Conor O'Callaghan Reads Claire-Louise Bennett

In this month's episode of the podcast, Danny Denton is joined by novelist Conor O'Callaghan to read and discuss the essay 'Suddenly A Duck', by Claire-Louise Bennett. Conor O'Callaghan was born in Newry in 1968 and grew up in Dundalk. His first novel, Nothing on Earth, was published in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year. His second novel, We Are Not in the World, is...

Paul Lynch – 'The Dream That Wakes You Up'

This month on the Stinging Fly podcast, we're taking a little diversion from our usual format to present a lecture by the novelist Paul Lynch. Paul is the author of four internationally acclaimed novels: Beyond the Sea, The Black Snow, Red Sky In Morning, and Grace, which won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in 2018. He was born in Limerick, raised in Donegal, and currently lives in Dublin with his wife and two children.  This lecture,...

Rónán Hession Reads Zou Jingzhi

In this month's episode of the podcast, Declan Meade is joined by novelist Rónán Hession to read and discuss the story 'Eight Days', by Chinese writer Zou Jingzhi.  Rónán Hession is an award-winning musician and writer. He wrote and recorded music as Mumblin’ Deaf Ro and was nominated for a Choice Music Award for his album, Dictionary Crimes. Leonard And Hungry Paul, Rónán's first book, was published by Bluemoose Books in March 2019 and earned him...

Caelainn Hogan Reads Lois Kapila

Caelainn Hogan is the author of Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland's Institutions for Fallen Women, published in 2019 by Penguin. She has worked as a journalist and filed stories from all over the world for publications like National Geographic, the New York Times magazine, Harper's, the New Yorker, and The Guardian. She's also written essays and reported pieces for...

Mark O'Connell Reads Roisín Kiberd

Mark O'Connell, author of To Be A Machine and Notes from an Apocalypse, joins Ian Maleney to read and discuss 'Bland God: Notes on Mark Zuckerberg', an essay from our Summer 2018 issue written by Roisin Kiberd. Mark O'Connell is a writer based in Dublin. His books, To Be a Machine: Encounters With a Post-Human Future,...

Naoise Dolan Reads Emma Donoghue

Naoise Dolan, author of the acclaimed debut novel, Exciting Times, joins Declan Meade in studio to read and discuss the subtle gothic horror of Emma Donoghue's 'Looking for Petronilla', a story that appeared way back in Issue 11 of the magazine in Winter 2001. Naoise Dolan was born in Dublin, studied at Trinity College, and completed a master's degree in Victorian literature at Oxford. Her writing has featured in The Dublin Review and The Stinging Fly. Her debut novel...

Cathy Sweeney Reads 'The Chair'

To celebrate the publication of her debut collection, Modern Times, Cathy Sweeney reads 'The Chair', a dark and funny story from the book.  Modern Times is available to purchase from The Stinging Fly: https://stingingfly.org/product/modern-times/ Praise for Modern Times: "Cathy Sweeney's stories have already attracted a band of fanatical devotees, and this first collection is as marvellous as we could have...

Cathy Sweeney Reads Tania Hershman

In the first episode of 2020, Declan Meade is joined by Cathy Sweeney, to read from and discuss the work of Tania Hershman.  Cathy Sweeney’s writing has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, Egress, Winter Papers, Banshee, and The Tangerine. Her stories have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Her debut collection of short fiction, Modern Times, will be published by Stinging Fly Press in March.  Tania Hershman is a poet, writer, teacher and...

Stephen Sexton Reads Sinéad Morrissey

Stephen Sexton joins us on this month's episode of the Stinging Fly podcast, to read and discuss two poems by Sinéad Morrissey. Stephen Sexton's debut collection, If All The World And Love Were Young, was published in September 2019 by Penguin, and won The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in October. Sexton’s first pamphlet, Oils (Emma Press), was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice; he won the UK National Poetry Competition in 2016 with 'The Curfew';...

Oisín Fagan Reads David Hayden

Oisín Fagan, novelist and short-story writer, chooses 'Hay', a story by David Hayden which first appeared in our Spring 2010 issue.  Oisín Fagan has had fiction published in The Stinging Fly, New Planet Cabaret and the anthology Young Irelanders. He won the inaugural Penny Dreadful Novella Prize for his novella The Heirophants. His debut collection of stories, Hostages, was published in 2016 by New Island, and his first novel, Nobber,...