator on the arts. She is a member of Aosdána, and lives in Dublin. Information on our Touring Experiment Readings or any other readings above can be obtained from Marvelle at 091.533594 or westernwriters@eircom.net or by consulting our website at www.twwc.ie