Bernie McGill

County: Derry
Genre: Novelist, Short-Story Writer
Sessions: Reading and Q&A, Discussion with Writer, Creative Writing Workshop, Master Class
Age Group: 11-15, 16 - 18
Level: Post Primary
Languages: Works in English ONLY
Availability: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Mornings, Afternoons
Travel: Yes

Publications/Repertoire/Productions & Background Experience

Bernie McGill is the author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, and of The Butterfly Cabinet (named in the Guardian in 2012 by Downton creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year). Her work has been placed in the Seán Ó Faoláin, the Bridport, and the Michael McLaverty Short Story Prizes and she won the Zoetrope:All-Story Award in the US in 2008. She is the recipient of a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Awards and was granted a research bursary in 2013 from the Society of Authors. Her short stories have most recently been anthologised in The Long Gaze Back and in The Glass Shore, both edited by Sinéad Gleeson and published by New Island Books. Her second novel, The Watch House, will be published by Tinder Press in March 2017. She holds a Masters in Irish Writing from Queen’s University, Belfast. She lives in Portstewart in Northern Ireland with her family and works as a Creative Writing facilitator.

Session Details

Bernie likes to work interactively with as much participation as possible, ideally with a group size of 30 or fewer, with the pupils working together, seated in small groups. She can tailor these sessions to suit individual group’s needs choosing from a range of activities including: starter exercises, building characters, developing a sense of place, writing dialogue, point of view, narrative structure, drafting and editing. She can also give a one-hour talk and Q&A to larger groups of up to 100 pupils which touches on all of these areas, as well as on the editing and publication process, artwork for book covers etc.

Age Group Details

Bernie prefers to work with pupils aged 11 upwards. With pupils aged 16+ she prefers to work with groups of no more than 15.

Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.berniemcgillwriter.com