Gemma O'Connor

MUNSTER LITERATURE CENTRE
IONAD LITRÍOCHTA an DEISCIRT

MLC books

Welcome to the Munster
Literature Centre

Founded in 1993, the Munster Literature Centre (Ionad Litríochta an Deiscirt) is a non-profit arts organisation dedicated to the promotion and celebration of literature, especially that of Munster. To this end, we organise festivals, workshops, readings and competitions. Our publishing section, Southword Editions, publishes a biannual journal, poetry collections and short stories. We actively seek to support new and emerging writers and are assisted in our efforts through funding from Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland.Originally located in Sullivan's Quay, the centre moved to its current premises in the Frank O'Connor House (the author's birthplace) at 84 Douglas Street, in 2003.

In 2000, the Munster Literature Centre organised the first Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival, an event dedicated to the celebration of the short story and named for one of Cork's most beloved authors. The festival showcases readings, literary forums and workshops. Following continued growth and additional funding, the Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award was introduced in 2005, coinciding with Cork's designation as that year's European Capital of Culture. The award is now recognised as the single biggest prize for a short story collection in the world and is presented at the end of the festival.In 2002, the Munster Literature Centre introduced the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland's most accomplished story writers and theorists. This too is presented during the FOC festival. The centre also hosts the Cork Spring Literary Festival each year, at which the Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Prize is awarded (established 2010).

Workshops are held by featured authors in both autumn and spring, allowing the general public to receive creative guidance in an intimate setting for a minimal fee. In addition, the centre sponsors a Writer in Residence each year. We invite you to browse our website for further information regarding our events, Munster literature, and other literary information. Should you have any queries, we would be happy to hear from you.

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GEMMA O'CONNOR

Gemma O'Connor

Gemma O’Connor, a crime and suspense novelist, was born in Dublin and lived for many years in Oxford, where she was a bookbinder and restorer. She also worked in publishing for three years before writing her first bestseller. Her career track has also included jobs as an airhostess for Aer Lingus, a script reader, and a publicist for a group of Irish publishers. In 1985, she organized the first Irish Book Fair at London’s Festival Hall. O’Connor’s novels include Time to Remember (2000, Bantam), Sins of Omission (1999, Bantam), Falls the Shadow (1996, Poolbeg Press), Farewell to the Flesh (1998, Bantam), Walking on Water (2001, Bantam), and Following the Wake (2002, Bantam). Her work has been translated into many languages. Currently she is writing a trilogy, titled The Tailor’s Children, about an Irish family spanning the twentieth century.

Author Links

Gemma O'Connor Bibliography

Gemma O'Connor (Wikipedia)

Review: Walking On Water