Writers in Residence 2021/22 Oisin Fagan and Ryan Dennis host writing workshops

Writing Fiction with Oisín Fagan

We are immersed in storytelling, and all good storytelling shares basic qualities. During this three-part creative writing workshop we will be exploring and applying a series of techniques vital to the creation of impactful narrative fiction; focusing on plotting, characterisation, dialogue and style by undertaking practical exercises, close reading, and producing short pieces of writing.

Writing Fiction is a practical workshop, so discussion and group work are to be expected. There is no preparatory reading, though a small amount of homework will be required. All attendees must bring is paper and a pen, or a laptop with word processor. The workshop is structured in such a manner as to facilitate and be useful to both beginners and more experienced writers. This workshop is free of charge, but places are limited. Please apply below with your expression of interest.

Oisín Fagan is one the current Writers in Residence at Maynooth University, a partnership with Kildare Library & Arts Services. His collection of stories, Hostages, was published in 2016 by New Island Press, and in 2018 by Head of Zeus. His novel, Nobber, was published in 2019 by JM Originals. It was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and the Butler Literary Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, and named as one of the books of the year by The Guardian and The Daily Mail.

Workshop details: 
Workshops will take place on Tuesday 26th April, Tuesday 3rd May and Tuesday 10th May. 
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Location: Leixlip Library, Co Kildare 
Participants must be available to attend all 3 workshops. 
This workshop is free of charge, but places are limited.  

Submit your expression of interest to participate in the Writing Fiction Workshops.

Applications must be received by 12pm (noon) on Thursday 14th April 2022. 

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Writing the Rural with Ryan Dennis

Writing the Rural will be a 3-part workshop about the craft of writing fiction and nonfiction, looking at specific techniques, and then discussing how these elements apply particularly to writing about rural subjects. In addition to considering concepts such as character development, narrator as character in nonfiction, writing about physical environments, working the central question/conflict and other craft-based aspects of writing, we’ll explore the most accurate and genuine ways to apply these concepts to defining the rural experience.

Ryan Dennis is one the current Writers in Residence at Maynooth University, a partnership with Kildare Library & Arts Services. Ryan is a former Fulbright Scholar in Creative Writing and has taught creative writing at the University of Education, Schwäbisch Gmünd, the National University of Ireland, Galway and Maynooth University. His work has appeared in various literary journals such as The Cimarron Review, New England Review, Fourth Genre, and The Threepenny Review, and his debut novel The Beasts They Turned Away was published in March 2021 by époque press. Ryan is a syndicated columnist for agricultural print journals in four countries and two languages. In 2020 he founded The Milk House, an online initiative to showcase the work of those writing on rural subjects in order to help them find greater audiences. He is currently working on a memoir-based nonfiction book that seeks to explore the factors that led to the decline of family farming.

Workshop details: 
Workshops will take place online (via Zoom) on Tuesday 17th, 24th & 31st May 2022. 
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Participants must be available to attend all 3 workshops. 
This workshop is free of charge, but places are limited.  

Submit your expression of interest to participate in the Writing the Rural Workshops

Applications must be received by 12pm (noon) on Thursday 14th April 2022. 

Applications for Writing Workshops with Writers in Residence 2021/22:
Please apply via the links listed above, with your expression of interest.
Applications must be received by 12pm (noon) on Thursday 14th April 2022. 
Queries in advance to arts@kildarecoco.ie / T: 045 980872.

These workshops take place as part of the the Writer-in-Residence programme with Maynooth University Department of English and Kildare County Council Library and Arts Services 2021/2022.

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