Reader and Writers’ Day 9^th October 2004

Over 100 people attended the recent Irish Girls reader and writers’ day in Pearse Street Library in Dublin. Thanks to Jane Alger and the library staff for making us all so welcome in their stunning library.

Sarah XXX

 

My Favourite Books

From left, Sheila, Colette, Anita and Eithne

We asked four women to chose their three favourite books and explain why they love them, with fascinating results. The session was introduced by author Jacinta McDevitt. Here are the books they selected -

Eithne Massey, Librarian - ‘Books that have meant a lot to me over time.’

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Aunt’s Story by Patrick White

Authenticity by Deirdre Madden

 

Sheila O’Flanagan, Author - ‘Universal stories, cleverly written’

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The Complete Works of P G Wodehouse

The Complete Works of Ian Fleming

 

Colette Caddle, Author - ‘Books that mean different things to me for different reasons.’

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Five Quarters of an Orange by Joanne Harris

On Writing by Stephen King

 

Anita Notaro, Author - ‘Here is my roller-coaster ride of books.’

(Ahem, we did say 3, Anita!)

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

An Equal Music by Vikram Seth

Toast and Appetite by Nigel Slater

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (although Anita hasn’t actually read this book she highly recommended it!)

 

After coffee, author and journalist, Martina Devlin interviewed authors Deirdre Purcell and Kate Thompson.

From left - Kate, Deirdre and Martina

Kate writes in the attic of her Dublin house and finds ongoing feedback on her work terribly important. She draws on her own life while writing and feels that her acting experience feeds into her writing. Kate is currently working on a historical novel and is enjoying the research. Kate agreed that intense curiosity was the key to being a successful novelist or journalist.

Unlike Kate, Deirdre won’t let anyone see a line of the book she’s working on before it’s finished. She agreed that writing was a solitary occupation, but pointed out that while writing she is in the ‘company of (her) own ideas’. She said that ‘all writers write autobiography, whether (they) like it or not - all writers draw from their own lives.’

Deirdre passed on some excellent advice that she’d been given by Maeve Binchy. Don’t worry about publishers, covers, what other people think about your work, Maeve told her, just ‘let them at it!’.

 

After lunch, Claudia Carroll, Catherine Daly, Roisin Meaney and Marita Conlon McKenna gave advice to aspiring writers.

 

From left - Claudia, Roisin, Catherine and Marita

Some of the top tips included -

1. Get an agent
2. Be brave - be ready for criticism and rejection
3. Make time to write
4. Keep a notebook with you at all times
5. Try to end each chapter with a hook to keep the reader turning the pages
6. Don’t give up
7. Write a little every day if possible to keep the story fresh in your head
8. Join a writing class/group

 

And finally, in the last session, respected figures from the book world and the book club world gave their thoughts on the topic -
From Chick Lit to Lit Lite: The Changing Face of the Modern Fiction Market and It’s Influences

From Left - Faith, Gemma, Maria, Sinead and Clare Dowling

Gemma Barry MD of Dubray Books said that the big books are getting bigger. She said that launching new authors was becoming increasingly difficult and that the middle market had been greatly reduced. Saying that, Gemma said that the book market in Ireland is extremely bouyant at present and the future for books looks very good. She mentioned television programmes like ‘The Big Read’, Richard and Judy and their influence on sales and also discussed ‘crossover’ books and ‘word of mouth’ books. Gemma’s talk was most stimulating.

Top Irish agent, Faith O’Grady, told the audience that she’s always on the look out for authors with a fresh and unique voice. She also explained how the market goes through different ‘cycles’ and why it is dangerous for first time authors to follow the market too closely. She made some very useful and practical suggestions for unpublished writers.

Eason Books Purchasing Manager, Maria Dickenson talked about the importance of marketing, advertising and publicity. She explained how book awards affect sales and the impact that book clubs have made on the bestseller lists. Maria was involved with the Marianne Finucane Book Club and talked about her experience with the show. She also discussed why book clubs work and why people join book clubs, which made fascinating listening.

Sinead Gleeson from Bibliofemme Book Club talked about her popular on-line book club site and how it came into being. She admitted to feeling a moment of sadness after finishing a book and thinks that book clubs are the ideal way to combat the solitary nature of reading.

After listening to Sinead and Maria talk about their own book clubs, many people said they felt inspired to start their own book club, quite a compliment.

Thanks to all the speakers for making Reader, I Married Him such an interesting and thought provoking day.

There will be another Irish Girls Readers’ Day on 12^th Feb 2005 - more details to follow.