Hanna Bell centenery: The centenary of the birth of novelist and broadcaster Sam Hanna Bell (1909-1990) will be celebrated with a three-day colloquium from October 15th to 17th to coincide with the actual anniversary of his birthday on October 16th.
To be held at Belfast's Linen Hall Library, contributors include Paul Muldoon and Michael Longley. Born in Glasgow of Ulster emigrant parents, he was brought to Ireland at the age of seven after his father's death to be reared in the Strangford Lough area of County Down where his most famous novel about Ulster rural life December Bride(1951), is set. His other novels include The Hollow Ball(1961) and Across The Narrow Sea(1987). He died in 1990 just before the premiere of Thaddeus O'Sullivan's film of December Bride. O'Sullivan will also speak at the colloquium, which will be accompanied by an exhibition of manuscripts and photographs in the library. See samhannabell.org.uk
A hunger for writing
Food writing is a growing genre and food writer John McKenna addresses it at a workshop this summer as part of the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry (July 5th-11th).
It’s billed as an introduction to the art and craft of food writing, to the literary tradition within the genre, to the icons of the art – and as aiming to show why food writing is an essential part of a country’s culture. McKenna, the author and publisher, with his wife, Sally, of the Bridgestone Guides has won four Glenfiddich Awards for food writing and broadcasting.
Other workshops in Bantry include Writing for the Screen with television producer/director Ferdia Mac Anna; novelist Martina Devlin on The Novel for Beginners; Ré Ó Laighléis on The Short Story for Beginners; Playwright Billy Roche on Writing for the Stage – and writer/television presenter Manchán Magan on The Gospel of Vagabondage – A Workshop on Travel Writing. James Harpur gives the poetry workshop while John W Sexton will advise on Writing For Children. Booking on 027 55987 or email: info@westcorkliteraryfestival.ie. Full details available at westcorkliteraryfestival.ie
Two Irish on shortlist
Two Irish short story writers are on the shortlist of the 2009 Edge Hill Short Story Prize for the best short story collection by a single author: Gerard Donovan for Country of the Grand(Faber) and Anne Enright for Yesterdays Weather(Random House).
The prize is co-sponsored by Blackwell, the academic bookseller. The shortlist was announced at the Writing on the Wall festival in Liverpool and this year's judges are James Walton, journalist and chair of BBC Radio 4's The Write Stuff;Claire Keegan, last year's winner of the prize and Mark Flinn of Edge Hill University. The other books on the list are Chris Beckett's The Turing Test; Shena Mackay's The Atmospheric Railwayand Ali Smith's The First Person and Other Stories. The overall winner will be presented with the £5,000 prize on July 4th. Ireland has dominated this prize since it was launched in 2007, Colm Tóibín's Mothers taking it that first year with Claire Keegan winning last year for Walk the Blue Fields.
Muldoon on diaspora
Paul Muldoon is this week’s reader in Writing Home a series of readings by writers of, and about, the diaspora in the Clinton Auditorium, GII Building, UCD at 1pm, on Thursday May 14th. The event is free. He’ll be introduced by poet Nessa O’Mahony, artist in residence at the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies.
Born in Armagh and educated in Queen’s University Belfast, Muldoon has lived in the US since 1987 where he is now Howard GB Clark ’21 professor at Princeton University and chair of the Peter B Lewis Center for the Arts.
In 2007 he was appointed poetry editor of the New Yorker. He has published some 30 volumes of poetry, including Moy Sand and Gravel(2002), which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. His new collections, forthcoming this year, are Wayside Shrines(Gallery Press) and Plan B, (Enitharmon Press).
For more information call 01-7161565