We’re delighted to announce that we are running writing workshops on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October 2022. All workshops cost €15 and must be booked and paid for in advance.

**Please note: All workshops this year will take place in-person in Bray.**

BEFORE booking your workshop, please contact us to check availability: blfwkshops@gmail.com 

To book your workshop: pay via the following Paypal link, and email us with your name and Paypal receipt number.

https://paypal.me/BLFWkshops?locale.x=en_US

Adult Workshops

Developing Your Fiction with Gerard Beirne

Saturday 1st: 10.00-12.00 (Venue: Purple House, 2 Duncairn Terrace, Quinsborough Rd, Bray)

Workshop: Wondering where to begin or how to develop your fiction? Whether you are interested in flash fiction, short stories, or the novel, this interactive workshop will guide you through the key elements of writing effective prose fiction. Through a mix of informal discussion and writing exercises, it will explore the structure of prose and how characterisation, plot, and setting work together to create story and meaning. Suitable for writers starting out or for those with more experience.

Gerard Beirne has published 4 books of prose and 2 collections of poetry (with a third forthcoming in October). A Hennessy Award winner, he was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award, Danuta Gleed Literary Award (best first collection of short stories in Canada), and the Bord Gais Irish Book Awards. He lectures on the BA Writing and Literature Program, ATU.

 

Writing Haiku with Maeve O’Sullivan   

Saturday 1st: 10.00-12.00 (Venue: Purple House, 2 Duncairn Terrace, Quinsborough Rd, Bray)

 
The haiku is the shortest and one of the oldest forms in the world. It is traditionally a
nature poem but is also used to describe human situations. In this introductory
workshop, you will learn some techniques for writing and editing haiku. The workshop
will include a short ginko (composition stroll), on which we will seek inspiration in
autumn sensations.
 

Maeve O’Sullivan’s poetry and haikai have been widely published, anthologized, awarded and translated. She is the author of five collections from Alba Publishing, the most recent being Wasp on the Prayer Flag (2021). Maeve has led workshops in haikai for many organisations, including the Irish Writers’ Centre, and also writes reviews and features for various journals. www.maeveosullivan.com

Twitter @writefromwithin 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maeveosullivanpoetry

 

Unlocking Memory: An introduction to Memoir Writing with Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

Sunday 2nd: 10.00-12.00 (Venue: Purple House, 2 Duncairn Terrace, Quinsborough Rd, Bray)

Memory is your capital. Imagination is your power of invention and skill in
using memories to create a new work of art, unique to you – be it memoir,
story, or novel. If you are an eager and voracious reader, you may have learnt
how to do this so well that it feels like a natural instinct. For all of us, however,
there is always plenty to learn about how to put an essay or a book together
from other experienced writers.

In this workshop on Memoir Writing, we will discuss technique and content in
a memoir. We will examine ways of selecting raw material for memoirs and
various ways of shaping that material – into short pieces, essays, and books.
Participants will discuss their own ideas for memoirs. We will do one or two
writing exercises designed to trigger memories and explore possible themes in
the course of the workshop.

The workshop is suitable for emerging and more advanced writers.

ÉILÍS NÍ DHUIBHNE is a well-known writer of fiction, drama and memoir. She
has published over thirty books, won many literary awards, including the PEN
Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature, a Hennessy Hall of
Fame Award, several Bisto Awards for Children’s Literature, and many others.
Her memoir, Twelve Thousand Days (Blackstaff 2018) was shortlisted for the
Michel Déon Award (RIA) for non-fiction in 2020. She is an experienced teacher
of Creative Writing, and has taught at University College Dublin, Trinity College,
Boston College, and the Irish Writers Centre.

She recently edited a collection of 21 memoir essays by Irish writers born in the
mid-20th century: Look! It’s a Woman Writer! (Arlen House, 2021)

 

Writing Into Being with Geraldine O’Kane

Sunday 2nd: 10.00-12.00 (Venue: Purple House, 2 Duncairn Terrace, Quinsborough Rd, Bray)

In this writing workshop we will delve into our everyday mental health and how to unpack it in our writing. Through a series of writing exercises, we will explore and connect with our past, future and inner wellbeing.

Geraldine O’Kane is Northern Irish poet, writing facilitator and mental health advocate. Her debut poetry collection Unsafe, which explores trauma of the everyday, is as much about the safety found in writing as it does the unsafe spaces we occupy; was published by Salmon Poetry in 2021.