This site is a road map to the world of creative writing at UCC. The School of English offers creative writing at undergraduate, Masters and PhD level. See what we do – check out our blog written by students, see the major names in literature who visit our campus, and explore the numerous courses we offer that redefine and broaden what it is to be a 21st century creative writer.
News and Events
The Amergin Poetry Gathering is back !!!
Featuring UCC School of English Creative Writing graduate, Paddy Bushe, the festival returns on October 28th-31st. In the words of the organisers - ' We are delighted to come ashore again in Waterville for our newly rebranded Éigse na Samhna. It may not be as bright and sunny as our previous June gatherings but we will fire up your creative juices with our excellent programme of events.
On offer we have events such as the Anthony Clare Memorial Session featuring June Shannon and local Cahersiveen Writers. We will have our Galician night of music and poetry, we will have talks on Migration and Identity and a wealth of readings from Ireland’s most renowned poets such as Peter Sirr, Mary O’Donnell, Martina Evans, John W. Sexton, Gerard Smyth, Enda Wyley and many more.
We also will have three mornings of fantastic workshops on topics such as Translating Poetry with Keith Payne, 100 Differences between Poetry and Prose with Peter Sirr, Capturing the Moment with Enda Wyley, Writing the Mind with John W. Sexton, Filíoct Ghaeilge with Gabriel Rosenstock and Calligraphy with Tim O’Neill.
Four days of poetry and song between the Kerry mountain and the sea. Feicimind ann thú!
Full information available on www.amerginpoetry.com
Full pass to all events is €80. Day Tickets cost €30 each. Workshop fee is €60 and workshops participants can enjoy all the festival events at a discounted rate of €40. Visit our website to get your ticket today'
Irish Times' excellent review of UCC Writer-in-Residence Eimear Ryan's novel
Holding Her Breath: A different take on the campus novel
Check out this excellent review of Eimear's novel !
I enjoyed Holding Her Breath. The premise is familiar, but this is an appealing iteration, stylishly written, with strong female voices.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/holding-her-breath-a-different-take-on-the-campus-novel-1.4592836
Writing Tips from Eibhear Walshe, Director of Creative Writing, RTE Radio 1, Saturday 12th June.
Writing tips with Eibhear Walshe
UCC Senior Lecturer in the School of English and Director of Creative Writing Eibhear Walshe shares his writing tips.
Eibhear Walshe's book recommendations:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
The Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oates
On Writers and Writing by Margaret Atwood
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
https://www.rte.ie/radio1/brendan-oconnor/programmes/2021/0612/1227741-brendan-oconnor-saturday-12-june-2021/?clipid=103694979#103694979
Calling Cork Based Writers !!!! An invitation for Cork Words Anthology
An invitation for inclusion in Cork Words Anthology 2nd Edition
As part of a project supported by Cork City Council and Creative Ireland, Cork City Libraries are seeking submissions of existing work from writers living in or from Cork and/or writing inspired by Cork city.
Pieces will be included in the second anthology of CorkWords which will be published in November this year. The anthology will be distributed by representatives of the city on international visits, and will also be given to Cork’s sister cities: Shanghai, San Francisco, Rennes, Köln. The book will also be for sale in Waterstones as well as other locations citywide.
The first anthology published last year was a wonderful success. It was launched by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Joe Kavanagh in Triskel on September 24, 2020. Installations of selected works from CorkWords were located across the city as a literary trail for Culture Night 2020 and the anthology got special recommendation from Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland. With the publication of the second anthology of CorkWords in 2021, we look forward to more in person events as restrictions will hopefully continue to be lifted as we progress through the year.
You are invited to submit:
a) A maximum of three poems
or
b) Prose no longer than 2000 words. Due to space restriction shorter pieces are encouraged and standalone extracts are also invited.
Email your submissions to: patricia_looney@corkcity.ie by Saturday 19 June, 2021.
A small fee will be paid to all selected contributors.