Latest news with #RTÉFrancisMcManusAward
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Beginner's pluck: Full-time writer Shane Tivenan
A quiet child who liked his own company, Shane was a reader until aged 10 when he acquired his first computer console. 'Then reading went out of the window,' he says. As a teenager, Shane worked on building sites with his dad, but after college he worked in IT. 'I was a software engineer for close to 10 years. I started in London, then went back to Athlone, before working in Mullingar.' In 2010 Shane returned to university, studying social anthropology. 'I did an Erasmus year in Tenerife.' After graduating he gained a job in social research in Dublin. But it wasn't my thing. I lasted less than a year and moved to Madrid where I taught English. Scheduling his classes in the evenings, left his days free for writing. 'I wrote and finished three novels. Lilliput considered one of them, and a year later, I sent them my short stories.' Shane returned to Ireland last November. He has won the RTÉ Francis McManus Award and the John McGahern Award. Who is Shane Tivenan? Date/ place of birth: 1978/ Athlone. Education: St Aloysius college in Athlone; Athlone Institute of Technology, Software Engineering; Maynooth University, BA in Cultural Anthropology. Home: Drum, outside Athlone. Family: Wife, Bolorchimeg; Black Labrador, Susie. The day job: Full-time writer. In another life: 'I can't sing, but I'd love to be a Sean-nós singer. I love hanging around with musicians.' Favourite writers: Flannery O'Connor; John Moriarty; JA Baker; M John Harrison; Jerry Mander; Timothy O'Grady. Second book: 'I have the outline of a novel. I always have a novel, and short stories on the go.' Top tip: 'Cultivate an awareness of everyday life; investigate your emotions and develop empathy for others — let that feed into your writing.' The debut To Avenge a Dead Glacier The Lilliput Press, €15.95 A woman walks the roads feeling stalked by a thief, her mind flitting through muddled memories. A plasterer is desperate to hear a corncrake's cry. How responsible is he for their demise? A daughter attends her father's funeral. Can she forgive him for leaving the family for a man? These compassionate stories examine outsiders — showing interactions between the 'lost' and the 'normal' world. The verdict: The author shows such empathy, some stories moved me to tears. Read More Book review: Stories that are always alive to the overwhelming weight of our pasts
Irish Examiner
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Beginner's pluck: Counsellor and psychotherapist Sinéad Nolan
An adventurous child, Sinéad adored playing in a forest with her friends, climbing trees. 'We had so much freedom,' she says. Following her MA in journalism, she lived in Dublin and wrote features for the Irish Independent and Sunday World. 'Then I went travelling for a year, spending time in New Zealand. Then, living in London, I decided to chill for a while.' I worked in a clothes shop in Covent Garden, and I wrote short stories. Sinéad's stories have been shortlisted for the Momaya Press Awards, and the RTÉ Francis McManus Award: 'That was 2006, when Claire Keegan won.' Aged 30, she trained as a counsellor and psychotherapist and has worked in the area ever since. 'In 2019, I did a Faber novel writing course for six months, meeting once a week. It was wonderful getting feedback from others. We've stayed in touch,' she says. Sinéad gained her agent through the Faber anthology: 'Nine got in touch. I chose Stephanie Cross of Marie B Campbell Associates. She helped me edit.' Who is Sinéad Nolan? Date/place of birth: 1985/ Dublin. Education: Holy Child, Killiney. University of Derby, creative writing; Nottingham Trent University, MA in newspaper journalism. CPPD, counselling school, counselling and psychotherapy. Home: Kent. Family: Husband, Jason; daughter, Aoaise, four months; cats, Kitty and Gingey. The day job: Counsellor and psychotherapist in private practice. In another life: 'I've always liked the idea of being a doctor or a nurse. I took a while deciding between medicine and psychotherapy.' Favourite writers: Sylvia Plath; Kazuo Ishiguro; Lionel Shriver; Claire Keegan. Second book: 'It's called Shadow Play and is half written. It's about a psychotherapist in London.' Top tip: 'I like Ernest Hemingway's advice: 'Good writing is rewriting.' Also, find your writing tribe and get feedback.' Instagram: @Sineadnolanwriter. The debut The Counting Game Harper North, €16.99 Traumatised from his mother's death, Jack rarely speaks. And when his sister, Saoirse, disappears in the forest, he's unable to remember exactly what happened. Garda Morris enlists Freya, a psychologist with demons of her own. Will she gain Jack's trust, and get to the truth? 'I heard Jack's voice and wrote the first scene with Garda Morris. I'm not a plotter.' The verdict: Clever and compulsive. The plot is lifted by the psychological insights.
