E R Murray

Funny, familiar and bittersweet - a cracking debut novel by @patrickfreyne.bsky.social published in June. A must read for anyone who’s ever been in or around a not particularly successful band.

I had a lovely conversation today with @neilhegarty.bsky.social, one of Ireland's most brilliant writers, about his novels INCH LEVELS and THE JEWEL.

In this clip, Neil talks about developing a routine as a writer.

Catch the full interview this Sunday on Frazzled Lit @frazzledlit.bsky.social

Rafael Mendes & Aisling Walsh on representation and ethics in writing. Is being close to, enough? How do you write about identities, sexualities, lived experience that are not your own? Where are the lines drawn for/at appropriation against a canon that were 'writers' without an added 'other' label?

The interview/chat with Roddy Doyle & Elizabeth Reapy was so chill and enthralling. Roddy is so down to earth and sensible, but his honesty is unusual in this lit-climate. He laughed at a terrible review of his first book, spoke about writing as 'labour' and dissed too much editorial interference.

The Blessing of the Rags and Happy Stigmata at an alternative #Mass at #DoolinWritersWeekend "We'll heal what ails you"...

😂😂😂

Lovely cosy storytelling this blustery rainy morning 🥰 Best place to be!

Looking for a Christmas book for children? There are some amazing Irish titles avail for all ages - check out our handy posters for details!

From Santa picture books, to snowy verse novels, there is something for every young reader.

Reviews here:

discoveririshkidsbooks.ie/the-festive-...

Painting of a spiral green hedged maze with odd figures and creatures appearing to stand or walk around inside

Labyrinth, 1991 by Leonora Carrington, UK-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. #womensart

Monochrome photograph featuring a close-up of a large ancient living tree in a flat landscape with other trees in the distance, the tree has many branches forming a rounded flat canopy viewed from underneath

'Heart of the Dragon, Socotra, Yemen' by photographer Beth Moon on her fourteen-year quest to photograph ancient trees of the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa #WomensArt

Thank you so much @rurooie.bsky.social 🥰

Day 4 of #DIKBCHALLENGE25: a book that's perfect for bookclub

I feel like a good mystery is always a safe bet for bookclubs, and the intrigue and twists and turns in Arabella Pepper by @ermurray.bsky.social are guaranteed to grip any reader 🔍

#DiscoverIrishKidsBooks @irishkidsbooks.bsky.social

@2waystreet.bsky.social hello lovely! I hope all is well with you 🥰 I feel I’ve lost contact with people a bit with the way social media has changed !

I’ll be facilitating another online Build A Strong Writing Foundation workshop for the Irish Writers Centre starting November 12th This is a generative workshop, designed to build confidence & kickstart a viable writing routine - booking details: irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/buil...
Please share! ♥️

And this morning the Shed is a tiny coach, made from a single walnut-shell, and drawn by a team of bumble-bees…

Getting Storyshaped with Kieran Larwood

We've got a new Storyshaped podcast episode for you - and it's a banger! We recorded this chat with @kieranlarwood.bsky.social at @ilfdublin.bsky.social earlier this year, and now you can check it out wherever you get your podcasts! @susancahill.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/68Fz...

Went foraging for mushrooms, found samphire instead 🤷‍♀️💙 #westcorklife

When you go to a coffee shop to write for the first time in ages… & forget paper 🤯 very grateful to those with a bit of spare cardboard box & some baking paper 🤩 #oldschool #writingfail #trustmeimapro 😂😂😂

The Sibyls, a stunning new show by Alice Maher, has just opened at Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and runs until October 11th. Terrific conversation led by Jesse Jones on hair, power, lies and dispossession. Great to see Vivienne Dick (writing about her in the next book) www.kevinkavanagh.ie/exhibitions/...

Painting featuring a girl in blue in the foreground right and a woman in pink in the background left

Amrita Sher-Gil,
Little Girl in Blue, 1934
Indian modernist painter
#WomensArt

Awesome! See you there! 🤩

stylised sketch of four books in a pile with the words 'Meet the Author' overlaid

and that is the final post transferred onto the Big Bearded Bookseller blog and it was the author interview with @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social and that is all the 97 interviews on the blog now

bigbeardedbookseller.uk/questions-fo...

#WritersLift #Author #BookSky 💙📚

Residencies are the only way I can create enough space to get over a finishing line 😅 will you be at CBI conference this year? Would love to catch up!

Was in Finland for August on residency… redrafted a whole book, met some wonderful people, saw some beautiful skies…

If you're an artist based in Ireland, this survey relates directly to you. It'll take three or four minutes, if that (it's actually too short).

Please check it out.

ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/run...

Whaaaaaaat?!

OLDER, BOLDER, WISER... Barbara Scully's One Woman Show is a mixture of stand up comedy and story telling as she muses on life as a woman and getting older.

My next show is in DUBLIN!! If you fancy having a laugh about some of the absurdities of being a woman & getting older, grab your gal pals, your sisters, your Ma, your daughters and your fellas and come along to the gorgeous Stillgarden Distillery on 12 Sept

stillgardenbarbarascully.eventbrite.ie

Another joyous day yesterday at @wcorklitfest.bsky.social interviewing the effervescent @pollyrowena.bsky.social about her fab book, The Company of owls. After which I joined @ermurray.bsky.social at the Bantry Day Cebtre for chats, readings & craic with real wise owls. (Forgot photos there tho)

Pure joy to interview Carol Drinkwater at @wcorklitfest.bsky.social in Bantry last night. Her new novel One Summer in Provence is a warm and thoroughly satisfying read.

It always feels like we’re just getting there in comics breaking into the mainstream in Ireland and the UK, the way they are in other European countries, and yet we never quite reach that tipping point. With reading stamina levels going the way they are, comics really need to be pushed more.