Sunday, December 12, 2010

'On The Nail' Reading Thurs 6th Jan 2011 8.00pm

'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar, Limerick
Thurs. 6th Jan 2011 8.00pm

The next monthly 'On The Nail' literary reading takes place Thursday 6th Jan 2011 at 8.00pm in The Locke Bar, George's Quay, Limerick
.
Organised by The Limerick Writers' Centre this popular monthly reading and open-mic continues to attract audiences with a mix of poetry, prose and music.

This Month (Jan 2011) our guests are poet Teri Murray and author James Lawless.

James Lawless
was born in Dublin and divides his time between County Kildare and West Cork. His first novel, Peeling Oranges, a paternal quest set in the Liberties of Dublin and Franco’s Spain, was published in 2007 by Killynon House. Awards include the Scintilla Welsh Open Poetry competition in 2002, the Cecil Day Lewis Play Award 2005 for What Are Neighbours For? and a Hennessy Award nomination and the WOW Award for short stories in 2010. A second novel, For Love of Anna, a story of love, ideology and corruption, was published by New Generation in 2009 as was his book on modern poetry, Clearing The Tangled Wood: Poetry as a way of seeing the world, which was published by Academica Press, USA ( ‘a linguistic ballet, learned and lively on behalf of poetry’ - John Montague), and for which he received an arts bursary award. A new suburban novel, The Avenue (‘A work of passion and truth’ - Declan Kiberd)


Teri Murray began writing in the 1980s and was the winner of the Wicklow Drama Award in 1987 for a children’s play. In 1991 she was commissioned by artist Brian Maguire to write a series of poems to accompany his paintings, Behind Bars – Public and Private.
Her work also featured in Round Peg, an anthology by Clothesline Press, Dublin in 1991. She was editor for Scratches On The Wall, an anthology of Limerick writers produced by Tholsel press in 1995. Since then her poems and short stories have appeared in various magazines.
A Time Under Heaven, her play about the history of Limerick was performed by The Quarry Players and ran for a week at the Belltable in 1996.
Her first collection, Coddle and Tripe, with the late Liam Mulligan was published by Stonebridge in 1998. Poems From The Exclusion Zone appeared in 2001 also from Stonebridge. Later that year she was the winner of a poetry competition which took place during the Eighse Michael Hartnett in Newcastlewest, Co Limerick.
A childrens book, Eddy The Teddy and The Big Fat Nana was published in 2003 followed in 2007 by her third collections of poems, The Authority Of Winter published by Stonebridge.
She is currently editor of Revival Poetry Journal. Where The Daghdha Dances: New and Selected Poems her newest collection from Revival press confirms her as one of the most accomplished poets writing today.

Everyone is invited to take part in the open-mic after the main event, poets, storytellers, musicians and writers . Even if you don't write you are welcome to bring something along to read. The night begins at 8.00pm and there is free admission and free finger food for everyone attending. So join us on the night and make this event something special.
NOTE: Our special authors book table will again be in operation, so if you want your book, CD's etc publicised make sure you are represented on the table. Contact Dominic Taylor at 087 2996409 to make arrangements.
Further information contact: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 email
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com web http://onthenailreadings.blogspot.com
To view videos of readings go to: http://www.youtube.com/onthenailreadings
'The Limerick Writers' Centre' acknowledges the financial support of The Arts Council of Ireland.

Friday, December 3, 2010

LWC Flash Fiction 2010 Winning Story


The Winning Short Story in the LWC Flash Fiction Slam 2010 written by Barry Finegan

Two of the five

It all started with the flambéed Christmas pudding. Appearing innocent enough, it did possess two of the five ingredients most common to domestic disaster, fire and alcohol. Things could have turned out quite different.

It was one of those typical white hot, furnace bright, clear sky, sluggish wind, African Christmas days. On such days every manner of creature finds the deepest shade it can and rests; all but homo sapiens. For us it was a day for friends and family; lots of friends, necessary family. A day for trestle tables on the back lawn struggling under the weight of turkeys, hams, steamed vegetables, Christmas puddings, buckets of ice bearing bottles of stein, and sweating cans of lager; many cans of lager. It was a day for streamers, and crackers, and silly little whistles, and short jokes printed in microscopic font onto tiny bits of paper, and crêpe hats that bleed blue, red, yellow and green onto dripping foreheads. Uncle Albert had his own hat; a bright red and crisp white Santa hat, 100% acrylic, made in China.

If Uncle Albert had not got distracted when Ted’s new girlfriend slopped half a glass of wine into her cleavage he would have noticed the pudding being prepared and lit. If it wasn’t so bright he maybe would have seen the almost invisible flames as he reached across the table for the last morsel of stuffing. If he wasn’t eight lagers into Christmas day he would have remembered the warning on the hat to keep away from flame. Had the unfortunate event not occurred I wouldn’t know now just how many people visit the casualty department on Christmas day, nor would I know what to get him for Christmas this year, but I do; a wig.

Barry Finegan was born of Irish descent and raised in Africa, he moved to Ireland late 2008. He is currently working on his first novel and also writes poetry as a form of ‘mind gym’ to hone his creative writing skills.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

LWC Christmas Literary Bash Thurs 2nd Dec 8.00pm & The Locke Bar.

Limerick Writers’ Centre Christmas Literary Bash
(incorporating the 2010 LWC Flash Fiction Slam Final)
Thurs. 2nd Dec 8.00pm @ The Locke Bar, Limerick

Come along to the Loft @ the Locke bar, George’s quay on Thursday, December 2nd at 8pm for a festive feast of fiction, poetry and a merry miscellany of all sorts of literary guff.

On the night we will be hosting the awards for the 2010 LWC Flash Fiction Slam, with the field narrowed down to just 10 stories. Audience members will get the opportunity to vote for their favourite. The theme was Christmas and the shortlist ranges from the saccharine to the bizarre. The ten short-listed writers will read their pieces, short and attention-grabbing at just 300 words.

A crack team of craic judges has been assembled, including Bob Burke (Bisto award winner – The Third Pig Detective Agency), Roisin Meaney (Love in the Making), Susanne O’Leary(Swedish for Beginners) and Helena Close(The Clever One)

This is the first year that the competition has been run and the organisers report that the standard of entries was very, very high.

Following the award of the Judges prize (sponsored by O’Mahoney’s Booksellers) there will be an open mic where anyone and everyone can bring poetry and prose to the party. Bring along something you’ve written or a piece that moves you and share it with us.

Happy Christmas from the Limerick Writers’ Centre

Further details: Tel 087 2996409 or email limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

All Ireland 'limericks' Championship @ the Locke Bar Tues. 9th Nov 2010

Limerick Writers’ Centre
Presents


An ‘On the Nail’ Special

Tues. 9th Nov 2010 8.00pm
@The Locke Bar, Limerick.

All Ireland ‘limericks’ Slam Championship

Calling all poets and writers! The All Ireland ‘limericks’ Championship takes place Tues 9th Nov in The Loft Venue at The Locke Bar, George’s Quay Limerick…start time 8.00pm!

The slam will take the form of a two round contest (so bring at least two ‘limericks’) and the verse must strictly follow the ‘limerick’ formula, it must also be of the performers own construction.
The winners will be chosen by an appointed three person panel. The prize on offer is a trophy for the winner and two runner up prizes.

If you want to participate, all you have to do is arrive on the night to the Locke Bar and give your name to the M.C. Alternatively you can send on your name to the
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com requesting inclusion.

We will be delighted to hear from you and your letter will be acknowledged. Once your name is on the list you will be called on the night with everybody else to make your contribution.

Admission is free.

What is a Limerick?
To be a Limerick, a verse MUST have: Five lines. Lines one, two, and five MUST rhyme.
Lines three and four MUST rhyme. A good Limerick will have a clever, unanticipated punch line as line five. A good Limerick will not be insipid or pointless. A good Limerick often has puns, word play, eccentric spelling, or some other witty feature.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Munster Heat All Ireland Poetry Slam Tues 19th Oct 2010


Limerick Writers’ Centre

Presents
An ‘On the Nail’ Special
Tues 19th Oct. 2010 8.30pm

Munster Heat All Ireland Poetry Slam

Performance poets and spoken word artists from Limerick, Cork, Kerry, Clare and Tipperary will battle it out at the Munster heat of the All Ireland Poetry Slam to be held at 8.30pm

Tues Oct 19th- The Locke Bar, Limerick.

For those of you who haven’t experienced one, a slam is a performance poetry competition in which poets perform for not more than three minutes. The winner will be chosen by an appointed three person panel. The prize on offer to the winner is the honour of representing Munster in the 4th All Ireland Poetry Slam to be held 3.00pm Oct 30th at the International Bar in Dublin.

If you want to participate, all you have to do is arrive on the night to the Locke Bar and give your name to the M.C. Alternatively you can email your name to the limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com requesting inclusion.

We will be delighted to hear from you and your letter will be acknowledged. Once your name is on the list you will be called on the night with everybody else to make your contribution.

Admission is free. Details 087 2996409

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar Thurs. 4th Nov 2010


'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar, Limerick
Thurs. 4th Nov 2010 8.00pm

The next monthly 'On The Nail' literary reading takes place Thursday 4th Nov 2010 at 8.00pm in The Locke Bar, George's Quay, Limerick
.
Organised by The Limerick Writers' Centre this popular monthly reading and open-mic continues to attract audiences with a mix of poetry, prose and music.

This Month (November) our Guest Readers are Grace Wells and Susanne O’Leary


Grace Wells' first book, 'Gyrfalcon', a novel for children, won the Eilis Dillon Best Newcomer Bisto Award and was an International White Ravens' Choice. A second children's novel Ice-Dreams was published by the O'Brien Press in 2008, while 'One World, Our World' a development education book for Irish Aid, has recently been launched by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Her poetry and short stories have appeared widely and been broadcast on RTE. She was selected for Poetry Ireland's Introductions Series 2003, was shortlisted for the Start Chapbook Prize '06 and the Charlie Byrne New Writer of the Year '07, and took third place in the '07 Patrick Kavanagh Award. Her first collection of poems, When God has been Called Away to Greater Things was recently published. She reviews Irish Poetry for 'Contrary', the University of Chicago's online magazine.

Susanne O’Leary is Swedish, married to a former Irish diplomat., and lives in Co. Tipperary. She has written two non fiction books, published by Gill&Macmillan in 1999 and 2000, respectively and four novels. She has also recently completed a historical novel, based on an old scandal in her family. After that, she co- wrote a detective story with another Swedish writer, who also wrote some of the scripts for the famous ‘Wallander’ series. Her agent has great hopes for this and it’s now out with a number of publishers. She will read from her new novel Swedish for Beginners.
Everyone is invited to take part in the open-mic after the main event, poets, storytellers, musicians and writers . Even if you don't write you are welcome to bring something along to read. The night begins at 8.00pm and there is free admission and free finger food for everyone attending. So join us on the night and make this event something special.
NOTE: Our special authors book table will again be in operation, so if you want your book, CD's etc publicised make sure you are represented on the table. Contact Dominic Taylor at 087 2996409 to make arrangements.
Further information contact: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 email
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com web http://onthenailreadings.blogspot.com
To view videos of Oct reading go to: http://www.youtube.com/onthenailreadings

Sunday, September 12, 2010

'On The Nail' Reading Thurs.7th Oct 2010


'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar, Limerick
Thurs. 7th Oct 2010 8.00pm


The next monthly 'On The Nail' literary reading takes place Thursday 7th Oct 2010 at 8.00pm in The Locke Bar, George's Quay, Limerick

Organised by The Limerick Writers' Centre this popular monthly reading and open-mic continues to attract audiences with a mix of poetry, prose and music.

This Month (October) we Launch Revival Poetry Journal No 17 plus Guest Readers Matthew Sweeney and Roisin Meaney ( new novel Love In The Making will be launched by Mags Haugh of Spotlight Stage School on the night).

Matthew Sweeney was born Co Donegal, Ireland, 1952. Lived for many years in London, and more recently in Romania and Germany but returned to UK and Ireland frequently for work and earnings purposes. Since late 2007 he has been based in Cork. As well as publications mentioned elsewhere, work is increasingly appearing in translation. Has lived as a freelance writer since the mid 1980s.

Roisin Meaney was born in Listowel, Co Kerry. She started her working life as an elementary school teacher in 1980. Her first novel, The Daisy Picker, which won the ‘Write a Bestseller’ competition that Tivoli publishers were running to launch themselves. Seven years and five novels later, she gave up teaching to concentrate on fulltime writing.

To date she’s written six adult novels and two children’s books. Three of her novels have made the top five in the Irish bestseller list, one going all the way to the top, and her writing has been translated into German, Spanish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Her latest adult novel, Love in the Making, will be published in the US in early 2011 under the title Semi-Sweet. Her seventh novel, The Things We Do for Love, will hit Irish bookshelves next February, published by Hachette Books Ireland.

She currently lives in Limerick with two badly behaved cats, and she reads stories to small children every Saturday morning in Limerick City library at The Granary.

Everyone is invited to take part in the open-mic after the main event, poets, storytellers, musicians and writers . Even if you don't write you are welcome to bring something along to read. The night begins at 8.00pm and there is free admission and free finger food for everyone attending. So join us on the night and make this event something special.
NOTE: Our special authors book table will again be in operation, so if you want your book, CD's etc publicised make sure you are represented on the table. Contact Dominic Taylor at 087 2996409 to make arrangements.
Further information contact: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 email
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com web http://onthenailreadings.blogspot.com
To view videos of Sept reading go to: http://www.youtube.com/onthenailreadings

Thursday, August 12, 2010


'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar, Limerick
Thurs. 2nd Sept 2010 8.00pm

The next monthly 'On The Nail' literary reading takes place Thursday 2nd Sept 2010 at 8.00pm in The Locke Bar, George's Quay, Limerick.

Organised by The Limerick Writers' Centre this popular monthly reading and open-mic continues to attract audiences with a mix of poetry, prose and music.

This Months (September) Guest Readers are Nuala Ní Chonchúir (in association with Poetry Ireland) and Gerard Stembridge.

Nuala Ní Chonchúir was Born in Dublin in 1970, and is a full-time fiction writer and poet, living in Galway county. She has published three collections of short fiction, three poetry collections - one in an anthology, and one novel. Nuala holds a BA in Irish from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Translation Studies (Irish/English) from Dublin City University. She has worked as an arts administrator in theatre and in a writers' centre; as a translator, as a bookseller and also in a university library. Nuala teaches creative writing on a part-time basis.

Gerard Stembridge is a writer, director and actor born in 1958 in Limerick. While attending UCD he was auditor of the Literary and Historical Society.
He co-created the Irish radio comedy programme Scrap Saturday (satirical comedy series) with Dermot Morgan. Films as Writer/Director - Guiltrip (1996); About Adam (2000); Alarm(2008). As Writer only - Ordinary Decent Criminal (1999); Nora(2000). TV films: The Truth about Claire(1990); Black Day at Black Rock (2001); Les Européens (2005) ARTE. Novels: According to Luke (2006); Counting Down (2009).
Everyone is invited to take part in the open-mic after the main event, poets, storytellers, musicians and writers . Even if you don't write you are welcome to bring something along to read. The night begins at 8.00pm and there is free admission and free finger food for everyone attending. So join us on the night and make this event something special.

NOTE: Our special authors book table will again be in operation, so if you want your book, CD's etc publicised make sure you are represented on the table. Contact Dominic Taylor at 087 2996409 to make arrangements.

Further information contact: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 email
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com web http://onthenailreadings.blogspot.com
To view videos of August reading go to: http://www.youtube.com/onthenailreadings

Tuesday, July 20, 2010



'On The Nail' Reading @ The Locke Bar, Limerick
Thurs. 5th Aug 2010 8.00pm

The next monthly 'On The Nail' literary reading takes place Thursday 5th Aug 2010 at 8.00pm in The Locke Bar, George's Quay, Limerick.

Organised by The Limerick Writers' Centre this popular monthly reading and open-mic continues to attract audiences with a mix of poetry, prose and music.

This Months (August) Guest Readers are Dave Lordan and Elaine Feeney

Dave Lordan was born in Derby, England, in 1975, and grew up in Clonakilty in West Cork. In 2004 he was awarded an Arts Council bursary and in 2005 he won the Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry. His collections are The Boy in The Ring (Salmon Poetry, 2007), which won the Strong Award for best first collection by an Irish writer and was shortlisted for the Irish Times poetry prize; and Invitation to a Sacrifice (Salmon Poetry, 2010) is just published. Eigse Riada theatre company produced his first play, Jo Bangles, at the Mill Theatre, Dundrum in 2010. He has lived in Holland, Greece and Italy, and now resides in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

Elaine Feeney was born in Galway in 1979. She has been writing since her early teens. In 2006 she won the North Beach Nights Grand Slam and in 2008 won the Cuirt Festival’s Poetry Grand Slam. She is a keen page and performance writer. Elaine has performed at many venues including The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Electric Picnic, The Vilenica Festival and The Cúirt International Literature Festival. She was the chosen writer on a One Sheet collaboration in 2010 with an artist and a graphic designer and this work is currently on exhibit across Dublin. Her work has been translated into Slovene. Elaine lives in Athenry with her partner Ray, and sons, Jack and Finn. Her debut collection of poetry, Where’s Katie, is just published by Salmon Poetry.


Everyone is invited to take part in the open-mic after the main event, poets, storytellers, musicians and writers . Even if you don't write you are welcome to bring something along to read. The night begins at 8.00pm and there is free admission and free finger food for everyone attending. So join us on the night and make this event something special.

NOTE: Our special authors book table will again be in operation, so if you want your book, CD's etc publicised make sure you are represented on the table. Contact Dominic Taylor at 087 2996409 to make arrangements.

Further information contact: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 email
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com web http://onthenailreadings.blogspot.com
To view videos of July reading go to: http://www.youtube.com/onthenailreadings