IWC

John Hewitt was a Belfast poet and political activist who famously described his identity as Ulster, Irish, British and European. That’s how I feel my own identity as well; I was born into a Protestant family and told I was British, then,…

A‘I want to sleep just a moment,  A moment, a minute, a century. But let it be known that I have not died…’ Federico Garcia Lorca I spent last year chasing the Spanish writer Garcia Lorca across the world;…

With so many people making their New Year’s Resolution to finally get writing or to write every day, January is a great time for a writing centre to have their Open Day. The IrishWriters Centre has a lot to show off. Apart from all the…

Like Hilary Copeland from the Irish Writers Centre, I grew up North of the border knowing nothing of the Irish language and much less about traditions like that of Nollaig na nBam, where, after the madness of Christmas, women had a night…

Tenx9 is a storytelling night where nine people each have ten minutes to tell a true story from their own life. Founded in 2011 by Paul Doran and Pádraig Ó Tuama, the regular Belfast event has become so popular that it has spread to…

The Christmas party for members of the Irish Writers centre in Dublin was a delight. I am a big fan of wine and nibbles, but also of evenings full of excellent writing, not to mention the opportunity to read my own work. There was nothing…

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Abomination who have won the Best Opera Production in the 23rd Irish Times Theatre Awards. The production was filmed live at the Lyric Theatre and is now available to view on the Queen's Film Theatre…

Like almost everything brilliant in the world, Deptcon, Ireland’s biggest Young Adult fiction convention, is a simple idea, executed very well. Over the course of two days young people gather to see new and well-known YA authors in a series…

Outside of an LGBTQ-specific context I cannot remember ever hearing a poem about gay sex at a poetry event at home in Northern Ireland, and so when I arrive at the Irish Writers Centre for their regular open mic night, Takin’ The Mic, I…

The CBI conference is a real treat for anyone who writes for young people. The theme for this year’s conference was Belonging, a theme close to my heart and one which comes up frequently in my YA books. I was keen to hear from the writers…