Tommy Frank 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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TOMMY FRANK O'CONNOR

Tommy Frank O'Connor

Born Currow, Tralee, Co. Kerry, 1944. Poet, novelist, playwright, short-story writer, accountant. An extensively published, both nationally and abroad, and highly lauded short-story writer, Tommy Frank O'Connor won the Kerry International Summer School Short Story Competition in both 1994 and 1996. He was the only Irish finalist in the short-story section of the "One Voice International" competition in Swansea in 1995. His short stories can be found in The European, Madame Bull's Tavern (Canada), and Asylum, as well as his recently launched collection, Loose Head. As a novelist, Tommy Sheehan has published The Poacher's Apprentice (Marino Books, 1997). His poetry is found in anthologies including Cúm, The Cuirt Collections 1996 & 1997, The Bard of Armagh Humourous Collection, Asylum, Podium, and The Edgeworth Papers, Vol. 2, and will be released in the debut collection Attic Warpipes in November. His work for the stage includes the pageant Breanainn, at Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland and the play Changing Patrick, which premiered at St. John's, Listowel Square in 1997. Leader of the "Tralee Scribblers" writers' group, Tommy Frank O'Connor is involved heavily in the Tralee literary scene. He runs his own accountancy practice and currently lives and works in Tralee.