dlr Writer in residence 2018-2019, Sarah Maria Griffin

We are delighted to welcome our dlr Writer in Residence 2018-19 to dlr LexIcon. Her collection of essays about emigration, Not Lost, was published by New Island in 2013 and her first novel, Spare and Found Parts won the European Science Fiction Awards Chrysalis Award and is now shortlisted in the An Post Irish Book Awards 2018. Her second novel Other Words for Smoke will arrive in Spring 2019 and she is swiftly moving towards completing her third novel. Her nonfiction has appeared on Buzzfeed, The Rumpus Guts and Winter Pages and she writes a weekly podcast column for The Irish Times.

Sarah joined us in July and this website post gives you a flavour of what she has been involved with to date. It has been a busy season and we wish Sarah the very best of luck with all her projects in the coming months! Included are many of the events Sarah has participated in outside of those organised as part of her residency.

You can follow Sarah's lively social media accounts on twitter @griffski and Instagram

October-Dec 2018

Creative writing workshop series at dlr LexIcon on the topic of food and memoir writing. Sarah is working with this group until early December.

October 23 2018

Sarah moderated a dlr Library Voices event with Nuala O’Connor. Nuala was talking about her latest novel Becoming Belle and of course many other topics on the art of writing in general. Catch the podcast on our podcast page.

October 20 2018

During the National Irish Science Fiction Convention Octocon 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin, Sarah was invited to read her work in a session with Peadar Ó Guilín.

October 12 2018

Sarah took part in Dept.Con 4, Ireland’s Biggest YA Convention at the Pavilion Theatre. She moderated a panel that included Samantha Shannon, Melinda Salisbury and Frances Hardinge and participated in a further panel entitled Dungeons and Dragons which included amongst others David O’Callaghan, Deidre O’Sullivan and Dave Rudden.

October 10 2018

Sarah was invited by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to give a public reflection at the official Commemoration of the Centenary of the Sinking of the RMS Leinster. The event took place outside dlr LexIcon in front of an audience of over 1,400 people. Her inspirational reflection can be read here.

October 3 2018

To kickstart her autumn programme, Sarah invited Julian Gough for a conversation entitled ‘Press 1 for Dystopia, Press 2 for Utopia: Will technology lead us to heaven or hell?’ This riveting discussion can now be listened to on dlr Libraries podcast page, please click here.  Highly recommended!

September 29 2018

Sarah launched the publication People on the Pier,a community collaborative publication edited by Marian Thérese Keyes and Betty Stenson. Published by New Island, it marked the bicentenary of the pier with a mixture of history, poems, photos and memoir.