Literary Highlights 2008

1. Lucan Writers win 2nd best writer's group in the whole country at Longfords writer's group festival

2. Began and facilitated the Lucan Teen Writer's Group with a lot of help and support from the talented folk in Ireland's 2nd best writer's group. Seriously would advise anyone, who wants to take writing seriously, to set up a writer's group for teens in your area now. Forces you to think about writing kind of seriously at least once every 2 weeks, has done alot for me. Plus you can steal their stuff. Ok maybe not. But it is one of the best things I've ever done.

3. Won a trip to Ennis Book Club Fest, for a 100 word bit about book clubs, got in free to see lots of great writer's talking, workshopping etc, brilliant.

4. Got a poem published in a book. First poem of mine published. Ever.

5. Volunteering at Dublin Writer's Fest, got to see another load of writers talking for free. And got to meet and sit in a taxi with David Grossman. He's huge in Israel. An amazing man. He read Ulysses before he came over cos it was his first time in Ireland. He writes fiction and fact, and told me he cannot write a shopping list when he's writing a novel. Anyway - another good idea for writerly people - think I'll be volunteering again this year. Plus you get to stand around wearing black and telling people where to sit. Lovely crowd volunteered at it too.

6. Another publication - a story and recipe about my mother's pizza.

7. Began this blog - instant gratification for self publication, ok sometimes it's a bit dodge, but has me hooked now. Am gonna try and change the quality/ quantity balance in the coming year tho.

8. My first, second and third ever public readings of my private poems. First one in the ballroom in Farmleigh - magic.

9. Finished the first rather shaky draft of my first shaky novel (IF AND ONLY IF you don't include my masterpiece "Billy got married" written in the cursive on a music copy book in 1983 or so, which was of course my first real novel). What's it about? It's about 120 thousand words, and it makes no sense at all... yet - a work in progress.

10. The proudest literary moment of the year by far has to have been the launch of the infamous first ever "International Put your Poem in a Shop" Month. (Where 'proudest' refers to 'most largely ignored', and 'infamous first' refers to 'heartbreakingly dissappointing first and last ever' - and I do mean to include the 2 evers there.)

Quite a year. I'm not sharing any thoughts on goals or ambitions for 09, because you'll only read this in 12 months time and laugh or cry very loudly, and I wouldn't have that on my conscience.