The first ‘Over The Edge: Open Reading’ after the
summer break takes place in Galway City Library on Thursday, August 29th, 6.30-8.00pm. The Featured Readers
are Maeve Mulrennan, Nollaig O’Donnell, & Jo Burns. There will as usual be an
open-mic after the Featured Readers have finished. The evening will also see
the announcement of the long list for the 2019 Over The Edge New Writer of The
Year for which the competition judge this year is poet, fiction writer, and
publisher Liz McSkeane.
Maeve Mulrennan |
Maeve Mulrennan is a curator
and writer based in Galway. She is the Head of Visual Art + Education in Galway
Arts Centre, where she has worked since 2006. She has also worked with EVA
International and Dublin City Council Culture Company this year. She is the
co-curator of the youth programme for Cúirt International Festival of
Literature. Maeve is also on the Board of Directors of Galway Community
Circus. Maeve is a short story writer, with fiction published in several
online journals, The Doire Press 2013 Anthology, The Honest Ulsterman, for
whom she also interviews writers, and The Galway Review. She holds
an MA in Visual Arts Practices (Curating) from IADT Dun Laoghaire, h.Dip in
Arts Administration from NUI Galway, BA (hons) in Fine Art (Painting) from
Limerick School of Art and Design and a BA(hons) in English Literature
from NUI Galway. Maeve's story 'Blood Cure' won the 2018 Over The Edge New
Writer of The Year competition and can be read here https://humag.co/prose/blood-cure
Nollaig
O’Donnell
lives in Galway with her husband, Richard. A teacher of Piano, French and
English, Nollaig has attended Susan Millar DuMar’s Advanced Writing Class and
is currently a member of Galway Write-on Group. As well as writing, Nollaig
also enjoys sketching and silk painting. Nollaig O’Donnell’s first book, Something Within, was published by
Veritas in 2016. It is a compilation of
some of her poetry, reflections, vignettes, sketches and paintings. Her short
story, In the Pink, appeared in Write-on
Anthology 2019. More of her short
stories and poems will be published in the forthcoming Write-on Anthology 2020. Nollaig has recently completed her memoir,
Smiling Within, which will be
published later this year. She is
currently working on her first novel.
Jo Burns |
Born in Northern Ireland, Jo Burns lives in Germany. Jo's poetry has been published in Oxford Poetry, Poetry
Ireland Review, Southword, The Stinging Fly, Skylight 47 and Magma, among many
others. Jo has been shortlisted for the Over
The Edge Prize, Bridport Prize, Strokestown International Prize and nominated
for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Jo
won the Shirley McClure Poetry Prize 2017 at the Irish Writers Festival, CA,
the Magma Poetry Competition 2018 and the New Irish Writing in Germany Poetry
Award 2018. Her pamphlet Circling for Gods was published by Eyewear Publishing.
Her first full collection White Horses was published by Turas Press in November
2018; Kevin Higgins’s Galway Advertiser review of White Horses can be read here
https://www.advertiser.ie/Galway/article/105512/love-death-shergar-and-arlene-foster
Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing financial support of Galway City Council, Poetry Ireland, & The Arts Council.