Breacadh

Tá Cathal Póirtéir, craoltóir agus scríbhneoir, ina Eagarthóir Gaeilge againn. Bhíodh cláir litríochta ar RTE Raidió 1 agus RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta faoina chúram aige ar feadh i bhfad agus tá sé ina bhunathóir agus ina chathaoirleach ar Aontas na Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge faoi láthair. Chomh maith lena chuid scríbhneoireachta féin, bhí sé mar eagarthóir ar bhailiúchán gearrscéalta (Scéalta san Aeir) agus díolam filíochta (Éigse an Aeir), ar chnuasaigh béaloidis (Glórtha ón Ghorta; Famine Echoes) agus léachtanna staire (The Great Irish Famine; Gnéithe den Ghorta). D’fhoilsigh RTE cuid dá chuid clár ar dhlúthdhioscaí (Blasket Island Reflections; Traditional Tales of Wonder; The Appeals of the Midnight Court)

Writing.ie is delighted to welcome Cathal Póirtéir as our Eagarthóir Gaeilge. Cathal Póirtéir presented Comhluadar na Leabhar, the weekly book programme, broadcast on both RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta and RTE Radio 1 for the past few years, wrote the bestselling book The Great Irish Famine (Mercier Press,) and researched and edited two compendia of famine folklore: Famine Echoes (Gill and Macmillan) and Glórtha ón Ghorta (Coiscéim). Cathal has also produced a number of spoken word CDs published by RTE including Blasket Island Reflections.

His poetry collection Tonnchrith Intinne was nominated for an Irish Times Literary Award, and in 2012 Oireachtas na Gaeilge presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual media awards. He has also won gold and silver awards at the annual PPI awards.

Carry on Writing

Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME (for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award) and A MEMORY OF VIOLETS. Her third novel THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller and was shortlisted for the 2016 Irish Book Awards. Hazel's books have been translated into a number of foreign languages. In addition to her latest release, THE COTTINGLEY SECRET, Hazel will also release LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (October 2017, co-written with Heather Webb). Hazel lives in Ireland with her husband and two children. She 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 in Kerry and she was also a judge on the Irish panel for the EU Literary Award. Her current novel, THE GAME CHANGER, is available nationwide. In 2016, she was longlisted for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library Award, and her first novel, RED RIBBONS was published in the US. She was also awarded an Arts Bursary for Literature from the Arts Council of Ireland. In August, THE DOLL'S HOUSE, is due for publication in the US with Polis Books. Louise Phillips is the crime writing mastermind behind writing.ie's Crime Scene blog.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Down The Rabbit Hole 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 in Spring 2018. Follow her on Twitter @OliviaMHope or her blog oliviahopeandtheimaginationstation.wordpress.com

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

Writing.ie has been developed and is run by Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin who founded The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy and is Ireland's leading literary scout. Vanessa is represented by Simon Trewin at WME and writes crime as Sam Blake. LITTLE BONES will be published by Bonnier's Twenty7 imprint in May 2016. Vanessa is the Chair of Irish PEN and the Irish and Eurozone Adviser to the international organisation The Alliance of Independent Authors.

Ink Stains

Emma Tobin is 19 and from Newbridge, Co Kildare, Ireland where she lives with her parents, one brother, four cats, and some fish. Emma is in her first year at UCD where she is studying English, Philosophy and History. Emma writes prose, poetry and fiction. Emma has completed two novels and is working on her third which is a YA contemporary novel with the title 'Paperweight Soldiers'. Emma blogs at abcofbeingateenager.blogspot.ie and is a regular contributor to the arts show Artyfacts on KFM Radio in Kildare. Emma has had a number of columns published in The Irish Times. In May 2013 her article 'Blinking Out' was included in a new HeadSpace magazine for young people focusing on positive mental health. Emma's poetry has won a number of national awards including the Trocaire/Poetry Ireland annual poetry competition in the senior post primary category in both 2014 and 2015. Emma was the recipient of the Conor Bowman Youth Award at the Hopkins Poetry Summer School in 2014. Emma was the joint poetry winner for June 2015 of the Hennessy New Irish Writing and had two of her poems published as part of that in The Irish Times. As a result she is not on the shortlist for the Hennessy Writer of the Year award in the emerging poetry category. You can find her on Facebook as Emma Tobin Writer and on Twitter as @EK_Tobin.

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.

Word Play