Services and Programmes

September

A Month of Stories 

For all information on these and other The Year of the Constant Reader events, see www.constantreader.ie. All events are free

Writers on Film

Monday, 7 September  - Friday, 11 September
Central Library, Grand Parade
1.15 pm           

A lunchtime series of films of the classic Irish short story writers

Monday, 7 Septmber
William Trevor (b. 1928)
From RTE's Writers in Profile series, this is a profile of one of Ireland's leading short story writers and novelists, a member of Aosdána and three times winner of the Whitbread prize.

Tuesday, 8 September
Edna O'Brien (b. 1930)
In the RTE programme My own place Edna O'Brien, widlely acclaimed novelist and short story writer, revisits her birth place Tuamgraney in County Clare.

Wednesday, 9 September 
Gish Jen (b. 1956)
American short story writer Gish Jen reads her own story Who's Irish from her collection of the same name, published in 1999. Jen, married to an Irishman, is also an award-winning novelist in fiction writing.

Thursday, 10 September 
Frank O'Connor (1903-1966)
From the BBC Monitor Series and produced by theatre director David Jones, this is an interview with one of Cork's most famous writers (1961).

Friday, 11 September
Grace Paley (1922-2007)
American short story writer, poet and political activist, Grace Paley reads three of her acclaimed stories: Friends, Love and Mother

Frank O’Connor International Short Story Festival

Wednesday, 16 September - Saturday, 19 September
Central Library, Grand Parade
4.00 pm (unless otherwise stated) 

A varied range of events at the Central Library, Grand Parade as part of the Festival:

• conversations with short story writers Phillip Ó Ceallaigh (Wednesday, 16 September) and Petina Gappah (Thursday, 17 September)
• launch of Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s new short story collection (Friday, 18 September)

O’Connor and Corkery at the Frank O’Connor Library, Mayfield

Wednesday, 2 September - Wednesday, 23 September
each Wednesday, 11.30 am

Join our series on O’Connor and his mentor Daniel Corkery in the Frank O'Connor Library, Mayfield, which serves the area where both writers grew up. 
The full series includes

• Wednesday, 2 September
  Author, Jim McKeon will read and discuss Frank O’Connor’s story News for the Church
• Wednesday, 9 September  
  Frank O’Connor and the Short Story. A talk on Frank O’Connor by Dr. Hilary Lennon, U.C.C.
• Wednesday, 16 September
  Shadows of the Northside in Corkery & O’Connor. Poet Thomas McCarthy will talk about the intimate Northside atmosphere shared by  Daniel Corkery and Frank O’Connor.
• Wednesday, 23 September
  Bringing Michael/Frank to Life. Actor Liam Heffernan reads from the work of Frank O’Connor.

Also during September, the Frank O’Connor Library, Mayfield will host two exhibitions

• Watercolours painted by Daniel Corkery (kindly loaned by the Cronin family)
• Frank O’Connor’s life and work

An evening with Val McDermid

Wednesday, 30 September
Central Library, Grand Parade
7.30 pm (free)

International bestselling crime writer Val McDermid has sold over 11 million books worldwide. Her novels have been translated into twenty six languages across the globe and she has won numerous international and UK literary awards. Val was born in Kirkcaldy, a small town in the heart of the Scottish mining community. Her first novel was published in 1987, and her new novel Fever of the Bone comes out in September.