The Irish Writers’ Centre (IWC) on Dublin’s Parnell Square opens its doors to the new Irish communities with a free creative writing workshop aimed at people who wish to write in English but don’t use it as their first language.
IWC director Valerie Bistany said this course, the first of its kind, is “intended to connect with local new Irish communities and welcome them in an artistic and creative way.”
The free course comprises a two-hour session that will be held each Saturday in November from 11am.
“It is the same workshop in every session,” said Bistany. “The reason we are holding four sessions is to give the opportunity to develop their skills to 40 or 50 people rather than only 10.”
The workshop series is expected to expand depending on the response of participants. “It would be wonderful to organise a four- or six-week course in future, but first we have to check the level of English of the participants,” said Bistany.
“If everything goes well it could develop into public readings, online publications, longer stories and even moving towards another arena in the arts like drama or film scripts.”
The course is suitable for anyone new to writing, or who may have written in another language before but are new to writing in English.
The only language level requirement is to be reasonably fluent in English – being able, for example, to read a newspaper or write a letter.
Bistany says she wants new Irish people to experience the IWC “in a positive way” through the course.
“They have something to add to the Irish literary sphere and it will be a mutually beneficial relationship; we’ll do something for them and they’ll do something for us by telling their own stories themselves.”
The IWC was established in 1991 and offers support to beginning and emerging writers with a wide range of day, evening and weekend courses, all led by published authors with a long track record in assisting and leading workshops.
New writers receive support in many different areas such as the transition from amateur to professional, creating their own website, social media and also, as Bistany says, “support in a more intangible way like personal development, helping them to speak in public or connecting with an audience in a public reading.”
In addition the centre offers assistance in other areas of the publishing industry such as copywriting, editing and proofreading.
Everyone with an interest in writing is welcome and the membership (€50 annually) is a donation for which members get benefits such as discounts on courses and workshops.
Spaces for the new workshop are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To book a place contact
courses@writerscentre.ie and find out more about the IWC at writerscentre.ie.
