INTERNATIONAL

THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONSCELEBRATING THE SHORT STORY:MARY COSTELLO AND NUALA NI CHONCHUIRMarket Hall, GlentiesSunday 23 August1.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 minsTHE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONSFRANK SHOVLINMarket Hall, GlentiesSaturday 22 August5.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 60 mins“Brian Friel’s Donegal”Both actually, as a long resident of the county, andcreatively, as a writer who has been repeatedlyinspired by Donegal, Brian Friel has, over the courseof a long writing life found himself drawn to thecounty, whether it be the Errigal of his short story,Among the Ruins, or that thinly veiled version ofGlenties that appears so often in his work, Ballybeg.This talk will be a quick tour across several of thesemoments with a particular focus on Glenties andDownstrands.Early in his career, Brian Friel turned to the shortstory. A number were published in The New Yorkerand his stories were later brought together in twocollections, The Saucer of Larks (1962) and The Goldin the Sea (1966). To celebrate this aspect of hiswork, Mary Costello and Nuala Ni Chonchuir discussboth the challenges and joys of writing short storiesand the writers whose work has most inspired them.Mary Costello’s short story collection, The ChinaFactory was shortlisted for The Guardian First BookAward and her recently-published first novel,Academy Street, was shortlisted for the Costa FirstNovel Award. Nuala Ni Chonchuir has writtennovels, short stories and poetry. Her most recentnovel, Miss Emily, reimagines the private life of thepoet, Emily Dickinson.Chaired by Carlo Gebler.Originally from the west of Ireland, Frank Shovlinhas been living and working in Liverpool since 2000and is head of department at the Institute of IrishStudies at the University of Liverpool.14 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015