GALWAY READING TONIGHT, BELFAST PICS, MOTHER AMERICA MOBI

Namoredeira from Brazil

I am reading tonight with Seamus Scanlon at the Dominican Hall, The Claddagh, Galway as part of the Artistic Atlas celebrations. I don't read often in Galway so that's kind of fun. 6pm, admission free. Please come!

Marisol Morales Ladrón

Belfast was fab, I must say. Again, I took very few pics (too busy walking, eating and enjoying the sights and shops.) I loved Marisol Morales Ladrón's eco-critical look at my novel YOU, at the IASIL Conference at Queen's University. She was spot-on in her assessment of the importance of the river in the book. It is fascinating to hear your work talked about by academics - they go to the heart of it so much more than critics. Gracias, Marisol :)

Queen's Uni, Belfast

This particular conference is like the queen of Irish Studies conferences so there were lots of the lovely people there whom I met in Brazil last August, including Laura Izarra who brought me the namoredeira above, the statue you see in so many windows in the north of Brazil. Sweet :)

In other news my short story collection Mother America is now available as a mobi file at New Island's page on Small Epic for £4.99 (about €5.80) for all you e-reader readers.

ARTISTIC ATLAS LAUNCH, READINGS AND TRIPS

Atlas inventor Liam Duffy - pages from the book behind him

Sometimes I get lazy and refuse to carry my proper camera to events. I bring my little camera which is light but fairly mediocre, it has to be said. Anyhoo, I was lazy yesterday so herewith a few mediocre pics from the Artistic Atlas of Galway launch last night in the Dominican Hall in the Claddagh. It was great - Sarah Clancy gave a rousing speech on the importance of the arts to Galway. She reminded me of why I first came to live in in Galway by saying it has always been one of those places where it feels like anything might happen and often does.

The Atlas itself is a thing of beauty - my poem is accompanied by a stunning photo of train tracks from John Lawless. All the writers I spoke to were thrilled with the quality of the production.

There were readings, Mexican food, wine and shots. There were writers and a hall chockful of beautiful art (exhib runs all week). All this week writers featured in the Atlas will read at 6pm. Myself and New York based Irish writer Seamus Scanlon read together on Friday at 6pm. The Atlas is for sale at the hall and also online here.

In the meantime I am off to Belfast to hear a paper on my novel YOU from Spanish academic Marisol Morales Ladrón at an Irish Studies Conference. Accompanying me on my trip will be Gerard Stembridge's new novel, The Effect of Her, which I will review on Arena next Monday. I can't wait to get stuck in.

Helen Freeburn and Mary Mullen at the launch

Artwork on exhib by Sylvia Gryczuk

Jimi McDonnell reading

Sarah Clancy launching the Atlas

Artwork 'The Chase' by Aran Young

BVM candle

NEW REVIEW AND 'QUIET' BOOKS

North Carolina based Irish writer Rich Rennicks has just reviewed my novel YOU, which came out three years ago (I can hardly believe it's been three years). Rich reviews it on his blog A Trip to Ireland. I love this about the internet - there is no two-week window for your book to get noticed; there is endless time and scope and space.

A small quote from the review: 'YOU is a quiet, surprising novel, that captures a young girl’s growing perception of the world quite beautifully.' Cheers, Rich, much appreciated :)

As an aside, 'quiet' is a word I often hear about my work. It gets me a bit knicker-knotted because I don't quite get what it means, except I feel I am being told that it is not altogether a good thing to be 'quiet'. The feeling I get is that publishers/reviewers/agents really want fiction a bit more shouty than mine and that's what will make a book a big hit, as opposed to the minor hits that I've had. Anyway, I think, as an introvert, quiet is where I'm at and will continue to be at for a long time to come. For what it's worth, Mr Rennicks didn't seem to think 'quiet' was a negative but others have (agents/publishers who have rejected my work in the past). Anyway, with a publisher I like for my last two books and my next (New Island) and a new agent on the foreshore also, this 'quiet' irritation may belong to the past.