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.

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.

IAN WILD

Ian Wild is a writer, composer and theatre worker from Enniskean, Co. Cork, Ireland.

In 2009 he won the Fish International Short Story Prize and received a literature bursary from the Irish Arts Council. His publications and broadcast work include Way Out West—a comedy series about the English community in West Cork for RTE Radio One; The Great Moodini and other stories—20 children’s stories also broadcast on RTE’s Radio One. He has a collection of short stories published by Fish: The Woman Who Swallowed The Book Of Kells and also a volume of poetry entitled Intercourse With Cacti (Bradshaw Books). His literary awards include the North West Playwrights Award, a short story prize with the Cork Literary Review and in 2005 he won a runner-up award in the Bridport Short Story Prize. Four of his highly successful musical comedies appeared in Cork Midsummer Festivals between 1998 and 2003:  The Pirates in Short Pants, Marco Polo’s Toilet Brush, Reds Under the Beds and Spaghetti Western. His most recent publication is a comic novel, The Naked Umbrella Thieves, from Knightstone in 2011.

His compositional work for the theatre includes songs and incidental music for productions Shakespeare at Cork Opera House: Hamlet (2005), King Lear (2006),and Othello (2007).He also composed songs and incidental music for The Elephant Man at the Everyman Palace and The Tempest at the Granary Theatre. In 1987 he wrote a community Opera with Preston Community Arts Company.

From 2001 he has been teaching creative writing and theatre improvisation and Kinsale Further Education College. Other teaching positions have included Writer in Residence at Tigh Fili (Poets House) from 1999 – 2002, and workshop leader at the Munster Literature Centre from 2003 – 2006.

Ian Wild worked as a prop maker, musician and actor for a number of Theatre Companies before 1990 including: Welfare State International, Interplay Community Theatre, Preston Community Arts, Kneehigh Theatre Company, Mobile Arts, Community Arts Workshop (CAW), Climax Theatre Company.

Author Links

Purchase The Naked Umbrella Thieves

"The Woman Who Swallowed The Book of Kells"

Purchase Intercourse with Cacti

Poem: 'Wild Life' in Southword Journal Online

Read Southword Journal

Issue 21A now online!

Seán Ó Faoláin
Short Story
Competition

Now open!

Pre-book Festival
Writing Workshops
at the MLC

4 Day Story
Workshops Coming
This September

Poetry International.org

MLC produces the Irish section of this prestigious poetry site.
Current poets: John F. Deane & Michael D. Higgins
www.poetryinternational.org

Best Irish Poetry in English 2010

Visit our bookstore here.

Festivals

The Munster Literature Centre hosts two annual festivals. The larger Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival takes place each September, while the Cork Spring Literary Festival, with varying themes, is presented each spring. Further information is available on our drop down menus.

Munster Literature Centre

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Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, Ireland.

Tel. (353) 021 4312955 Email munsterlit@eircom.net