CLAIRE KEEGAN (Ireland) JANICE GALLOWAY(UK) [Keegan is] a rarity… someone I’ll always want to read Richard Ford Galloway is a literary endoscopist. She gets beneath the surface of life and exposes the nerves The London Independent
41
l∆terature
Photo: Graham Jepson, Writers Pictures
Spool presents
The short story, VS Pritchett once wrote, is “exquisitely difficult”. Fortunately, Janice Galloway and Claire Keegan, two acknowledged masters of the form, are coming to Kilkenny to share some of its secrets. Claire Keegan’s first collection, Antarctica, won The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, while her second, Walk the Blue Fields, was described by Joseph O’Connor as a “stunningly accomplished” book that “locates her amongst the greatest practitioners of the short story form now writing.” In 2010 her story ‘Foster’ won the Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award, and an expanded version was published by Faber earlier this year. Janice Galloway is one of Scotland’s “most gifted and original writers” (The Times Literary Supplement). Her first novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing, is widely regarded as a contemporary classic, while her memoir This Is Not About Me garnered universal acclaim. Her short stories merge “a nerve-exposing honesty with deep compassion.” (The Scotsman)
The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle Sunday 14 August 12pm Admission €13/€11
Faber Academy Dublin Courses
Working on the first draft of a novel or a collection of new poems, what you need most is practical, tailored advice from great writers, and the support of people who share your passion. Faber Academy offers just that – in the heart of literary Dublin. Join course directors Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, James Ryan and Paul Perry, with guests like Hugo Hamilton, Dermot Healy and Anne Enright, for ‘Writing a Novel’ and ‘Becoming a Poet’, and find your voice with the Faber Academy.
To make a booking or for more information, contact Fiona on academy@faber.co.uk or +44 (0)20 7927 3868 For full course listings visit faberacademy.co.uk