The Write Time for Inspiration: Fingal Libraries Write Time

Fingal Libraries Write Time festival was launched by Deputy Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Tom Kitt at Blanchardstown Library on Wednesday (August 28).

The fourth annual Write Time Festival organised by Fingal Libraries celebrates the written and spoken word in Fingal. Libraries will host free workshops and talks throughout the month of September to spark the imagination and inspire creativity.

Fingal County Librarian Betty Boardman said: “Fingal Libraries’ Write Time Festival offers an engaging and varied programme to aspiring writers of all ages and to anybody interested in the craft of writing. This is the fourth year of the Festival and we are delighted that it is becoming a much anticipated event in the library calendar.”

This year’s programme features a panel discussion on “Yes, We Still Drink Coffee!”, a new anthology of essays by and about women human rights defenders around the world. Orla Lehane, curator and editor, and contributors Catherine Dunne, Hilary Fannin and Lia Mills will discuss their experience of working on this project.

Portmarnock based author Rónán Hession will read from his debut novel “Leonard and Hungry Paul”, which was described by The Irish Times as a book that will “bring you sunshine even if the summer is a washout”.  

Comic fiction author Karl MacDermott continues his “One Man and His Turnip World Reading Tour of Ireland” based on his short story collection, “Juggling With Turnips”, described by The RTÉ Guide as, “comic cuttings from a Myles na gCopaleen imagination”.

Children's author Sadhbh Devlin will discuss her work and give practical tips on how to enjoy Irish language books with your children, even if you only have a “cúpla focal”.

As in previous years, the Write Time Festival offers a range of free creative writing workshops.  Travel documentary-maker Manchán Magan will help you transform the sights, sounds and soul of a journey into engaging prose in his travel writing workshop.  Lia Mills talks about how to go back in time to find a story that matters now in her workshop on writing historical fiction. If you are interested in writing young adult and children's literature, Conor Kostick will help you create appealing characters and moving dramas.

Have you family or local history stories you’d love to write? Yvonne Cullen’s workshop, From History to Story, will help you tell historical stories, big or small. What do you need to do to give your work the best possible chance of getting published? Publishing consultant Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin will explain the blueprint from keyboard to bookshelf in her How to Get Published workshop.

Write Time events to spark the imaginations of young writers include Maeve Devoy’s workshop, The Little Detectives, where she introduces the nuts and bolts of story-telling to children aged 8 - 12 years.

Megan Wynne facilitates a fun workshop where children learn how to create interesting characters and show their personalities by what they say and do in a story. Children and teens aged 10 + can learn to write and perform a Rap Song with the Max Lyrical Rap Workshop. Poet Máighréad Medbh offers teenagers a chance to experiment with different ways of producing a poem in her experimental poetry workshop Truth or Dare.

Admission is free to all events, but booking is essential. To reserve a place, please contact the library hosting the event. For the full programme of talks and workshops, please contact your local library branch or see Fingal Libraries website: fingal.ie/libraries/ or Facebook page: @FingalLibraries. 

ENDS

Caption:
Pictured at the launch of the Write Time Festival was (left to right) Interim Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly, Senior Executive Librarian Lilian Whelan, Deputy Mayor of Fingal Cllr Tom Kitt, and County Librarian Betty Boardman.

For further information contact:

Marguerite Drake / Orla Drohan

Fingal Libraries Events & PR

Tel: 01 890 5531/ E mail: [email protected]