2014 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading with Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell PLUS this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize winners

2014 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading with Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell PLUS this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize winners Colm Scully &  Philip Connor

Thursday, April 10^th, 4pm

Town Hall Theatre
All welcome

There is no cover charge

The 2014 Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading takes place as part of this year's Cúirt International Festival of Literature at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway on Thursday, April 10th, 4pm. The writers showcased this year are Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell. The reading will be introduced by regular Over The Edge host, Susan Millar DuMars.

This event has grown since its inception in 2006 to become one of Ireland's premier platforms for showcasing new poets and fiction writers. Participating writers have previously been Featured Readers at Ireland's most successful reading series, the Over The Edge: Open Readings in Galway City Library. Colm Scully, the winner in the poetry section of this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize, will read with the Over The Edge writers. Philip Connor, the winner in the fiction section, is unable to attend Cúirt to participate in the reading. We offer Philip our congratulations on the major achievement that winning the The Cúirt New Writing Prize is kindly sponsored by Tigh Neactain in memory of Lena Maguire.

Jennifer Matthews is originally from Missouri but lives in Cork where she works at the Munster Literature Festival. She writes poetry and book reviews, and is editor of the Long Story Short literary journal. Her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly, Mslexia, Revival, Necessary Fiction, Poetry Salzburg, Foma & Fontanelles and Cork Literary Review, and anthologised in Dedalus's collection of immigrant poetry in Ireland, Landing Places (2010). Jennifer was a Featured Reader at the January 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Pat McDonnell writes fiction as an antidote to his work in mechanical engineering. He lives in Galway where he plays flute in pub sessions and aspires to write his one great novel. He has participated in Creative Writing classes with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway Technical Institute. He was shortlisted for the 2012 Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition. Pat was a Featured Reader at the March 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading. 

Ruth Quinlan is from Tralee, County Kerry. She graduated from the MA in Writing at NUI Galway in 2012. She was shortlisted for the 2012 Cúirt New Writing fiction prize and longlisted for last year's Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition. Her work has been published by Emerge Literary Journal, Thresholds, SIN, Scissors and Spackle and she won the 2013 Irish Independent Hennessy New Irish Writing award for First Fiction. Ruth was a Featured Reader at the February 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Colm Scully is from Cork and an active member of O’Bheal Open Mic group at the Long Valley Bar. He has been published recently in Cyphers, The Stony Thursday book, Boyne Berries and The Poetry Bus. He was shortlisted for the 2012 Fish Poetry prize. He is the winner in the poetry section of this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize.

Philip Connor is a current MA in Publishing student at University College London.  He previously worked in Galway’s Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop. He has a BA from the NUI Galway in English, History and Creative Writing. In 2013 he was awarded the inaugural Faber & Faber Scholarship which will include 5 weeks placement at Faber's London office. Philip is the fiction winner in this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council and The Cúírt Festival of International Literature.