New Short Story Event in 2010

At the Irish Writers’ Centre we are committed to supporting writers at every stage of their development. With this in mind, we are delighted to announce a new event starting in January 2010. The Lonely Voice: Short Story Introductions will take place on the last Wednesday of every month. Four short story writers will be selected and invited to read their work at the event. We are particularly interested in providing a platform for emerging writers who previously may not have had the opportunity to read their work in public.

Our inaugural event will take place on Wednesday 27th January. We are currently seeking featured readers and are accepting submissions until 8th January. Please send the short story (Max 3,000 words) you would like to read and a short bio to: thelonelyvoice@gmail.com

Peter Sirr, Enda Wyley and Hugo Hamilton on Thursday

This week John F. Deane will host the last of our Autumn Benefit Readings. Peter Sirr, Enda Wyley and Hugo Hamilton will be reading from their works on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Tickets for this event are 10€ and can be booked on our website or in person in the Centre. All proceeds will go to the Irish Writers' Centre.

For more information on this week's authors or to book just visit

http://www.writerscentre.ie/html/events/benefit6.htm

Open Day last Saturday

We would like to thank everybody who contributed to the huge success of our Open Day on Saturday!

Many people came to get to know the Centre or had a look at the books that were on sale. Maire Robinson did a brilliant job facilitating a creative writing hour and we listened to fascinating presentations by our board members Jack Harte and Nuala Nì Dhomhnaill and our writer-in-residence Catherine Morris. We also got some good feedback to our work, which will help us improve the Centre further.

So, again, many, many thanks to all those people who helped making the Open Day a very special day for the Irish Writers' Centre!

Calling all curious visitors!

On Saturday, December 5th 's Open Day, IWC's big navy door will be wide open so that curious people can come in and have a look at our building.

Open Day is the perfect opportunity to discover what actually goes on at the Centre. The idea behind the event is to promote the courses and activities that take place here.

There are numerous literary activities planned for the day. The day starts at noon with Tiger Tales, a cosy get-together at our reception room table. Over mugs of tea and coffee, participants are invited to share their favourite poem or short story.

At one o'clock, Eileen Casey and Keiran Furey will give a free reading. Both writers have won numerous awards for their poetry and prose.

There will be an informal creative writing hour called The Rag and Bone Shop after a W. B. Yeats poem. This informal workshop starts at 3 pm and is led by the interns. We promise to get your creative juices flowing.

At 4 pm, Jack Harte, accomplished prose writer and IWC chairman, will give a short talk about the Centre, its history and its future. One of our tutors will also talk about the merits of creative writing courses.

Catherine Morris, IWC's writer-in-residence, will give a presentation on Alice Milligan at quarter to five. Morris is writing a book about the Irish poet and her research will be displayed in our illustrious reading room.

In the evening, there are two final activities: an open mike at 5 pm and a table quiz at 7 pm. Anyone is welcomed to take the podium for the open mike. Teams of four are needed for the literary table quiz. There are some great prizes to win: the top prize being a bundle of new shiny books from Easons.

Open Day is jam-packed with things to do, but people don't have to be super keen to enjoy the day. Everyone is invited to browse the library and inspect our art collection.