Events

In June this year Nicola was announced as the Meath Writer-in-Residence for 2020. The role involves a number of outreach projects to encourage writing and reading in County Meath. In September, Nicola is running four online webinars to help up and coming writers get started and move forward with their craft. The webinars are free to attend, but you must register to join in the live event. The webinars will cover the short story, screenplay, novel and podcasting. Below you will find details of each of the webinars and a link to where you can book your place. If you have any queries about these events please email meathlibrariessocial@meathcoco.ie

Join 2020 Meath Writer-in-Residence Nicola Cassidy for a webinar on the art of the short story. In this session, Hennessy New Irish Writing Winner Michelle Coyne will discuss the inspiration behind her short stories and look at how you can improve your chances of making it to a competition shortlist. What are the elements that make a ‘good’ short story? How can you create work that stands out? And who are the greatest short story writers we can learn from today?

In 2015 Michelle won the Listowel Originals Short Story Award. In 2016 she won the Short Fiction Journal Competition and placed runner-up in the Doolin Writer’s Weekend Short Story Competition. In 2017 she was highly commended in the Colm Toibin International Short Story Award and a year later was placed runner-up in the Penguin Ireland / Sunday Business Post Short Story Award and named Hennessy New Irish Writing Winner. She has been published in a number of literary magazines, including; Crannóg, Wordlegs, Silver Apples, and Ropes.

Join 2020 Meath Writer-in-Residence Nicola Cassidy for a webinar on writing a screenplay. In this session, Nicola will host award winning writer and story consultant Mary Kate O’Flanagan to discuss the process of preparing projects for screen. How is a screenplay different to other dramatic works? What mistakes do first time screenwriters make and how can they be avoided? And what films should all budding screenwriters watch and learn from?

Mary Kate O Flanagan is an award-winning writer and story consultant working in the film and television industry. She works with writers in The UK, The US, South Africa, and across Europe. She has designed and delivered training in Storytelling On The Screen in The Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, The UK and The US as well as in her native Ireland.

Mary Kate works as a credited co-writer and an uncredited script doctor. With her sister Rachel O’Flanagan, she gives training in the storytelling skills for professionals in cinema and television. They are particularly interested in the stories individuals and entities tell about themselves and how those stories inevitably shape their futures. You can see more about their work on www.adramaticimprovement.com Mary Kate was Ireland’s First Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth. She was also a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at The Dublin StorySlam.

Join 2020 Meath Writer-in-Residence Nicola Cassidy for a webinar on writing the novel. In this session, bestselling crime author Andrea Mara will discuss her techniques for planning, plotting, writing and editing her novels. She’ll offer tips for budding novel writers and talk about the world of publishing. What does it feel like to make the bestseller list? Where does she get her inspiration? And does everyone really have a book in them?

Andrea Mara is a crime novelist from Dublin, Ireland, where she lives with her husband and three young children. Her first book, The Other Side of the Wall, was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award 2018 and was recently an Amazon number one bestseller in Irish Crime. Her second book, One Click, was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2018 An Post Irish Book Awards, and a recent number one on Amazon in Irish Crime and Northern Irish Crime. Her third novel, The Sleeper Lies, published in February 2020, was an Irish Times Top Ten Bestseller. Andrea also runs multi-award-winning parent and lifestyle blog, OfficeMum.ie.

Ronan McQuillan is a musician, composer, producer and sound designer. He holds a diploma in communications and media production and completes a masters in audio production and technology in 2020. He has worked with world leading brands to produce music for advertising campaigns across TV, radio and interest broadcasting such as Coca-Cola, Playstation, Manchester Utd, and Unilever. He is the producer of Celtic Soul podcast. He is currently developing a new podcast studio and training centre for the North East of Ireland. For more see www.ronanmcquillan.com

Join 2020 Meath Writer-in-Residence Nicola Cassidy for a webinar on writing a podcast. In this session, Nicola will host podcast producer Ronan McQuillan to discuss how to go about setting up a podcast from scratch. What type of podcast should you aim to produce? How do you record, edit and ensure your sound will keep listeners hooked? And, in a competitive market place, how can you make your podcast stand out?