Irish Writers Podcast

Irish Writers Podcast episodes:

• 06.06.2019

  55. The last one

  We're back for one last hurrah. A long rambling conversation about YA, bookshops and the books we're currently reading.  Thanks for the listens. Announcements: The Dublin Writers Conference (21-23 June) have a special offer for listeners - pay for the Saturday and get...

  
• 09.04.2018

  54. Interview with Catherine Kullmann

  This week Máire talks to author of historical fiction Catherine Kullmann. Catherine talks about why she's drawn to the regency period she writes about and how its still relevant to today, and gives some great advice to other writers. You can...

  
• 07.30.2018

  53. Interview with JM Coombs

  Máire met with fellow fantasy author JM Coombs for a chat in the rare Dublin sunshine to talk fantasy, fan fiction and writing full time. James' book Richard Struggle: Evacuate the Masquerade is out now. And you can find more...

  
• 07.16.2018

  52. Interviews with Ann Richardson and Jacky Dahlhaus

  Máire caught up with writers Ann Richardson and Jacky Dahlhaus when they were in Dublin for the Dublin Writers Conference. Ann talks about her non-fiction writing and Jacky talks about her vampire trilogy. Máire's book is available to buy and if you're...

  
• 07.02.2018

  51.News from the Dublin Writers Conference and news of book launch event

  Cathy & Máire chat (with baby Willow) chat about the Dublin Writers Conference. They talk through the experience of the conference and the topics that came up there. Some relevant links: David Gaughran is a digital marketing guru. And though Máire couldn't...

  
• 05.08.2018

  50. Spotlight on After the World

  With Máire's fantasy novella After the World being published today, Kate and Máire sit down to a proper chat about it. Máire talks through her influences in writing this book, where the original idea came from, and how other books and authors...

  
• 04.16.2018

  49. updates, book covers and the Dublin Writers Conference

  Kate and Máire sat down to talk about their latest updates. Kate talks about her new book and Máire talks about the preparation (or lack thereof) in the run up to having a book come out. Máire talks to Laurence O'Bryan...

  
• 11.29.2017

  48. The Second Semi-Annual Writers Retreat

  For the second time we take our podcast out of the urban setting and take inspiration from the rural idyll. In this case the rural idyll was extremely cold, so it wore its hoody indoors the whole time. This is...

  
• 10.05.2017

  47. Everybody Loves Samwise Gamgee

  This week join us around the table as we talk about the challenge of writing moral characters.No one seems to like the goody-goody who always does the right thing and everything in life seems to work out for him. So how...

  
• 09.14.2017

  46. Climate Fiction, 'Hot' New Genre

  This week we consider the emerging sub-genre of speculative fiction, Climate Fiction. This genre explores how characters feel and react to their changed world. We speculate about authors and films we've read and watched to see if they qualify as Climate...

  
• 09.14.2017

  46. Climate Fiction, ‘Hot’ New Genre

  This week we consider the emerging sub-genre of speculative fiction, Climate Fiction. This genre explores how characters feel and react to their changed world. We speculate about authors and films we've read and watched to see if they qualify as Climate...

  
• 08.08.2017

  45. Writing your author bio... in space

  Please rate and review on itunes This week Máire raises the issue of making your author page and how to write a good bio for early stage authors. You can see Cathy's author page at cathycclarke.com and Máire's at mairebrophy.com, Kate...

  
• 08.08.2017

  45. Writing your author bio… in space

  Please rate and review on itunes This week Máire raises the issue of making your author page and how to write a good bio for early stage authors. You can see Cathy's author page at cathycclarke.com and Máire's at mairebrophy.com, Kate...

  
• 07.13.2017

  44. Dungeons and Dragons and Advice

  This week Máire talks about the opportunities for writers in the D&D world - that's the Role Playing Game Dungeons and Dragons - looking at the model of the DM's Guild for selling player written games using the D&D rules....

  
• 06.22.2017

  43. Interview with Sinead Hamill

  This week we have author Sinead Hamill, author of 'Scumbags and Handbags', 'Smiling Vendetta' and the soon to be published 'Dippers'. Sinead talks about her decision to self-publish, where her inspiration comes from and the drive she has to write...

  
• 06.03.2017

  42. It's been too long

  We've been apart for awhile so now we have a lot to say. In this episode Kate tells us about finishing her epic book, Cathy talks about her latest editing and writing group activities and Máire brings us some significant...

  
• 06.03.2017

  42. It’s been too long

  We've been apart for awhile so now we have a lot to say. In this episode Kate tells us about finishing her epic book, Cathy talks about her latest editing and writing group activities and Máire brings us some significant...

  
• 11.25.2016

  41. NaNoWriMo past the half way point

  Two roads diverged in a wood. Kate was on the one that was going somewhere, Maire was not! We're passed the half way point in this recording for NaNoWriMo, and we're quite far apart from each other. Kate is ploughing ahead...

  
• 11.08.2016

  40. NaNoWriMo Day 7

  It's one week into NaNoWriMo, and we discuss where we're at. Kate is getting into it working out her treatment, and Maire has faltered and changed tracks, and not sure if she'll change tracks again. We are still writing, and...

  
• 11.02.2016

  39. NaNoWriMo... And they're off!

  The second episode of our nano podcast series was recorded on day 2 of NaNoWriMo. We meet in a surprisingly jazz filled room (just imagine us in black and white) to check in and see how the current project is...

  
• 11.02.2016

  39. NaNoWriMo… And they’re off!

  The second episode of our nano podcast series was recorded on day 2 of NaNoWriMo. We meet in a surprisingly jazz filled room (just imagine us in black and white) to check in and see how the current project is...

  
• 10.30.2016

  38. Prepping for NaNoWriMo

  This is the first in our nano series of nano podcasts about NaNoWriMo. Kate and Maire signed up to NaNoWriMo.org and have committed to writing 50,000 words in the 30 days of November... although we feel the actual number of...

  
• 10.27.2016

  37. Interview with Kevin Curran

  Author Kevin Curran talk to Irish Writers Podcast this week about his books Beatspoiltation and Citizens. Citizens, published earlier this year, tells a personal story of the 1916 Easter Rising juxtaposed with life in modern day Ireland. We talk about where...

  
• 10.13.2016

  36. Walking Around

  By nature we are innately curious as human beings. Exploration is in our genes. And what better world to explore than our own cities, beckoning us from the doorstep? In literature there seems to be an absence of women 'wandering'...

  
• 09.30.2016

  35. Fan Fiction and Ghostwriting

  In this episode Cathy brings up the topic of fan fiction. Are we fans of fan fiction? There are some authors who have gone beyond influence to actually imitating well-known authors. We discuss the tension of finding your own voice while being...

  
• 09.15.2016

  34. Interview with Caitriona Lally

  This week I speak to author Caitriona Lally. Her debut novel Eggshells was released in 2015. We talk about a sense of place, comparisons with Joyce and the challenge of writing the second novel. Presented and produced by Máire Brophy

  
• 09.01.2016

  33. Intro to Season 2

  We're back after the summer for our second year of podcasting. In this episode we finally talk about the writers retreat we had back in May and then get on to the business of the writing update. Kate talks about...

  
• 05.12.2016

  32. Interview with Catherine Ryan Howard

  On this week’s episode we meet with author Catherine Ryan Howard, whose debut fiction novel Distress Signals was released last week. While this is Catherine’s first fiction publication, she is an experienced writer with three self-published non-fiction books under her belt already. She...

  
• 05.05.2016

  31. Inspired by Roland

  HI everyone! In this episode we get inspired by Roland Evan's conversation and talk about how we want to incorporate his simple but brilliant advice and creative retreats into our own writing process. We also comment on names and their...

  
• 04.28.2016

  30. Conversation with Roland Evans

  Hi, This week we have the privilege of hearing from Roland Evans author of The Marshland Chronicles, a dystopian fantasy and coming of age novel. Roland was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2010 which gave him incentive to finish...

  
• 04.21.2016

  29. Rethinking Novellas

  This week we reconsider what we’ve been told about writing novellas – that is not to do it – and examine what novellas are, how to write them, where they can be published and who likes to read them. As...

  
• 04.14.2016

  28. The Joanne Clancy Affair

  This week we talk about the story that’s a fire all over the writing world. Eilis O’Hanlon published an article in theIrish Independent about how she discovered her published novels were stolen and available for sale on kindle under the name...

  
• 04.07.2016

  27. Writers Update & Sharing with Others

  This week we give an update on our writing and how we are (slowly, ever so slowly) progressing. Kate also shares with us an experience she had sharing her writing process with a creative group based in Dublin. We hope you enjoy listening.   Presented...

  
• 03.10.2016

  26. International Literature Festival Dublin

  This week 2/3 of the podcast team attended the Town Hall meeting called by the International Literary Festival Dublin to discuss the upcoming event. In this podcast we discuss the outcomes of that meeting for those who could not attend...

  
• 03.03.2016

  25. Fantastic Writing, Writing Fantasy

  This week we focus on writing fantasy. Kate is a practiced hand and Máire's just begun, so we go through Melissa Kelly’s Top Eight Rules For Writing Fantasy http://fantasy.fictionfactor.com/articles/fantasyrules.html and talk about what we’ve done, what we have yet to do,...

  
• 02.25.2016

  24. Pirate Love & Historical Fiction

  This week we chat about Historical Fiction, what it is and how to write it best.   We hope you enjoy listening.   Presented by Cathy Clarke, Kate Mulholland and Máire Brophy. Produced by Cathy Clarke. Music by Gavin Mulhall

  
• 02.18.2016

  23. Why do we write?

  In this episode we discuss George Orwell's motivations for writing which he documented in his essay Why I Write : http://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw      Presented by Cathy Clarke, Kate Mulholland and Máire Brophy. Produced by Cathy Clarke. Music by Gavin Mulhall

  
• 02.11.2016

  22. A Sense of Place

  This week we discussed 'a sense of place' - how to achieve it, how to describe it, what are the obstacles?     Presented by Cathy Clarke, Kate Mulholland and Máire Brophy. Produced by Cathy Clarke. Music by Gavin Mulhall

  
• 02.04.2016

  21. The Milkisode

  At the start of 2015 our writers group set out individual goals... it's time to face the music and see if we did what we said we'd do. Some things roll over into our 2016 goals, and we set the...

  
• 01.28.2016

  20. The One With All The Feedback

  WE’RE BAACCCK! Happy New Year… It’s taken us almost a month to recover from our Christmas hangover, but the good news is that we have been writing. The even more advanced news is that Cathy and Máire have been engaging...

  
• 12.10.2015

  19. Happy Holidays! We will be back in Jan

  This week we have a 'lively discussion' (read: argument) regarding the takeaways from the Queen Mary University of London paper called The Business of Being an Author: A Survey of Author's Earnings and Contracts. However we make friends again in time to discuss our...

  
• 12.03.2015

  18. Rom-Coms & 2016

  This week after our writing update we discussed Romantic-Comedies, asking the question “how does one write an authentic Irish love story while adhering to the Hollywood beats of a Rom-Com?”. We also discussed the 2016 calendar, looking at some competitions and...

  
• 11.26.2015

  17. The Special Snowflake That Farts Rainbows?

  This week, we get an update from Maire and Kate on their adventures in NaNoWriMo.  We discuss short stories (and ask really, what’s the point?). And despite it being a little bit early we talk about possible Christmas Presents for...

  
• 11.19.2015

  16. A Good Cry

  In this episode we disclose our struggles of the mid-edit blues and the lack of motivation both Maire and Kate are feeling at this stage. Cathy chimes in as the voice of the therapist, having pushed through her editing to...

  
• 11.12.2015

  15. Interview with Oran Doyle

  This week Máire met with Oran Doyle, an aspiring writer with a fair few writing achievements under his belt already. Oran was drawn to writing from a young age, and focused on film. He has had several shorts funded and made...

  
• 11.05.2015

  14. The Grand Opening and NaNoWriMo

  This week the discussion revolved around the opening lines. We looked at good and bad examples from a range of authors and then took these learnings to see how our own openings would fare under intense scrutiny.   We also discussed the...

  
• 10.29.2015

  13. Making people care

  While still trying to repress our coughs and sneezes, this week we tackled one of the core challenges of writing – how do you make people care? We discuss how to make likeable, relatable protagonists, how to build emotional attachments...

  
• 10.22.2015

  12. Totally sick episode

  In between coughs, snuffles and sneezes, this week we started out talking about the importance of book covers. Then Kate, in her usual philosophical manner, posed us a beardstroker about the muse, and we thrash out what we think it...

  
• 10.15.2015

  11. Telling an untold tale, and borrowing from past masters.

  This week, following Viola Davis’ acceptance speech at the Emmy’s, we discuss diversity, women and how to open up those opportunities. We also discuss reinventing the wheel; what do we do when we get stuck writing a particular scene we...

  
• 10.08.2015

  10. Into the Double Ds

  In celebration of making double digits (episode 10!), we have an extended episode this week.   We started with a discussion of the rules of our different writing genres.    Kate started us off, discussing the rules of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but we side-tracked...