Nearly a year ago to the day, Ward Wood Publishing launched its first book, a captivating new novel by an extraordinarily talented writer (ahem) otherwise known as A Clash of Innocents by Sue Guiney. Since then they have published a mix of poetry and fiction, with a new book coming out most every month of the year. It really is an honour and a pleasure to be a part of it all.  And this weekend, four of us are coming together for the first time to do two joint readings of our work in Dublin. I am really incredibly excited about reading alongside these other wonderful writers — Mike Horwood, Noel Duffy and Shauna Gilligan. If you happen to live in or nearby Dublin, I hope you’ll come along and say hi.


Friday 16th September:
This will be a combined prose and poetry event with Mike Horwood reading from his novel, A Finn’s Tale, and his poetry collection, Midas Touch; Shauna Gilligan reading from her forthcoming short story collection, Red Girl; and Noel Duffy reading from his novellas, The Return Journey & Our Friends Electric, and his poetry collection, In The Library of Lost Objects. I´ll be reading from A Clash of Innocents, and from my poetry collection, Her Life Collected.
The venue is the Irish Writers´ Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin. The reading begins at 18.30. but we´ll be there half an hour before to meet the audience and there will be a question time after the readings. Refreshments will be served and books will be on sale. Entry is free.
Saturday 17th September:
All four of us will be reading and chatting in a more informal setting at The Twisted Pepper Cafe which, I hear, serves the best coffee in Dublin. The address is 54, Middle Abbey Street and this will be an afternoon event, starting at 15.00.
Clearly, Ward Wood is not only publishing fine works of literature (if I do say so myself), but is also creating a community of writers which, after nearly a decade in this business, I have come to realise is incredibly important for my own work, not to mention my psyche.
Hope to see some of you there.