Salon Nights

There was a recent Irish Times article on the important role the ‘little magazine’ plays on Irish literary landscape:

In the literary world, news breaks first through the “little magazine”, according to [Selina] Guinness, who hopes to profile those working behind the scenes at Irish journals. “Editors are usually backstage workers, deeply appreciated by authors but unknown to readers,” she says. “I wanted to explore their tastes and choices, discover their current enthusiasms, and afford a stage to the contributors whose work excites them.”

Guinness credits the editors and publishers of literary journals as being “the hosts and mentors of new Irish writing”. Salon Nights at the Studio will also hear from writers about rites of passage as they cross the threshold from journal to debut publications.

We’re delighted to be taking part in an evening celebrating literary journals: Salon Nights at the dlr LexIcon library. Our guests on Wednesday 4 November will be Joanna Walsh (gorse nos. 1 & 3), and Claire-Louise Bennett (gorse no. 2). The event is free, but ticketed. Published by two of Ireland’s best independent presses, Joanna and Claire-Louise are rising stars in the ‘post-crash Irish literary boom‘. You won’t want to miss them.

Wednesdays 4th November, 8 pm: Salon Night with gorse.

Writers: Clare-Louise Bennett and Joanna Walsh

Claire-Louise Bennett is the author of Pond (Stinging Fly Press, 2015). Her short fiction and essays have been published in The Stinging Fly, The Penny Dreadful, The Moth, Colony, The Irish Times, The White Review and gorse. She was awarded the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize in 2013.

Joanna Walsh‘s writing has been published by Dalkey Archive press, and Granta, amongst others. Her books include Fractals (3:AM Press), Hotel (Bloomsbury) and Vertigo (Tramp Press). She writes criticism for the Guardian, and is fiction editor at 3:AM Magazine. She also runs #readwomen, described by the New York Times as ‘a rallying cry for equal treatment for women writers.’