Writing a Best Selling Series with Patricia Gibney
How do you create an original and empathetic character that is strong enough to carry a series? What are the essential ingredients to make sure every book must work on its own as well as part of the series? How many should you write before you approach an agent, and how do you construct a series character arc? Patricia Gibney has sold over a million books, find out her secrets and how to make them work for you!
Pearse Street Library €25
Thursday 31 October, 11.00am-1.00pm
What’s Your Story? Writing from Life with Shane Dunphy
Are you planning to fictionalise elements of your life or write a memoir? Find out the essential first steps and the key techniques of fiction writing that will make your story leap off the page. Shane Dunphy is an Irish and London Times bestseller, and the movie adaptation of his memoir, The Boy They Tried to Hide, is in development with Hollywood production company Rumble Films. His series of non-fiction titles, relating the years he spent as a child protection worker, have been internationally successful and sold in
translation across several territories. These include the Number 1 bestseller Wednesday’s Child, and The Girl Who Couldn’t Smile, which spent five weeks on the London Times Top 10 list.
Pearse Street Library €25
Thursday 31 October, 2.00pm-4.00 pm
Plot the Perfect Murder with Catherine Ryan Howard
Learn how to plot the perfect crime novel with Dagger and Edgar shortlisted crime author Catherine Ryan Howard. This workshop will explore the mechanics of storytelling and the best methods for taking your idea from brain to blurb. Catherine will share each step of her own process, from interrogating the initial idea to getting to ‘THE END’ of the first draft, with lots of Post-It Notes in between. Even if you’re more of a pantser than a plotter, this workshop will offer techniques, tips and tricks that will help you strengthen your storytelling and keep your readers turning the page.
Pearse Street Library €25
Friday 1 November, 11.00am-1.00pm
Breaking Bad with Liz Nugent
Before becoming a full-time writer, Liz Nugent worked in Irish film, theatre and television. At the 2018 Irish Book Awards, Liz enjoyed a rare double success, winning both Crime Fiction Book of the Year and the Ryan Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award for Skin Deep, her third bestseller. Unravelling Oliver and Lying in Wait were previous winners in the same category. In 2017, Liz was named Irish Woman of the Year in Literature. In this Masterclass, Liz will talk about the core principles of writing drama that can apply to tv, radio, cinema or novels. Using the pilot episode of Breaking Bad as a teaching tool, she will examine plot, dialogue, characterisation, structure and awareness of the medium in question. Participants are required to bring only a pen, paper and their imagination!
Pearse Street Library €35
Friday 1 November, 2.00pm-5.00pm
The Killer Pitch with Literary Agent Simon Trewin
Sam Blake chats to Simon Trewin about what catches an agent’s eye, famous hits and misses
and his top ten tips for writing a killer pitch. Giving examples of pitches that worked, find out how to make your book irresistible to a literary agent.
Smock Alley Main Space
Sunday 3 November
5.00pm-6.00pm | €12/€10