Some news from the literary world.
Light of Day shines
Irish author Philip Ó Ceallaigh has made the shortlist for the 2009 Cork-City Frank O’Connor Short Story Award with his collection The Pleasant Light of Day published by Penguin Ireland. The €35,000 award is given annually for a collection of short stories. The shortlist, announced this week, was decided by an international jury. Previous winners include Haruki Murakami, Miranda July, Jhumpa Lahiri and Yiyun Li. The prize is organised by the Munster Literature Centre with funding from Cork City Council.
Also shortlisted are An Elegy for Easterly by Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah; Singularity by New Zealand writer Charlotte Grimshaw, whose first short story collection Opportunity was previously short-listed for the Frank O’Connor Award; Ripples and other Stories by Malaysian Shih-Li Kow; Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by American Wells Tower; and Love Begins in Winter by British born Simon Van Booy who now lives in the US.
Philip O Ceallaigh has lived mainly in Bucharest since 2000. He won both a Glen Dimplex Fiction Award and the Rooney Prize for his first short story collection Notes from A Turkish Whorehouse, which was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor award in 2006.
The other shortlisted writers were picked from a long list that included major names such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Chimanda Ngozi Adiche, Ali Smith, Mary Gaitskill and James Lasdun. The winner will be announced in Cork on September 20th at the 10th Frank O’Connor International Short Story Festival. See munsterlit.ie
Bursary for O’Sullivan
Poet Leanne O’Sullivan is the recipient of the 2009 Ireland Chair of Poetry bursary. She was nominated by the current professor of poetry, Michael Longley, and his nomination was confirmed by the trustees of the board of the Ireland Chair of Poetry.
The bursary is awarded annually and enables the winner to spend four weeks at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan. Leanne O’Sullivan was born in 1983, and comes from the Beara peninsula in west Cork. She has published two collections, both from Bloodaxe, Waiting for My Clothes (2004) and Cailleach; The Hag of Beara (2009).
Of her work, Michael Longley said: “These new poems are linguistically abundant. They are full of bold similes and metaphors. Both sensuous and religious, her art is at its most impressive in some remarkable love poems. Love poetry so celebratory and erotic is rare in these cool, cynical times. I admire Leanne O’Sullivan’s technical enterprise and unembarrassed imagination.”
Creative camping
From kick-boxing to cookery, there are classes in everything for children this weather – including creative writing. Novelist Denise Deegan’s Creative Writing Camp offers to guide budding young authors on how to build plotlines and characters – and to develop new ways of writing. They also learn to edit their own work. The one for children aged 7-11 runs from the July 13th to 17th; the one for children aged 9-14 from August 10th to 14th. Based in Glenageary, Co Dublin, they run from 10am to 2pm and cost €120. Contact Denise Deegan on 087-2535277.
Dromineer submissions
The Dromineer Literary Festival is inviting entries for its poetry and short story competitions. Vona Groarke will judge the poetry competition, and David Rice the short story. Prizes for both competitions are €500 for first place, €350 for second place and €150 for third. The closing date for entries is August 7th. The festival takes place from October 2nd to 4th. See dromineerliteraryfestival.ie