Author Shane Tivenan will hold two writing workshops in August as the Yeats Thoor Ballylee writer-in-residence this year.
The workshops are for writers who are interested in how the various elements of a short story work together. As source material, scenes from each attendee’s works-in-progress will be analysed. A pre-workshop email will be circulated with excerpts, and attendees are asked to come with the pieces read. Shane will lead a discussion on how elements like character, tension and dialog interweave to give a piece of prose its overall momentum.
The workshops are free but will be limited to 8 writers. They will be held on Tuesday, 4 August from 6:30 to 9pm and Saturday, 8 August from 2-4.30pm at Thoor Ballylee.
To participate, please submit an extract of a short story, of no more than 1,000 words, that you are happy to workshop to the following email address: yeatsstudioresidency@gmail.com by 1 August. Please indicate in your email which workshop date you can attend.
In June, Shane’s literary arts residency at Thoor Ballylee was announced, which will take place from 31 July to 14 August. Growing up close to Athlone Town, County Roscommon, Shane previously won the RTÉ Short Story Prize, the John McGahern Award, and was selected for the Irish Writers Centre Evolution Programme for 2025. Last year, Shane’s first book, To Avenge a Dead Glacier, was published by Lilliput Press and was widely praised.
The Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society Artist in Residence Programme is supported by Galway County Council Arts Office.
