Friday, January 2, 2009

Literary Highlights 2008


1. Lucan Writers win 2nd best writer's group in the whole country at Longfords writer's group festival

2. Began and facilitated the Lucan Teen Writer's Group with a lot of help and support from the talented folk in Ireland's 2nd best writer's group. Seriously would advise anyone, who wants to take writing seriously, to set up a writer's group for teens in your area now. Forces you to think about writing kind of seriously at least once every 2 weeks, has done alot for me. Plus you can steal their stuff. Ok maybe not. But it is one of the best things I've ever done.

3. Won a trip to Ennis Book Club Fest, for a 100 word bit about book clubs, got in free to see lots of great writer's talking, workshopping etc, brilliant.

4. Got a poem published in a book. First poem of mine published. Ever.

5. Volunteering at Dublin Writer's Fest, got to see another load of writers talking for free. And got to meet and sit in a taxi with David Grossman. He's huge in Israel. An amazing man. He read Ulysses before he came over cos it was his first time in Ireland. He writes fiction and fact, and told me he cannot write a shopping list when he's writing a novel. Anyway - another good idea for writerly people - think I'll be volunteering again this year. Plus you get to stand around wearing black and telling people where to sit. Lovely crowd volunteered at it too.

6. Another publication - a story and recipe about my mother's pizza.

7. Began this blog - instant gratification for self publication, ok sometimes it's a bit dodge, but has me hooked now. Am gonna try and change the quality/ quantity balance in the coming year tho.

8. My first, second and third ever public readings of my private poems. First one in the ballroom in Farmleigh - magic.

9. Finished the first rather shaky draft of my first shaky novel (IF AND ONLY IF you don't include my masterpiece "Billy got married" written in the cursive on a music copy book in 1983 or so, which was of course my first real novel). What's it about? It's about 120 thousand words, and it makes no sense at all... yet - a work in progress.

10. The proudest literary moment of the year by far has to have been the launch of the infamous first ever "International Put your Poem in a Shop" Month. (Where 'proudest' refers to 'most largely ignored', and 'infamous first' refers to 'heartbreakingly dissappointing first and last ever' - and I do mean to include the 2 evers there.)


Quite a year. I'm not sharing any thoughts on goals or ambitions for 09, because you'll only read this in 12 months time and laugh or cry very loudly, and I wouldn't have that on my conscience.

11 comments:

Colm Keegan said...

Regarding no. 10 - you get to say to say: Niamh Bagnell's Poetry...in shops now.

And with regards to Posted Poetry - poems take longer because unlike curries, they don't grow on trees you know.

Anonymous said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Niamh B said...

Yeah - on pt 10, it'd be more accurate to say - poetry in bins now - since they're gone from the shops at this stage. But I can still say the same about point 4, so that's ok.
Poems growing on trees - think we have a new monthly theme there? Maybe not.

swiss said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
swiss said...

my deletion because even by my crap ass standards the typing was terrible. but anyway...

poems growing on trees is a lot simpler and less intinsically dodgy than my poems in toilets project

you can go out on a summer's day ( i say this because i've already done it) and create a rather lovely poem tree by hanging your missives from the branches. very nice in a willow. very mellow, deeply satisfying

Niamh B said...

OK, Poems growing on trees, a one day event, sometime in the summer perhaps...
Coming to a willow near you!

Emerging Writer said...

I've been meaning to ask, what was involved in volunteering at the Dublin Writers Festival? Was it much time? What kind of hours? I just can't afford the ticket prices this year...

Niamh B said...

They were pretty flexible to be honest, you could do as little or as much as you wanted, (I was working in wicklow at the time, so didn't manage to do that much).
Deffo would highly recommend it.

Niamh B said...

The Dublin Writers’ Festival 2009 will be held from Tuesday 2nd till Sunday the 7th of June.

The full programme of events and participants will be announced in April 2009 and tickets will also go on sale from this date.

Stay tuned by joining our mailing list to receive all the latest festival news, developments and details of the upcoming programme by email. Please enter your details on the right hand side of the page

If you would like to be a volunteer for the festival, please contact Léan Ní Chléirigh at nichlels@tcd.ie

Emerging Writer said...

I emailed to volunteer and told them my availability but haven't heard anymore since

Niamh B said...

I just heard back myself - think those who volunteered last year will get in first, but hopefully you'll get in too! It's really great fun