Frank O’Connor Fellow Mentees Selected

Camilla Grudova lives in Edinburgh. Her critically acclaimed debut collection, The Doll’s Alphabet, was published in 2017. Her first novel, Children of Paradise, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize. Her most recent book is a second collection, The Coiled Serpent, longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2024. In 2023 she was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, a once-in-a-decade accolade.

Laura Cassidy is a writer from Co. Kildare, living in Cork city. She was a founding editor of the award-winning literary journal and small press Banshee, where she was named a Bookseller Rising Star. Laura is a recipient of the Cecil Day-Lewis Literary Bursary Award and an Arts Council Literature Bursary Award. Her short fiction has appeared in The Pig’s Back and Trinity’s College Green magazine.

Mary Dunne is a fiction writer and poet from Westmeath. She is currently completing her Masters of Creative Writing in University College Cork. Mary was an Irish Writers Centre Young Writer Delegate at the 2024 Belfast Book Festival. She was selected for The Stinging Fly 2024 Summer School. Mary’s poetry can be found in ROPES literary journal and her fiction is forthcoming in Banshee.

Rosa Mäkelä is a writer from County Galway, based in Cork city. She writes short fiction and plays and has had her work published in Banshee, Channel and The Pigs Back.

Geraldine O’Sullivan is a writer based in Killarney, Co. Kerry. She enjoys exploring different forms of creativity. Her writing has appeared in Listowel Writers’ Week Winners’ Anthology, The Ogham Stone, and Washing Windows III. Her work has been broadcast on Dublin Digital Radio, West Limerick 102FM and Radio Kerry. She has recently completed a MA in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick and is working on her debut novel.