The Arts Council has a long-standing partnership with a number of Irish universities offering Writer-in-Residence/Fellowship positions to provide university students with an opportunity to work with and learn from writers of distinction, and to enable writers to develop their work while in a position of relative financial stability.

The Arts Council is pleased to announce the following Writer-in-Residence/Fellowship appointments for 2022.


Sadhbh Devlin, has been appointed Irish-language Writer-in-Residence at Dublin City University. The Irish-language Writer-in-Residence will be based in Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge on the DCU All Hallows Campus.

Sadhbh Devlin is primarily a writer of literature in Irish for children and teenagers but also writes fiction in Irish for adult readers. She has published three Irish-language picture-books with Futa Fata. Sadhbh has worked in television, too, assisting with the development of programmes for TG4. She has extensive experience as presenter, researcher, artistic director and production assistant. Sadhbh is an active member of Children’s Literature Ireland, the Writers in Schools programme and the Association of Irish-Language Writers.


Dave Rudden has been appointed Writer in Residence at the School of English, Dublin City University.

  
A graduate of St. Patrick’s College, Dave Rudden is an author, actor and creative writing teacher based in Dublin. His first novel, KNIGHTS OF THE BORROWED DARK, was called ‘a magical debut’ by the Guardian and ‘reminiscent of Douglas Adams’ by R.L. Stine. KNIGHTS went on to win the 2016 Irish Book Award for Best Senior Children's Novel and was chosen in 2017 as the Dublin UNESCO Citywide Read. It is now a Junior Cert 1st year text.

Dave has delivered talks and author events in hundreds of schools, universities, libraries, and festivals, both nationally and internationally. He currently serves as a Creative Fellow of UCD, and regularly collaborates with RTÉ’s Home School Hub to bring writing tips and motivation to a national audience. Follow him on Twitter at @d_ruddenwrites.


Maynooth University Writer in Residence will be held by Louise O’Neill. Louise will be situated in the Creative Writing programmes in the English Department at Maynooth University.

Louise O'Neill grew up in Clonakilty, Ireland. Her first novel, ONLY EVER YOURS, was released in 2014. ONLY EVER YOURS went on to win the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year at the 2014 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards; the Children’s Books Ireland Eilís Dillon Award for a First Children’s Book; and The Bookseller‘s inaugural YA Book Prize 2015.

Louise’s second novel, ASKING FOR IT, was published in September 2015 to widespread critical acclaim. She went on to win the Specsaver’s Senior Children’s Book of the Year at the 2015 Irish Book Awards, and was awarded the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz honour. ASKING FOR IT was voted Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2015 and spent 52 consecutive weeks in the Irish top 10 bestseller list. The New York Times called it "riveting and essential" and The Guardian named O' Neill "the best YA fiction writer alive today."

Both novels have been optioned for screen.

O'Neill's first novel for adults, ALMOST LOVE, was published in March 2018, followed shortly by THE SURFACE BREAKS, her feminist re-imagining of The Little Mermaid which was released in May 2018.

Her second novel for adults, AFTER THE SILENCE, was published in September 2020 and was an instant Irish bestseller. It won Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the film and television rights have been bought by Tiger Aspect Productions.

Her latest novel, IDOL, will be released in May 2022.

She contributes regularly to Irish TV and radio, and has a weekly column in the Irish Examiner.


The NUI Galway Writer in Residence position will be held by Gavin Corbett.

Galway-born, Dublin-raised, Gavin Corbett is the author of three novels: INNOCENCE (2003), THIS IS THE WAY (2013) and GREEN GLOWING SKULL (2015). THIS IS THE WAY was named 2013 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and shortlisted for a number of other prizes. He has recently completed his first children's novel and a book of short stories. He has been Arts Council writer-in-residence at Trinity College Dublin (2016) and University College Dublin (2018).


Hilary Fannin has been appointed as Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin.

Hilary Fannin is an award-winning novelist, memoirist, playwright and newspaper columnist. Her novel, THE WEIGHT OF LOVE (Doubleday, 2020), won the John McGahern Award for best Irish fiction debut. She was also shortlisted as Newcomer of the Year in the Bord Gáis Irish Energy Book Awards for her memoir, HOPSCOTCH (Doubleday, 2015). As a playwright, her work has been performed in Ireland, Europe and North America. She was writer in association at the Abbey Theatre in its centenary year, 2004. Her radio plays have been broadcast on RTÉ and BBC. She has been writing regularly for The Irish Times since 2004 and was named Broadsheet Columnist of the Year at the 2019 Newsbrands Journalism Awards. She lives and works in Dublin.


Sue Rainsford has been appointed as Writer in Residence at University College Dublin. 

 
Sue Rainsford is an Irish fiction and arts writer living in Dublin. A graduate of Trinity College, IADT and Bennington College, she is a recipient of the VAI/DCC Art Writing Award, the Arts Council Literature Bursary Award, and a MacDowell Fellowship. She has been awarded residencies by such institutions as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Maynooth University, and recent commissions include RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4. Her debut novel, Follow Me To Ground, received the Kate O'Brien Award in Ireland, was long listed for the Republic of Consciousness Award and the Desmond Elliott Prize in the UK, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly upon its release in the US. Her short story, "Shorn", was a finalist for the 2021 New York Radio Festival Awards, and her second novel, Redder Days, was published by Doubleday in March 2021.


University College Cork Writer in Residence position will be held by Cathy Sweeney.

Cathy Sweeney’s short fiction has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, Egress, Winter Papers, Banshee, The Tangerine, Granta and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Her debut collection of short stories, MODERN TIMES, was published by The Stinging Fly Press and W&N in 2020. Her novel BREAKDOWN is forthcoming with W&N in January 2023. 

 

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