Liffey Sound Archive
Posted: March 21, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Liffey Sound, New writing, Niamh Bagnell, Writing 1 CommentThe interview and reading on Liffey Sound 96.4 went very well today – Niamh, a writer herself, knows how to get the best out of her literary interviewees, and encouraged me to think and talk about lots of ideas behind my writing.
I read a couple of extracts from Shiprocked, and two of my short stories “Of Little Consequence” and “Schrodinger’s Bus“.
The full show (an hours long) is available on an archive at http://www.mediafire.com/?3zyhykmndzj
I intended to get a shot of myself and Niamh in the station, but was enjoying myself so much that I forgot!
Steve
Liffey Sound with Niamh on Sunday
Posted: March 20, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Fiction, Irish writing, Liffey Sound, New writing, Niamh Bagnell, Shiprocked!, Writing Leave a commentThis Sunday I’ll be interviewed on a radio show with a difference – the very interesting “Sunday Scrapbook” on Liffey Sound FM hosted by Niamh Bagnell.
Niamh is interesting in her own right (see her blog, ‘Various Cushions‘) and I’ve bumped into her at a couple of readings around Dublin. Her radio show is great for anyone who likes writing or reading, as each week she devotes an hour to really getting under the skin of a Dublin based writer, be they poets, novellists, or mixed bags like myself.
On the show I’ll be reading a couple of short stories, including my first ever piece of fiction, as well as some extracts from Shiprocked, and Niamh will be giving me a thorough grilling.
That’s 4-5pm on Sunday 21st March 2010, Liffey Sound, 96.4fm in West Dublin, or online at www.liffeysoundfm.ie
Steve
Feb 2009 events from Seven Towers
Posted: February 10, 2009 Filed under: Events, Seven Towers | Tags: Chocolate, Cork, Dublin, Irish writing, Love, New writing, non-Fiction, Open Mic, Poetry, Prose, Reading, Seven Towers, Shiprocked!, Tralee, Valentines Day Leave a commentSeven Towers, the Dublin-based publisher and literary agency have a host of events taking place throughout February 2009, in addition to their regular “Last Wednesday” open mic night.
Seven Towers represent me for my forthcoming book “Shiprocked – Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline” which will be published by Liberties Press on March 31st, and I’ll be reading passages from the book at a number of these events.
Highlights for the month:
Wednesday 11th February 9-10 am – Hear Eamon Carr – acclaimed poet, musician and broadcaster and author of The Origami Crow, Journey into Japan, Word Cup Summer 2002 chatting with Dave Fanning on The Tubridy show – about Beat poets, and other interesting happenings – including the publication of Eamon’s first book, the aforementioned The Origami Crow.
First themed reading of 09 Chapters of Parnell Street, Dublin 12 Feb 6.30pm – Valentine’s reading – ‘My love is like . . . ‘ with Barbara Smith, Steve Conway, Oran Ryan, Noel Ó Briain, Ross Hattaway, Anne Moran, Catherine Ann Cullen.
And for anyone spending a Valentine’s weekend in Kerry, there will be a Census launch and Valentine’s reading on the theme of Love and Chocolate in Rueben’s Cafe on Ashe St in Tralee at 2.30 on Sat 14th Feb, with Oran Ryan, Steve Conway, Noel King, John W Sexton, Tommy Frank O’Connor, Eileen Sheehan.
On 18th February (1.15 Chapters of Parnell Street) the lunchtime reading will feature bi-lingual poet Greagoir Ó Duill and Donal Moloney.
Keep an eye out for other events – including 24th Feb 9pm – RÁ performance poetry event at with Raven and Sweeney and special guest this month is London performance poet and rapper Martin Dawes.
And on 23rd February at O Bheal in the Upstairs at The Long Valley, Winthrop Street, Cork, Eamonn Lynskey will be reading and performing.
And on 25th February the Last Wednesday Series Reading and Open Mic at Cassidy’s of Westmorland Street, Dublin, featuring a full lineup of Seven Towers writers and guests. Regular readers include Oran Ryan, Ross Hathaway, Steve Conway, Noel O’Brien, Eamon Lynsky, Donal Moloney and more. Doors open 7pm, admission free, all welcome.
Further details of Seven Towers events at www.seventowers.ie
Steve
Seven Towers anthology supports AWARE
Posted: December 24, 2008 Filed under: Irish writing, Poetry, Prose, Publishing, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Seven Towers | Tags: Anthology, Census, Irish writing, New writing, Old Haunt, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Seven Towers Leave a commentIt’s a strange world – I wait for years to get published, and then end up being published twice within a few months.
While waiting for my book Shiprocked! – which is due around Easter – I’ve in the meantime found myself with a short story published in an anthology of new Irish writing.
“Old Haunt” is a piece I wrote specially for a Halloween open-mic night, and tells the real-life story of my (maybe) encounter with the fabled Ross Revenge ghost on Radio Caroline. This is a story which will not be included in Shiprocked when it comes out.
The new Seven Towers anthology – Census – is well worth a read anyway, because apart from my three pages, it has dozens of great stories, poems and pieces by some really talanted Irish and international writers – see press release below for details. And the publication supports AWARE, so it is for a good cause too.
Steve
PRESS RELEASE
Phantom FM DJ among contributors to Census, The First Seven Towers Anthology
Published 14th December 2008.
Phantom FM DJ Steve Conway is among the contributors in a just
published anthology Census, The First Seven Towers Anthology (Seven
Towers 2008). Steve has contributed a story about his time on the
Ross Revenge radio ship, working for Radio Caroline. Steve’s memoir
about life with Radio Caroline – Shiprocked! will be published by
Liberties Press in March 2009.
(The story in Census is specially for Census “Old Haunt” and is not in
the book!)
Census is available in good bookshops, from www.seventowers.ie, on
www.readireland.ie and at Seven Towers reading events, and for the
trade from Columba Mercer Distributors (www.Columba.ie) It retails at
€15 and €1 from every copy sold will be donated to the charity AWARE.
Other contributors to Census are
Kildare poet Liam Aungier, Meath musician Horslips member),
broadcaster, journalist and poet Eamon Carr, Cork based poet and
screenwriter Paul Casey, Cavan poet and educator Tom Conaty, Dublin
poet, broadcaster and teacher Catherine Ann Cullen, Dublin writer,
journalist, broadcaster and musician Conor Farrell, Wicklow writer
Shane Harrison, New Zealand born, Dublin based poet
Ross Hattaway, Galway poet and journalist Kevin Higgins, New York poet
and novelist R Nemo Hill, Kildare writer Eileen Keane, Kerry actor and
poet Noel King, Oklahoma born, New York based poet Quincy R Lehr,
Dublin born, Kerry based writer Colm Lundberg, Dublin poet Éamonn
Lynskey, Waterford born, Dublin based writer Donal Moloney, Dublin
artist, sculptor and poet Joe Moran, Dublin poet Anne Morgan, Tralee
born, Wexford based actor, director, producer, playwright and poet
Noel Ó Briain, Kerry writer Tommy Frank O’Connor, Cork based artist
and poet Mel O’Dea, Limerick poet Eddie O’Dwyer, Dublin based poet and
playwright Fintan O’Higgins, Dublin based poet Maeve O’Sullivan,
Dublin based poet Jessica Peart, New York poet Ray Pospisil, Dublin
based, San Francisco poet Raven, Dublin writer Oran Ryan, Kerry based
writer John W Sexton, Kerry poet Eileen Sheehan, Armagh born, Dundalk
based poet and essayist Barbara Smith, Cork poet Patricia Walsh and
North Carolina poet Doog Wood.
AWARE is a national voluntary organisation providing support through
depression. The organisation undertakes to create a society where
people with depression are understood and supported, are free from
stigma, and have access to a broad range of appropriate therapies to
enable them to reach their full potential.
Seven Towers Readings, Killarney & Dublin
Posted: November 21, 2008 Filed under: New writing, Publishing, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers | Tags: books, Events, Ireland, Killarney, New writing, Pirate Radio, Publishing, Radio Caroline Leave a commentFollowing on from the news that my book will be published in March 2009 by Liberties Press I will be involved in two readings with Seven Towers during the next week, a special Christmas-themed reading in Killarney in support of AWARE, followed by the usual monthly writers open-mic “Last Wednesday” on November 26th at Cassidys of Westmorland Street, Dublin (7pm).
Details of the Killarney reading below.
Steve
Saturday 22 November 3pm, Dromhall Hotel Muckross Road,
Killarney, Co. Kerry.
Meath born, Dublin based journalist, musician, award winning broadcaster and poet Eamon Carr; Dublin writer and Phantom FM DJ Steve Conway; New Zealand poet Ross Hattaway; Kerry born, Wexford based poet, playwright, director and producer Noel Ó Briain; Kerry poet and novelist Tommy Frank O’Connor; Kerry musician, novelist, playwright, broadcaster, children’s writer and poet John W Sexton; Dublin poet, playwright, screenwriter, novelist Oran Ryan; North Carolina poet Doog Wood.
Winter Chill (reading)
Posted: November 13, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers | Tags: 1980s, books, Dublin, Irish writing, New writing, non-Fiction, Pirate Radio, Poetry, Prose, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Readings, Seven Towers, Writing Leave a commentAlong with my agent at Seven Towers, I’m continuing to work towards getting a publication deal for my book, which covers my involvment with Radio Caroline’s final years at sea in the late 1980s. I can’t comment on these discussions right now, but would hope to be able to announce some positive news in the near future.
Meanwhile tonight (Thursday 13th November 2008) I will be reading from the book at a Seven Towers event in Dublin city centre – details below. The theme is “Winter Chill” so I will be reading a short storm sequence.
Steve
Thursday 13th November, 6.30 Chapters of Parnell St, Dublin 1
Themed reading – ‘Winter Chill’
Friday 14th November 1.15 Chapters of Parnell St, Dublin 1
Barbara Smith holds a BA Hons. Literature just completed, 2007; and will continue with Queen’s University Belfast, with a MA in Creative Writing. Her debut collection of poetry, Kairos, is just published by Doghouse Books. She has poetry and essays published widely and lives in Dundalk, with her partner and six children. Other publications include Poetic Stage (1998).Barbara blogs at http://intendednot2b.blogspot.com/
Seven Towers events for October 2008
Posted: October 14, 2008 Filed under: Events, Fiction, Irish writing, New writing, non-Fiction, Poetry, Prose, Publishing, Seven Towers | Tags: books, Dublin, Irish writing, New writing, Poetry, Politics, Prejudice, radio Leave a commentOctober events from Seven Towers
Prejudice and identity – A Literary dialogue
at 1.15 on Wednesday 15th October
Chapters of Parnell St, Dublin 1
Featuring
Oran Ryan and Doog Wood
Oran Ryan is a novelist, poet and playwright from Dublin. His first two novels, The Death of Finn and Ten Short Novels by Arthur Kruger were published by Seven Towers in 2006. In 2008 Oran was awarded an Arts Council Bursary for his current work, Bradbury. Oran was called “a new and powerful voice in Irish Literature” by Seamus Cashman.
Doog Wood is a Dublin based poet from North Carolina, with a unique and original voice. His work has been published in journals and anthologies all over the world. His first full collection will be published by The Seven Towers Agency in 2009.
__________________
Friday 24th October ,
1.15pm
Chapters and Verse Lunchtime Reading
Chapters Bookstore, Parnell St, Dublin 1
Ross Hattaway, Ann Marie Glasheen, Greagoir O’Duill
Anne Marie Glasheen is a London based poet, photographic artist and translator. She was Poet/Photographer in residence at Peckham Library, May-June 2005, as part of Southwark’s WriteStuff! Literature Festival and in 2005-2006 was Project Programmer of Words Unbound, International Writers Exchange, Canterbury City Council . She won the 2007 Bradshaw manuscript prize and her first collection will be launched in October 2008.
Ross Hattaway was born in Wellington New Zealand, but has lived in Ireland since 1990. He has had many varied jobs and currently works as a civil servant. His first collection of poetry, The Gentle Art of Rotting was published by Seven Towers in 2006. Ross toured Lithuania earlier this year, as part of the Poetry Spring Festival 2008 and his work was translated into Lithuanian.
Greagoir Ó Duill was born in Dublin but grew up outside Belfast. He was educated in Queen’s University, Belfast and UCD and took a PhD in English in Maynooth. He recently moved to Waterford to set up postgraduate creative writing in Waterfor Institute of Technology.
His own work has included eight collections of poetry, two anthologies, a critical biography and a collection of short stories, and he has taken prizes in poetry, short fiction and criticism. His work is widely anthologised and has been translated into the major European languages – most recently with a full-length collection of versions in English by Bernie Kenny called Gone to Earth. He has read from Cork to Stornoway to Palermo to New York.
Greagoir is an Irish language adviser and Irish language reviewer of Poetry Ireland Review. He has recently started to write in English and has been widely published in journals in Ireland, Britain and the United States. New Room Windows is Gréagóir’s first all english poetry publication
__________________
LAST WEDNESDAY OPEN MIC – Wed 29th October 2008
Cassidy’s Westmorland street, 7pm
Journalist, broadcaster, critic, commentator, musician and poet Eamon Carr will be reading from his latest work The Origami Crow,Journey into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002 at the Seven Towers Event – The Last Wednesday Series Reading and open mic on the 29th October 2008 at Cassidys of Westmoreland St, Dublin 2. The event commences at 7.30pm.
As a sports columnist for a Dublin daily, journalist Eamon Carr watched the unfolding drama of the 2002 World Cup finals firsthand in Japan. Yet against the intense public spectacle of media attention following the controversial departure of Ireland captain Roy Keane, Carr followed his own private journey – a lifelong quest to visit the shrines and places of the famed poet Matsuo Basho, recognized master of haiku.
In a volume of spare, elegant prose and his own haiku chronicling impressions and revelations of that journey, Carr explores the deep interrelationships found within the seeming contrasts of ancient and modern, nation and individual, crowd and solitude, loss and victory. Histories, memories and legends, as well as the wry personal observations of the weary working traveller, merge to create this profoundly moving narrative on the universal nature of grace and redemption.
The Origami Crow: Journey into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002 is Eamon Carr’s first collection of poetry and the profundity and depth of the work is a just reward for the long wait. The book is a collection of prose poems and Haiku following Eamon’s life experience, his journey into Japan that fateful Summer to follow the footsteps of Basho and is set against the backdrop of the Irish World Cup experience in Japan in Summer 2002. This is an exciting book because of the beauty of the work itself, and its significance as another important milestone in the work of a great artist and a man who truly has the soul of a poet.
Eamon Carr has been a significant figure in the Irish artistic and cultural scene for many years. In the late 1960s he co-founded Tara Telephone, the music and poetry group of the Dublin beat scene. Tara Telephone published everyone from Marc Bolan to Allan Ginsberg, Brian Patten, Seamus Heaney, Pearse Hutchinson, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, Brendan Kennelly, Adrian Mitchell, Pete Brown in their magazines and broadsheets. The group also ran recitals. Among those who read with Tara Telephone, in addition to Eamon and Peter Fallon were Phil Lynott and Roger McGough. With Jim Fitzpatrick, the group also produced specially designed posters with artwork and poems combined. One of these posters with Eamon’s poem ‘A Tale of Love’ was exhibited in the Tate Gallery, Liverpool, Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era Exhibition in 2005 which also toured in Germany and Austria.
Following on from Tara Telephone, in the 1970’s Eamon co-founded Horslips, the hugely influential band which is credited with creating the musical genre known as Celtic Rock, and in which he is also a drummer, conceptualist and lyricist. Eamon has also promoted musicians and artists, and works as a journalist, writer and commentator on culture, politics, arts, music and sport as well as an award winning broadcaster. He was born in Co. Meath and lives in Dublin.
Other readers at the event are
Featured Readers: Phantom FM DJ Steve Conway, Waterford writer Donal Moloney, New Zealand born poet Ross Hattaway, Kerry born Wexford based producer, director, actor, playwritght and poet Noel Ó Briain, Dublin novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter Oran Ryan, North Carolina poet Doog Wood, Dublin poet Eamonn Lynskey and poet Patrick Chapman
Patrick Chapman was born in 1968. His poetry collections are Jazztown (Raven Arts Press, Dublin, 1991), The New Pornography (Salmon Poetry, Co. Clare, 1996), Breaking Hearts and Traffic Lights (Salmon Poetry, Co. Clare, 2007) and A Shopping Mall on Mars (BlazeVOX Books, New York, 2008). He has also written a collection of stories, The Wow Signal (Bluechrome, 2007); an audio drama, Doctor Who: Fear of the Daleks; and an award-winning film, Burning the Bed (2003), which starred Gina McKee and Aidan Gillen. He won first prize for a story in the 2003 Cinescape Genre Literary Awards. With Philip Casey, he co-founded the Irish Literary Revival website. He lives in Dublin.
Ross Hattaway was born in Wellington New Zealand, but has lived in Ireland since 1990. He has had many varied jobs and currently works as a civil servant. His first collection of poetry, The Gentle Art of Rotting was published by Seven Towers in 2006. This will be Ross’ first reading in Dublin, after touring Lithuania as part of the Poetry Spring Festival 2008 and seeing his work translated into Lithuanian.
Ross Hattaway was born in Wellington New Zealand, but has lived in Ireland since 1990. He has had many varied jobs and currently works as a civil servant. His first collection of poetry, The Gentle Art of Rotting was published by Seven Towers in 2006. This will be Ross’ first reading in Dublin, after touring Lithuania as part of the Poetry Spring Festival 2008 and seeing his work translated into Lithuanian
Eamonn Lynskey has had poems published in many magazines. He was nominated for the Sunday Tribune/Hennessy Literary Award for New Irish Poetry in 2006 and one of his poems will feature on the 2009 OXFAM calendar. His first collection Dispatches and Recollections was published in 1998 and he is currently working onhis second. As well as writing in English, Eamonn has also translated works of Italian poets Montale and Valeri and written in Italian – he holds, (among other qualifications!) a Diploma in Italian Lauguage and Culture from the Italian Institute, Dublin.
Dónal Moloney was born in 1976 and comes from Waterford. He has been writing seriously for ten years, during which time he has written a novel, several novellas and many short stories and poems. He is currently completing a collection of three novellas. He works as a freelance translator and lives in Dublin. He is a regular featured reader at both Chapters and Verse Reading Series and The Last Wednesday Reading and Open Mic Series. Donal is represented by The Seven Towers Agency.
Noel Ó Briain was born in Kerry, grew up in Dublin and now lives in Camolin, Wexford. He is a playwright and poet and a former head of drama at RTE. He has worked for many years in theatre, radio and television as an actor, producer/director, designer and script editor.He played the part of Cranly in the premier of Hugh Leonard’s Stephen D (an adaptation of Joyce’s Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man) at the Gate Theatre. He also played the part of the IRA officer in the premier of Brendan Behan’s An Giall in the Damer Hall in Dublin and designed the set for this production. The play was later translated into English as The Hostage and staged at The Royal Theatre Stratford by Joan Littlewood.He has produced and directed many plays in the Damer Hall under the auspices of Gael Linn. Among others these included Gunna Cam agus Slabhra Óir by Seán Ó Tuama and Aggiornamento by Chriostóir Ó Floinn. He also designed the sets for these and many other production. He has directed Ulick O’Connor’s Noh Plays at The Project. As a Radio Producer his drama productions have been selected as RTE’s entries for the Prix Italia.
He has won a National Jacob’s Award for his production and adaptation of Seán Ó Tuama’s Judas Iscariot agus a Bhean.
He has worked as Producer, Director, Series Producer and Script Editor in numerous television one-offs, series and serial drama, often combining several of these skills in one production. These have included The Riordans, Bracken (which launched the career of Gabriel Byrne) Glenroe and Ros na Rún among many others. He also produced and directed the controversial series The Spike until it was withdrawn by RTE itself after complaints from the League of Decency and State interference. He has participated in a documentary in the Scannal series on RTE which deals with well known Irish scandals – including The Spike! (to be transmitted in Autumn 2008). He has won the Celtic Film Festival Drama Award for his production of Tom Murphy’s screenplay, Brigit. He has devised and conducted numerous screenwriting courses. Among these was the initial course for the development of new writers for the series Ros na Rún on TG4. He has conducted several screen acting courses both independently and for the Gaiety School of Acting. His poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary magazines including The Kilkenny Magazine and Poetry Ireland. They have also been broadcast on radio in the short story slot and on Sunday Miscellany. His poetry collection Scattering Day 21 Sonnets and Other Poems was published by Seven Towers in 2007.Noel has two plays currently completed:
The Land of She: An adapted for theatre translation of Brian Merriman’s Cuirt on Mhean Oiche, this hillarious play is written for five parts.
He has also completed a short verse play inspired by Synge’s Deirdre of The Sorrows, entitled Áinle and Árdán Are Already Dead.
Oran Ryan is a novelist, poet and playwright from Dublin. He has had poems, short stories and literary critical articles published in various magazines. His first two novels, The Death of Finn and Ten Short Novels by Arthur Kruger were published by Seven Towers in 2006. He is currently working on his fifth novel and had three plays and two screenplays in pre-production. Oran won a 2008 Arts Council Bursary Award.
Doog Wood is a Dublin based poet from North Carolina. His poetry has been widely published in journals and anthologies. His first full collection will be published by The Seven Towers Agency in 2009.
And of course, myself . . .
Steve
WLR interview tomorrow
Posted: October 7, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, Irish writing, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Somewhere Down The Crazy River | Tags: books, Ireland, Irish writing, New writing, Pirate Radio, radio, Radio Caroline, Waterford Leave a comment
Still in pre-publication negociations, but I’ll be on WLR FM’s drivetime show with Geoff Harris tomorrow (Wednesday 8th October 2008) to chat about my forthcoming book Somewhere Down The Crazy River – Life on The Waves With Radio Caroline.
WLR is the licenced local station for waterford city and county, and can be heard on 95.1fm as well as 97.5, and via the internet at wlrfm.com
WLR, like Phantom, is a pirate station gone legal, and a great listen if you are ever in the south east of Ireland.
The intervierw is scheduled to run sometime between 6 and 7.
More news on the book as and when . .
Steve
Somewhere On The Waves
Posted: September 26, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, 1987, New writing, offshore, radio, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers | Tags: books, Irish writing, New writing, Pirate Radio, radio, Radio Caroline Leave a commentGreat to see some interest being expressed in my recently finished book Somewhere Down The Crazy River – Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline even as my agent Seven Towers work towards finding a suitable publisher.
A couple of radio interviews are lined up over the next few weeks – details here once timings confirm – and the project also gets a mention in the latest edition of Hotpress magazine as a footnote to an item on the launch of Eamon Carr‘s new book The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002. Eamon is another Seven Towers author, broadcaster and former member of Horslips.
The mention of my book in Hotpress is probably thanks to it’s Deputy Editor Stuart Clarke, who has more than a passing interest in things Caroline related – when I arrived on the ship for the first time in February 1987 to take up the position of newsreader, it was to take over the role recently vacated by Stuart himself.
Lots more activity around the book, and extra readings around the country over the next few months, and hopefully, there will be more to tell on the publication front soon.
Steve
Last Wednesday: Shipwrecked
Posted: September 23, 2008 Filed under: Events, Fiction, Irish writing, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Poetry, Prose, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Seven Towers, Somewhere Down The Crazy River, storms at sea | Tags: books, Goodwin Sands, Irish writing, New writing, offshore, radio, Radio Caroline, RTE, storms at sea 1 CommentIt’s that time again – the monthly “Last Wednesday” open-mic evening for Irish writers, is on tomorrow, Wednesday 24th September 2008, at Cassidy’s of Westmorland Street in Dublin City Centre.
The event is hosted by the Seven Towers Agency and includes poetry, fiction and nonfiction writing.
Apart from myself, readers will include Doog Wood, Oran Ryan, Eamonn Lynskey, Noel Ó Briain, Donal Moloney and Ross Hattaway.
Ross Hattaway was born in Wellington New Zealand, but has lived in Ireland since 1990. He has had many varied jobs and currently works as a civil servant. His first collection of poetry, The Gentle Art of Rotting was published by Seven Towers in 2006. This will be Ross’ first reading in Dublin, after touring Lithuania as part of the Poetry Spring Festival 2008 and seeing his work translated into Lithuanian.
Eamon Lynskey has had poems published in many magazines. He was nominated for the Sunday Tribune/Hennessy Literary Award for New Irish Poetry in 2006 and one of his poems will feature on the 2009 OXFAM calendar. His first collection Dispatches and Recollections was published in 1998 and he is currently working onhis second. As well as writing in English, Eamonn has also translated works of Italian poets Montale and Valeri and written in Italian – he holds, (among other qualifications!) a Diploma in Italian Lauguage and Culture from the Italian Institute, Dublin.
Dónal Moloney was born in 1976 and comes from Waterford. He has been writing seriously for ten years, during which time he has written a novel, several novellas and many short stories and poems. He is currently completing a collection of three novellas. He works as a freelance translator and lives in Dublin. He is a regular featured reader at both Chapters and Verse Reading Series and The Last Wednesday Reading and Open Mic Series. Donal is represented by The Seven Towers Agency.
Noel Ó Briain was born in Kerry, grew up in Dublin and now lives in Camolin, Wexford. He is a playwright and poet and a former head of drama at RTE. He has worked for many years in theatre, radio and television as an actor, producer/director, designer and script editor.
He played the part of Cranly in the premier of Hugh Leonard’s Stephen D (an adaptation of Joyce’s Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man) at the Gate Theatre. He also played the part of the IRA officer in the premier of Brendan Behan’s An Giall in the Damer Hall in Dublin and designed the set for this production. The play was later translated into English as The Hostage and staged at The Royal Theatre Stratford by Joan Littlewood.
He has produced and directed many plays in the Damer Hall under the auspices of Gael Linn. Among others these included Gunna Cam agus Slabhra Óir by Seán Ó Tuama and Aggiornamento by Chriostóir Ó Floinn. He also designed the sets for these and many other production. He has directed Ulick O’Connor’s Noh Plays at The Project. As a Radio Producer his drama productions have been selected as RTE’s entries for the
Prix Italia. He has won a National Jacob’s Award for his production and adaptation of Seán Ó Tuama’s Judas Iscariot agus a Bhean.
He has worked as Producer, Director, Series Producer and Script Editor in numerous television one-offs, series and serial drama, often combining several of these skills in one production. These have included The Riordans, Bracken (which launched the career of Gabriel Byrne) Glenroe and Ros na Rún among many others. He also produced and directed the controversial series The Spike until it was withdrawn by RTE itself after complaints from the League of Decency and State interference. He has participated in a documentary in the Scannal series on RTE which deals with well known Irish scandals – including The Spike! (to be transmitted in Autumn 2008). He has won the Celtic Film Festival Drama Award for his production of Tom Murphy’s screenplay, Brigit. He has devised and conducted numerous screenwriting courses. Among these was the initial course for the development of new writers for the series Ros na Rún on TG4. He has conducted several screen acting courses both independently and for the Gaiety School of Acting.
His poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary magazines including The Kilkenny Magazine and Poetry Ireland. They have also been broadcast on radio in the short story slot and on Sunday Miscellany. His poetry collection Scattering Day 21 Sonnets and Other Poems was published by Seven Towers in 2007.
Noel has two plays currently available:
The Land of She: An adapted for theatre translation of Brian Merriman’s Cuirt on Mhean Oiche, this hillarious play is written for five parts.
He has also completed a short verse play inspired by Synge’s Deirdre of The Sorrows, entitled Áinle and Árdán Are Already Dead.
Oran Ryan is a novelist, poet and playwright from Dublin. He has had poems, short stories and literary critical articles published in various magazines. His first two novels, The Death of Finn and Ten Short Novels by Arthur Kruger were published by Seven Towers in 2006. He is currently working on his fifth novel and had three plays and two screenplays in pre-production. Oran won a 2008 Arts Council Bursary Award.
Doog Wood is a Dublin based poet from North Carolina. His poetry has been widely published in journals and anthologies. His first full collection will be published by The Seven Towers Agency in 2009.
My own reading will consist of part of the final chapter of Somewhere Down The Crazy River, which concludes the book by relating the shipwreck of the Radio Caroline ship Ross Revenge on the Goodwin Sands in November 1991.
All are welcome to attend, it’s always a great evening.
Steve
Word Weary
Posted: September 7, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, 1987, Literary Agent, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers | Tags: books, New writing, Pirate Radio, radio, Radio Caroline, Writing Leave a commentI have spent the last 10 days in intensive editing mode, working with Sarah at Seven Towers Agency to get the book completely ready for submission to potential publishers. (to recap – this is non-fiction, my account of my experiences working for the offshore pirate Radio Caroline at the end of the 1980s).
I’ve gone over every inch of the 170,000 or so words, several times, until it’s got to the stage where I hardly know if I am living in 2008 or 1987. So much have I been reliving the Caroline days while editing and re-editing every chapter, page and incident, that I very nearly ID’ed Phantom as Phantom 558 last Sunday!!
But it’s done now, the manuscript is as ready as it will ever be for scrutiny by would-be publishers, and I’m in the lap of the gods (or the hands of my agent) for the next few months as she tests the waters to see what interest there is in it.
Back to the real world so.
Steve
Two Seven Towers events this week
Posted: June 23, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, Events, Fiction, Irish writing, Literary Agent, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Poetry, Prose, Publishing, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers | Tags: Irish writing, New writing, Writing Leave a commentThis Wednesday 25th June 2008 sees the regular “Last Wednesday” open-mic event for writers, hosted by Seven Towers, the Dublin-based small publisher and writers agency who are representing me for my book.
Last Wednesday is always great fun, there is a huge amount of really great new writing featured, including poetry, short stories, and ongoing fiction readings.
Regular readers include Oran Ryan, Noel Ó Briain, & Donal Moloney and there are always many other readers, including some first time readers.
I will be there as usual, reading some excerpts from my own recently completed and as yet unpublished book “Somewhere Down The Crazy River” (non-fiction – my true life account of the last years at sea of Radio Caroline at the end of the 1980s).
Last Wednesday takes place at Cassidys pub in Westmorland Street in Dublin city centre, event starts at 7.30pm.
Later this week, there is another Seven Towers event, “From International Waters”, a series of readings of pieces which explore national and international boundaries and travel, with readers with readers Quincy R Lehr (USA), Roslyn Fuller (Canada), Noel Ó Briain (Ireland), Anamaria Crowe Serrano (Ireland) and others to be confirmed.
This takes place on Sunday 29th June, at 3.30pm in Cassidys.
No entry fee, all welcome.
Steve