Carry on Writing

Hazel Gaynor is the acclaimed New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of five novels. Her 2014 debut, THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, won the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award and THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was shortlisted for the 2016 Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. She was also selected as a WHSmith Fresh Talent title in 2015. In 2018, Hazel will release her sixth historical novel, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S DAUGHTER, inspired by the true story of Victorian heroine, Grace Darling. Hazel's books have been translated into eight languages and are published in 15 countries to date. She lives in Ireland with her husband and two children and is represented by Michelle Brower of Aevitas Creative, New York. For more information, visit www.hazelgaynor.com

Centre Stage

Barry Houlihan is chief blogger at writing.ie's Centre Stage blog - he is a professional archivist and specialises in theatre and literary archives. He has catalogued the Project Arts Centre archive (1967-2003) at the National Library of Ireland, established an archive for the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and produced a research guide on the history of Smock Alley Theatre. Barry has worked as a researcher for ‘Cultureshock’ program on Newstalk FM radio and also recently acted as researcher for the RTE Radio 1 documentary series ‘From Stage to Street’. Barry is currently working for NUI Galway Archives where he is cataloguing the archives of Druid Theatre Company and the Galway Arts Festival.

Crime Scene

LOUISE PHILLIPS is the author of four bestselling psychological crime thrillers. Her debut novel RED RIBBONS, and her subsequent novels, THE DOLL’S HOUSE, LAST KISS and THE GAME CHANGER, were each nominated for Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year. She won the award in 2013. Louise’s work has formed part of many literary anthologies, and she has won both the Jonathan Swift Award and the Irish Writers’ Centre Lonely Voice platform, along with being shortlisted for the Molly Keane Memorial Award, Bridport UK, and many others. In 2015, she was awarded a writing residency at Cill Rialaig Artist retreat and she was also a judge on the Irish panel for the EU Literary Award. In 2016, she was longlisted for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library Award, and her first two novels, RED RIBBONS and THE DOLL'S HOUSE, were published in the US. She has recently been awarded an Arts Bursary for Literature from the Arts Council of Ireland, and is currently working on her latest novel, which is set in the US. Louise Phillips is the crime writing mastermind behind writing.ie's Crime Scene blog.

Down the Rabbit Hole, Flourish and Blogs

Flourish & Blogs is a blog all about writing for children. It's run by Olivia Hope and Niamh Garvey. Olivia Hope is a children’s writer from Killarney, Co. Kerry. She was once a hammer thrower, Sometimes a teacher of all subjects; from English to ice-cream making, And has worked in a variety scenarios, from nurseries (plants and children, although not at the same time, unless you count the daffodil incident) to nursing homes. She is unreasonably fond of cheese, French Fancies and is prone to cartwheels. She writes for all ages, and her picturebook “Be Wild” will be published by Bloomsbury. Follow her on Twitter @OliviaMHope Niamh Garvey loves everything to do with children’s books; from reading them, to writing them, and even to smelling them. Except for really boring books… she doesn’t even smell those. She writes stories for children and young adults, plus poetry for adults. She wrote the storyboard for the childrens storybook app “A Raindrop’s Tale” published by Gramercy Consultants on iTunes. She is working towards her dream of getting a novel published. Niamh is a full-time mum and a part-time nurse, living in Cork. She thinks stories are the best way to discover the world, and possibly the only place children should be encouraged to get lost in. Follow Niamh on twitter @msniamhgarvey or on her blog niamhgarvey.com

Down the Rabbit Hole, Flourish and Blogs

Flourish & Blogs is a blog all about writing for children. It's run by Olivia Hope and Niamh Garvey. Olivia Hope is a children’s writer from Killarney, Co. Kerry. She was once a hammer thrower, Sometimes a teacher of all subjects; from English to ice-cream making, And has worked in a variety scenarios, from nurseries (plants and children, although not at the same time, unless you count the daffodil incident) to nursing homes. She is unreasonably fond of cheese, French Fancies and is prone to cartwheels. She writes for all ages, and her picturebook “Be Wild” will be published by Bloomsbury. Follow her on Twitter @OliviaMHope Niamh Garvey loves everything to do with children’s books; from reading them, to writing them, and even to smelling them. Except for really boring books… she doesn’t even smell those. She writes stories for children and young adults, plus poetry for adults. She wrote the storyboard for the childrens storybook app “A Raindrop’s Tale” published by Gramercy Consultants on iTunes. She is working towards her dream of getting a novel published. Niamh is a full-time mum and a part-time nurse, living in Cork. She thinks stories are the best way to discover the world, and possibly the only place children should be encouraged to get lost in. Follow Niamh on twitter @msniamhgarvey or on her blog niamhgarvey.com

From the Front Row

Ink Stains

Ink Stains is our blog dedicated to younger writers. Here we post competitions, information on events and tips. The best advice? Keep reading - everything you can lay your hands on, and keep writing. Write for yourself to find your voice. If you'd like to contribute to this blog drop vanessa@writing.ie an email. Our superb Ink Stains illustration is by Emily Hearne , age 12, who is a 6th Class Student at Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil, Cork, thank you Emily!

Poetic Licence

KATE DEMPSEY runs writing.ie's Poetic License blog and is our poetry guru. She is a writer and a blogger living in Maynooth. She writes fiction and non-fiction as well as poetry and is widely published in Ireland and abroad, in magazines, anthologies and on the radio. She fits this around her family and a full time job, writing on the sofa, on the train and in that little coffeeshop on the corner.

Poetry can be a solitary activity and she appreciates the support she received from the online community, particularly when starting out. She is excited about continuing the dialogue with her blog here.

Random Acts of Optimism

Alison Wells runs the Random Acts of Optimism blog and lives in Bray, Co. Wicklow with her husband and four children. Her short fiction been published in many magazines and online and print anthologies and she has been featured on Sunday Miscellany. Shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award, Bridport and Fish Prize's she has just completed a themed short story collection Random Acts of Optimism and a literary novel The Book of Remembered Possibilities. To read Alison's full blog, visit Head Above Water. Find out in her Random Acts of Optimism how she manages to juggle writing, children and life.

Self-Printed

Catherine Ryan Howard is a writer and blogger from Cork. She self-published her first book, a travel memoir called Mousetrapped: A Year and A Bit in Orlando, Florida, in March 2010. Her first novel - women’s commercial fiction with a side serving of satire - has a big “FOR SALE” sign on it and the second is making the arduous journey from her brain to her Mac. In her previous life she worked as an administrator in the Netherlands, a campsite courier in France and a front desk agent in Walt Disney World. She wants to be a NASA astronaut when she grows up. (She’s 28).

Songbook

Derek Flynn runs Writing.ie's SongBook blog, and is an Irish writer and musician. He has a Masters in Creative Writing from Trinity College, Dublin. He’s been published in a number of publications, including The Irish Times, and his fiction was featured in 'Surge', an anthology of new Irish writing published by O’ Brien Press with the aim of showcasing “the very best of the next generation of Irish authors”. Online he can be found at his writing/music blog – ‘Rant, with Occasional Music’ – and on Twitter as @derekf03

The Bookseller's Blog

Welcome to The Book Seller’s Blog where we invite independent book sellers to rant, rave and generally enthuse about books and authors and all things literary. Tell us about your day amongst the fresh pages of new releases, or the previously loved well thumbed pages of second hand books. What was the most bizarre request you’ve received from a customer? What is your most precious book? Reveal all here!

The Lighter Side

Tara Sparling writes fiction and satire. Her blog www.tarasparlingwrites.com looks at book humour, bestselling book trends, the realities of traditional and self-publishing, writing follies, book marketing, author success stories and spectacular failures. She also pokes a lot of fun at character and genre stereotypes. She can be found lurking @TaraSparling on Twitter.

To Boldly Go

Colin Weldon lives in Dublin and writes science fiction novels. He has self-published four to date, three in a space opera trilogy called The Agathon and a stand-alone science fiction thriller called Hunting Nora Stone. The Agathon series has received a BRAG medallion for outstanding self-published. Colin has a BA in Journalism and an MA in Screenwriting which he completed in 2017. As an avid lover of all things sci-fi including movies, books and artwork this blog is dedicated to all the speculative fiction that gets his imagination going. He is currently working on a new series of space opera novels so can be found in the dark corners of Dublin's coffee shops in the early hours of the morning. Come say hi :) Website: www.colinweldon.com Goodreads Profile : https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14769995.Colin_Weldon Facebook : @colinweldonwriter Twitter: @Colinweldon Instagram : Colinweldon

Word Play

Developed by writing.ie and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, the National Emerging Writer Programme is consists of three 40 minute videos: ‘Start Writing’, ‘Telling the Story’ and ‘Revising, Rewriting and Overcoming Obstacles’. Focusing on essential writing technique, it is packed full of tips.

Wordspark

Elizabeth Rose Murray lives in West Cork where she writes, fishes, and grows her own vegetables. Her first book for young adults Caramel Hearts (Alma Books) was published June 2016. Her debut novel for children aged 10-12, The Book of Learning - Nine Lives Trilogy 1 (Mercier Press) was chosen as the 2016 Dublin UNESCO City of Literature Citywide Read for Children and the follow-up The Book of Shadows - Nine Lives Trilogy 2 was shortlisted for the 2016 Irish Book Awards. The final installment The Book of Revenge will be published in February 2018.

Elizabeth has poetry and short fiction published in journals across the UK and Ireland - including Ogham Stone, Southword, South Circular, Esc and 3am - and has been shortlisted in various competitions including TV3AM Short Story, Francis MacManus, and Aesthetica Creative Works. She has also performed in Ciudades Paralelas: Station - a live writing installation.

Hoping to encourage new writers, Elizabeth provides manuscript reports and online writing courses through Inkwell Writers and Big Smoke Writing Factory. She is a regular at literary festivals, and offers adult workshops on writing for children and young adults, as well as multiple events and workshops for children and teens.

You can connect with Elizabeth on Twitter @ERMurray, Facebook www.facebook.com/ERMurray.Author or her blog www.ermurray.com

Writers Wise

Author of number one bestsellers, The Abandoned & The Healer, Sharon Thompson is the founder of the successful Indulgeinwriting.com. A guide and mentor, Sharon has seen members of this indulgeinwriting.com group progress to agent representation and publication, and organises regular talks from industry professionals and experts for those members. Sharon co-founded #Writerswise a trending Tweet-chat featuring published authors and guest-hosts. Her monthly Indulgeinbooks features a list of Irish book releases and she contributes to indulgeme.ie and donegalwoman.ie. Sharon also writes for leading website Writing.ie and has published short stories, had plays long listed, all while completing her much anticipated next novel. @sharonwriter sharontwriter.com indulgeinwriting.com