The Art of Border Living Podcast

From 1918-2018 extraordinary family stories and new writing inspired by the borderlands of Ireland, with readings by Jamie Lee O'Donnell from Derry Girls and author Kamila Shamsie, winner of the Women's Prize For Fiction 2018. Presented by Peter Curran.

Nuala O’Connor (aka Nuala Ní Chonchúir) was born in Dublin, she lives in East Galway. Her fifth short story collection Joyride to Jupiter was published by New Island in 2017; her story ‘Consolata’ from that collection was shortlisted for Short Story of the Year at the 2017 Irish Book Awards. "This blending of wry, caustic irreverence and meditative poignancy is central to the success of O’Connor’s storytelling. The mix is just right..." Irish Times - 10-June-2017 Nuala’s third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, was shortlisted for the Eason Book Club Novel of the Year 2015 and longlisted for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award. Nuala’s fourth novel, Becoming Belle, was published in August 2018. Nuala is a long-time mentor to creative writing students at Irish universities. Nuala's website

Paul McVeigh's debut novel, The Good Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The McCrea Literary Award and was shortlisted for many others including the Prix du Roman Cezam in France. It was Brighton's City Reads 2016 and selected for the UK's World Book Night 2017. “Paul McVeigh has written a first novel of beautiful generosity, poignant in the delicate manner in which he evokes the brutality of an era. A striking fresco, mixing historical upheavals and hardships of a family shattered.” Le Monde  He began his writing career as a playwright, in Belfast, before moving to London to write comedy. His shows toured the UK and Ireland including the Edinburgh Festival and London's West End. Paul's short stories have been read on BBC Radio 3, 4 & 5 and 'Hollow' was shortlisted for Irish Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in 2017. He is associate director of Word Factory, ‘the UK's national organisation for excellence in the short story’, and he co-founded the London Short Story Festival. Paul's website is here The Art of Border Living commissioned by 14-18Now  

Claire-Louise Bennett grew up in Wiltshire, before moving to Ireland. Her short fiction and essays have been published in the Stinging Fly, the Irish Times, the White Review, Gorse and elsewhere. She was awarded the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize in 2013. Her debut book, Pond, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim: 'This is a truly stunning debut, beautifully written and profoundly witty.' The Guardian Here's a great interview with Claire in The Paris Review  The Art of Border Living commissioned by 14-18 Now

Garrett Carr is an author, academic and Map maker. His 2017 book, The Rule of the Land: Walking Ireland's Border was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award “Great writing about landscape and history” Colm Tóibín "It is Carr's contention that Ireland is more divided than any of us suspected — not in two but in three: north, south and borderland. The third state is opened up in this marvellous book" The Daily Telegraph Find out more from Garrett's website: http://www.garrettcarr.net   The Art of Border Living 

Kamila Shamsie is the author of six novels: In the City by the Sea (shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Salt and Saffron; Kartography (also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Broken Verses; Burnt Shadows (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction) and A God in Every Stone, which was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Home Fire was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award, the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2018 and the London Hellenic Prize, and won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018. Three of her novels have received awards from Pakistan's Academy of Letters. Kamila Shamsie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was named aGranta Best of Young British Novelist in 2013; she was also awarded a South Bank Arts Award in 2018. She grew up in Karachi and now lives in London. The Art of Border Living