CONFERRING AT BELFIELD 2009
Colin Barrett, Susan Stairs, Claire Coughlan and Anne Graham, some graduates from the class of 2009, after conferring in the O'Reilly Hall, 9 December 2009.
ERIKA MEYERS, MA STUDENT, WINS MAJOR LITERARY AWARD
The editors of two of
Erika is an English major graduate of
Flanagan has described the award winning novel: “Erika Meyers’ Kafkaesque fable gives us a contemporary America of disappearing prosperity, endangered jobs, and fragmented families as witnessed specifically in the city grit of Cleveland, Ohio….Free of caricature, Strangers in America is peopled with individuals rich in human complexity ....When you finish Strangers in America, the main character Helena Adamzik will still be there: tough, dead-pan funny, proud and enduring.”
Erika's novel will be published in Spring, 2010.
ANNAGHMAKERRIG POETRY PRIZE 2009
Anne Coughlan was selected as the winner of the Annaghmakerring Poetry Prize for the best poetry portfolio presented for the MA. Dr Pat Donlon, Director, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, was the adjudicator.
PENGUIN IRELAND FICTION PRIZE 2009
Colin Barrett was selected as the winner of the annual Penguin Ireland Fiction Prize, for the best fiction portfolio submitted for the MA in Creative Writing. Brendan Barrington, Editor, Penguin Ireland, was the adjudicator.
STUDENT ANTHOLOGY 2009
The 2009 anthology of writing by the MA students in Creative Writing was launched in October. The volume, A Curious Impulse, includes poems and short stories and is available from all good bookshops and from Amazon.
ISBN 978- 0-9562851-0-2
Praise for A Curious Impulse:
“…Rich, diverse, sparkling… a great testimony to the talents of its twelve contributors.”
- JAMES RYAN
“Creativity, in the best sense of the word. I am proud to have been associated with the class who wrote this collection… Imagination cannot be taught, but it is great to be around when it leaps into action.’’
- ÉILÍS NÍ DHUIBHNE
‘’A set of brilliant mindscapes from Dublin and Belfast and across half of America that delve beyond convention and locale to address the widest human conditions.”
- HARRY CLIFTON
‘’The stories, poems and memoirs in this volume display uniformly an impressive maturity of insight and control of language. We’ll be hearing from these writers again.’’
- KEVIN POWER, AUTHOR OF BAD DAY IN BLACKROCK