On Thursday I was guest speaker at IES Dublin for a group of Creative Writing students from the University of Iowa.

I read a short story and an extract from my novel and spoke about my experiences as a fiction writer.

We discussed the benefits of writing programmes, some of the challenges facing new writers, and ways of developing a distraction-free writing routine.

We also chatted more generally about the writing scene in Ireland and I had some recommendations for Irish novels and short story collections that I’ve loved in recent years (there’s so many!), as well as some upcoming submission opportunities that are open to Irish and international entries.

They were an engaging group who asked some great questions and it was a really enjoyable session.