Mary Kate Barrett

🐷RUSSELL'S COTTAGE WRITING RESIDENCY🐷 We're so excited to announce our new 3-week writing residency in Glenveagh National Park, Donegal. One lucky writer will also receive €3000. Applications close 29th Sep, so get your skates on. More info and how to apply below 👇

After years of debating and generally being quite lazy about the whole thing, I've finally decided to start a blog. My first entry, called 'Days in Doolin' describes my time living in Co. Clare and gives recommendations for the area: writtenontheway.wordpress.com/2024/08/16/day…

My debut short story has found a home in Sonder Issue IX, coming this summer. Drift is a weird little story that is very near and dear to my heart, so I'm delighted it's with this wonderful magazine. I hope it takes you somewhere unexpected. ☀️

Delighted that a poem of mine has made its home in the lovely @aimsirpress. Go raibh maith agat to the kind and thoughtful editors! I look forward to settling in and reading the Samhain issue with a wee cupán tae ✨☕️

📢 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 📢 Lilliput is turning ✨40✨ in 2024! To celebrate, a special anthology of short stories and essays is in the making – and your writing could be the highlight of the book… 🎄📚 #LilliputAt40

Big news for you all: written and visual submissions are officially open for Issue 32 of ROPES!! Please read submission instructions carefully and visit our website or send us an email if you have questions. We can’t wait to see what you have for us!! ropesliteraryjournal.com/submissions/

There's a balance of imagery - new life in the foaling mare and death in dolmen - and also a sense of the circular nature of life in the mirroring of the beginning and end.

What I enjoyed most about this story was the reflection on the passage of time: what life gives to us but also what it takes away. The distances that develop between people and how they change over time.

Day 3 - Access by Aidan Mathews. A meditation on the relationship between a daughter and her father. Again it plays with the past and present, but here the story focuses on growing up and getting older more than anything else.

That idea of balance defines the precarious position of Enright's character. There is tension, too, in all that is left unsaid, and in the unspoken distance from the characters past to the present.

This story is an interesting contrast to yesterday's, because although it deals with fixations and relationships, it focuses on an entirely different type of longing. "I have to keep the tension between what is outside and what is in, if I am not to deflate, or explode"

Day 2 of my short story challenge brought me to the wonderful The Art of the Glimpse anthology which is where I will find many stories to read as I work my way through the rest of the year. Today I read Revenge by Anne Enright. 1/

Challenging myself to read a S.S. a day for the rest of 2023 and what an excellent start. Great depiction of communication in the digital age, and an interesting portrayal of obsession. Particularly impressed by the dialogue, very natural and rooted in reality. Highly recommend!

@elainefeeney16 @TheBookerPrizes @rcwlitagency @HarvillSecker Thrilled to hear this! Congratulations Elaine 💕

🎭Are you passionate about the arts?🎭 Volunteering with us is a fast-paced and fun way to experience the festival and great for those seeking experience in events-based work. Closing Date for applications is Friday 31st March. loom.ly/94OmfRs #cuirt2023 #volunteer

Sad to be missing out on Cúirt this year but I highly recommend it to everyone. It is a wonderfully organised event, and any excuse to visit Galway is a good one!

The #Cúirt2023 programme is now live! Follow the link below to discover the full programme, and join us this April 18 – 23 in Galway ✏️📚 cuirt.ie

Missing my beautiful home today upon seeing all of these gorgeous pictures <3

You’ve put it excellently, Kevin was a wonder to meet, an incredible talent and a wonderful teacher who enriched the Galway writing scene beyond words. Thank you and rest in peace. My sincere condolences to Susan and all of his family 💛