Novelist and Short Story Writer Mike McCormack announced as Notre Dame Kylemore inaugural writer-in-residence for 2024 Winter Writing Session
Notre Dame Kylemore is delighted to announce that Booker-listed author Mike McCormack will be serving as writer-in-residence on the 5-day Winter Writing Session, open to writers working on a piece in any genre. The programme will run from December 8th to December 13th, 2024.
There is limited space and a high demand for the writing residency programs with Notre Dame Kylemore. Applications are now open for the inaugural Notre Dame Kylemore Writing Session (Winter).
How to Apply
We request that participants submit a writing sample of a work-in-progress to be assessed by a panel of judges, admitted on a rolling basis. Fill out an application here.
Award-winning author Mike McCormack will be the writer-in-residence for the duration of the 5-day retreat, and will deliver 3 workshops on the following topics: “Reading as a writer”; “Giving and receiving feedback”; and “Time in writing”. The rest of the programme will be entirely given over to unstructured writing time. The last evening of the retreat will be a reading event, with participants sharing their writing with the group on an optional basis.
Housing
As part of the residency, writers will stay in one of the 14 renovated, high-standard ensuite rooms, the Notre Dame residence and education centre. Equipped with writing desks in each of the rooms. Residents have access to our libraries, social spaces and opportunities for self guided walks along the lakes of Kylemore.
Kylemore Abbey and Castle is located in one of the most beautiful and remote areas in Connemara that is not open to the public. Successful applicants for the writing residency will have access to the Estate, Abbey museum and Victorian walled gardens.
Meals
Full board is provided with a hot or continental breakfast and Irish-inspired lunches and dinners each day. Meals are designed and prepared by our in-house award-winning chef Mikel Redondo. We ask that all participants meet for meals in a timely manner and commune with the group. All guests must abide by the rules of conduct as outlined by the University.
Admittance
Successful applicants will receive an admittance letter with an invitation to participate in the writing session, once the session fills up there will be other date on offer for 2025. Invitation letters can be included in any artist or company funding application to the Arts Council of Ireland / ACNI or other funder.
Alumni
Once you have completed a residency at Notre Dame Kylemore the writers become alumni and will be able to be a part of our network with special offers, scholarships and invitations to book launches and readings hosted by the University of Notre Dame. They will also have early booking and access opportunities for other workshops, readings and cultural events held at Kylemore.
Any questions on the programme can be directed to ckieffe2@nd.edu
About Mike McCormack
Mike McCormack’s first collection of short stories Getting It In The Head was published by Jonathan Cape in 1996. The book won the Rooney Prize and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
This was followed in 1998 by his first novel Crowe’s Requiem.
In 2005 Notes from a Coma was published and was shortlisted for the Irish Book of the Year Award. In 2010, The Irish Times described it as "the greatest Irish novel of the decade just ended".
A second collection of short stories Forensic Songs was published by Lilliput in 2012.
Solar Bones was published by Tramp Press in 2016 to widespread critical acclaim. The single novel-length sentence story which takes place on All Souls’ Day in Louisburgh, Co Mayo went on to the win the coveted the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize in November of that year and in December won The Eason Book Club Novel of the Year at the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards. It was also an Irish Times Book Club Choice and was Longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize and for the European Literature Prize 2018. In June 2018 the book went on to win the prestigious €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award, the world's most lucrative literary prize for a single novel published in English.
The book has also been translated into over ten languages while UK rights have been sold to Canongate and the US rights to Soho Press.
In 2023 Canongate, in tandem with Tramp Press, snapped up Mike’s new novel. Part roman noir, part metaphysical thriller, This Plague of Souls was published in October to rave reviews.
Mike has also written the screenplay for The Terms, based on his short story, which was adapted into an award-winning short film directed by Johnny O'Reilly.
He was awarded a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship in 2007 and has been the recipient of several Arts Council Bursaries. In May 2018 he was elected as a member of Aosdána, the Irish association of artists.
Mike lives in Galway with his wife Maeve and young son.
About Notre Dame Kylemore
Since 2015, the University of Notre Dame and the Benedictine Community at Kylemore formed a partnership rooted in shared spiritual, ecological, and educational missions. Notre Dame at Kylemore is a residential education space, offering multiple programs across disciplines. Concentrating on a holistic approach the programs reach across generations. From undergraduate programming to faculty conferences and continuing education - Notre Dame at Kylemore is a place of pilgrimage where curious minds meet to engage, inspire and connect. It offers a unique setting for convening, reflection, creating and cultural engagement.
“This Writer's Residency Program offers writers from all genres the space and time to work; a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Notre Dame at Kylemore is committed to the arts and the creative act. The legacy and significance of this venerable place is not lost upon artists and this residency provides an opportunity for awardees to commune, support and work in an environment dedicated to fostering the art or writing in what is a very spiritual and evocative space,” says Lisa Caulfield, Director of Notre Dame at Kylemore. “We are particularly delighted with Mike McCormack joining us for this first inaugural session which I am certain will be a gift for all of those who join us. And has set the bar quite high for the next few writers we hope to have.”
A limited number of scholarships may be made available closer to the date and will be announced on the Notre Dame Kylemore website