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June ruminations.

Hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the year already. It still feels like spring, artistically speaking. Having said that, I have been very busy. My book of stories, The Scattering, was shortlisted for the 2014 Edge Hill Prize - results in July - and I have to say it is an enormous kick to me to be on the same shortlist as John Burnside, a writer I've long admired, ever since I read his short story, The Lime Kiln, in an edition of Granta. His poetry is also some of my favourite written work ever - so I am pretty thrilled to be on the shortlist for this award:

http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/pid/event/edge_hill_short_story_prize_2014

I also had the good fortune to have been asked to be the flagship writer for the first READ/WRITE/PERFORM festival at Clapham's beautiful Omnibus Arts Centre. I really enjoyed working there. I loved the warm reception to my reading event 'Afternoon Tea with Jaki McCarrick' and the reading of my new play THE NATURALISTS was also excellent, thanks to solid direction from Robyn Winfield-Smith and strong performances from Ruairi Conaghan, Martha Barnett and Dylan Kennedy. I'm really looking forward to working on the final draft of that piece and to seeing it staged soon.

In a couple of weeks I am joining Colin Barrett, Claire Keegan and Mary Costello for a talk at the London Short Story Festival where I'll also be reading from The Scattering earlier that day. So if you are in London on Saturday, June 21st - please do come along to Waterstone's Piccadilly and join us for this event.

http://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/events/view/what-is-it-about-the-irish

My next project is a redrafting of BELFAST GIRLS for the play's run in Chicago next year. I am really looking forward to this. And I remain in the world of the BELFAST GIRLS for my screenplay adaptation for which I've already written the treatment etc.

And all the while I am STILL trying to complete my novel, though I think I'm close. My thoughts lately have been on art vs. craft in writing - and I'm quite determined that what I create is art or else what's the point?


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