Siobhan Macdonald
Some years ago, Siobhan Macdonald took a taxi ride from Long Island to the airport with a taxi driver who seemed out of sorts. When she told him that she was a technical writer, in New […]
Rosaleen McDonagh.
Rosaleen always had a curiosity about books, but growing up a Traveller in Sligo, Donegal and Dublin, attending a special school, she never had the chance. “All through my life people just said I was thick, […]
Luke Cassidy
Luke has always been drawn to books – but he was discouraged from taking English at university. After his MA, he spent a year in Japan teaching English, and on the way home, travelling overland, he […]
E.D Thompson
Leaving school at 16, Eirin moved to London – then travelled a bit before returning to Northern Ireland where she trained as a journalist. “I worked as a local reporter for some years, and […]
David Diebold
Shortly before Ireland’s first lockdown in March 2020, Molly, the Diebold family dog, was unable to get up. At 17, it was clear that her life was nearing the end. Knowing how much the dog meant […]
Grace Wilentz
Grace’s father ran a beatnik bookstore in Greenwich Village, so shegrew up around ageing poets. “Ted Jones used to visit my family, and he asked me about my dreams – then he made up poems for […]
Mel O’Doherty
Mel became interested in writing when he was introduced to the novels of Thomas Hardy– but he was in his late twenties when he decided to take action. “I joined a writing course run in […]
Seamas O’Reilly
One of 11 children, Séamas has always loved reading and music. He played the flute as a child. “There were 2 cellos in our house,’ he says. “2 pianos, 4 violins and 3 flutes.” He […]
Stephen Walsh
A shy child, Stephen spent his time reading, playing computer games and playing the guitar. He also wrote. “At nine, I told my mother I wanted to be a writer, and she said, ‘well do […]
Esther Freud
There’s a photograph in Esther Freud’s office of a beautiful young girl in first communion bridal glory. I noticed it on the shelf behind her as we talked of her latest novel, and she said it […]
Eimear Ryan
Eimear Ryan started writing her debut novel, holding her breath, back in 2013, shortly after finishing an M Phil in Creative Writing. As a highly successful short story writer, however, Eimear found the longer form harder […]
Trev Burke
Badly dyslexic, at a time this wasn’t fully recognised, Trev struggled at school. “I loved drawing in primary school, but that skill disappeared when I was a teenager.” During and after college, Trev worked in bars […]