Sue Divin
Sue wrote poetry as a teenager, and considered journalism, but instead studied European Studies. After taking an MA, she taught in secondary schools in Derry for seven years. “I loved teaching teenagers, but I […]
John Patrick McHugh
John Patrick moved a lot as a young child, living in Tipperary, Mitchellstown, Mallow and Macroom before settling in Galway aged 12. “Achill was my concrete place,” he says, remembering time spent there with his grandparents. […]
Ericka Waller
An avid reader, Ericka devoured books from the library. “If I didn’t like the ending of a book, I would rewrite it,” she says. “I was good at rhyming poetry, and I wrote songs for […]
Catherine Talbot
Catherine is a lifelong prolific reader. “As a child, I loved libraries, and I was always interested in the lives of writers.” After school Catherine started a marketing course, but disliking it, began working in the […]
Trish Kearney
After school, Trish became a nurse – working for five years after she qualified. “I went to Australia, and when I came home I got married. The following year I had my first daughter and stayed […]
Laura McKenna
An avid reader, Laura loved poetry as a child. “I was always writing, and I entered a few competitions,” she says. Early in her career as a doctor, Laura worked in a Dublin drug treatment centre. […]
Charlotte McConaghy
As a child, Charlotte lived in 21 different houses – moving constantly, around Australia. “Reading became my anchor. My mum suggested I should write a book. I started at 14, and three years later the book […]
Kerri Ni Dochartaigh.
Kerri started writing a journal, aged 5, and she has been writing one ever since. After a trauma filled childhood in Derry, (Kerri’s family was burnt out, then hounded out,) followed by University in Dublin, Kerri […]
Sharon Dempsey
Sharon started her writing career in journalism. “I took an MA in London, then I Moved to Cardiff, stayed for 10 years, and had my first two children.” She freelanced in journalism and also in PR. […]
Una Mannion
Although Una has always been a prolific reader, it wasn’t until she was an adult that she felt a hunger to write. “That came at 20,” she says. “But I took another 20 years to actually […]
Allie Reynolds
An outdoor child, Allie started snowboarding when she was 20. “I went to a dry slope.” Afterwards university, Allie took a TEFAL course in Barcelona. “I went to Andorra to snowboard every weekend, and I spent […]
Rachel Ryan
Rachel has always wanted to be a novelist. She wrote her first book, running to 16 chapters, when she was at primary school. “I was always into imaginary worlds,” she says. After University, Rachel hopped from […]