Authors at Ireland Writing Retreat
Lead writing tutor for our retreats is Sean Hillen (see bio below).
Other guests tutors who have joined us before are:
Journalist, Writer and Tutor
During a 40-year media career, Sean Hillen has been war correspondent, medical reporter, arts reviewer, travel writer, editor, publisher and author, as well as media trainer and creative writing coach... continue.
Teacher, Writer, Editor
During a 45-year career in higher education, Kathy Cain was a professor, a writing center director, a dramaturg, a witch (Macbeth), a fortune teller (My Fair Lady), and a nightclub/brothel madam (Cabaret)... continue
Writer
Meet Bradley Harper is a poet, short story writer, essayist and novelist, who has landed a two-book deal with Seventh Street Books, part of Prometheus Books, which resides within the Penguin Random House umbrella...continue
Writer
Bernie is author of Sleepwalkers, a collection of stories short-listed in 2014 for the Edge Hill short story prize, and of The Butterfly Cabinet (named in 2012 by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as his novel of the year)...continue
Writer
John is the author of three novels, ‘Fast Track,’ ‘Bluff’ and ‘Troubled Water.’ He spent 25 years with CNN, and also with CBN, working on a wide range of news and current affairs shows, including being senior copy editor on the popular news... continue.
Writer
Anthony's latest book, 'Blind Arrows,' published by No Exit Press is set during the Irish War of Independence and features Republican leader Michael Collins and a sadistic serial killer... continue
Writer
His love of creative writing flourished even in jail and led to Morrison's first novel, 'West Belfast,' being published in 1989 but never formally launched ... continue
Forensic Editor
Mark is the kind of ruthless editor most writers love and hate in equal measure. Give him your beloved manuscript and he’ll find a hundred ‘mistakes,’ whether they be severe overuse of a noun or ... continue
Writer, Dramaturg, Editor
Daughter of a choral musician & a journalist and sister of two drummers, Emily grew up in the southeast U.S. She earned a B.A. in literature & history ... continue
Playwright
Any person who spends 16 years incarcerated in prison and 70 days on a hunger strike for a political and social ideal they passionately believe in has to be admired ... continue
Writer
Fantasy novelist and mythologist, perhaps Ireland’s answer to the R.A. Salvatore/Robert Jordan/ Marion Zimmer Bradley combo. His debut novel ‘The Polaris Whisper,’ ...continue
Writer
A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, is author of “Mark Antony and Popular Culture: Masculinity and the Construction of an Icon” - a fascinating account of this classic historical figure ...continue
"Wordsmiths keen to delve into the craft of writing should look no further than the annual ‘Ireland Writing Retreat’ set amid the silver strands and gorse hills of Donegal’s ‘Wild Atlantic Way.’ The retreat, in the shadows of the cloud-shrouded Mount Errigal, provides the solicitude to help recharge creative batteries and you'll also be entertained with a font of amusing stories from tracking down Dracula in Transylvania to being bewitched by modern-day witches in Donegal's Poisoned Glen. Love of a good story and a little 'craic' is manifest in the lavish attention devoted to writing guests - as if the beautiful Donegal coast needed any more charm!"
Anthony Quinn, multiple published crime author and retreat guest speaker
“Ireland Writing Retreat in Donegal offers a unique combination of gentle writing exercises, assignments and professional guidance along with guided tours of some of the most stunning scenery that Ireland has to offer and an authentic insight into the Irish language, music, culture and history of the north-west corner of the country. Ideal for those who are looking to develop their writing practice, meet like-minded souls, and take inspiration from this beautiful part of the world.”
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Bernie McGill, author, Derry, Northern Ireland.
“I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Ireland Writing Retreat participants for a Q & A session on my memoir ‘Watching the Daisies.’ Questions included an eclectic range of topics including my writing and self-publishing experiences and Donegal's wealth of legends on the fairy folk. My own writing muse left Teac Jack much inspired by the group's creativity.”
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Author/Memoirist Brigid P. Gallagher, Sterling, Scotland.