What’s next?

2012

March 4

Oxford International Women’s Week
I’m giving a reading from my travel book My Home is Your Home A Journey Round Syria.
As space is limited, there will be two readings and booking for both is essential.

Reading 1 Sunday March 4 14:30
Reading 2 Sunday March 4 19:30

Cost:  £10  for which you get a comfortable seat by the fire,  readings from the book, tea, biscuits and a chat, plus a signed copy of My Home is Your Home. All welcome.
To book, pls ring or text 07780531517

March 8

Dublin. International Women’s Day.
Reading at book club. 19:30

March 9

Dublin. Reading and display of Syrian artifacts at the United Arts Club, 3 Fitzwilliam St Upr
Non members welcome. Bar.
20:30

I’ll be reading, talking and running a workshop at some of the places below. Details to be announced.

May

Listowel Writer’s Week
http://writersweek.ie/

June 21

I’m at Dublin City Cycling Campaign’s International Conference in Trinity College and will be speaking about cycling along the Euphrates, the great new cycling path along the Grand Canal – and other places. The aim of the conference is to close the gender gap and to get more women cycling. Check out the great array of speakers at www.dublincycling.ie/conference2012

May 29

Georgians in Ireland – and there are about 1000 of them – celebrated their national day with music and their own wine. There is a growing interest in this fascinating and historic country not least because it’s where Jason met Medea when he arrived in her country in search of the Golden Fleece. You can read about it in my book Please Don’t Call it Soviet Georgia which you’ll find here, on my website. In fact, such is the interest that the Chester Beatty Library (www.cbl.ie) is arranging a tour to Georgia in 2013.

Lismore Travel Writer’s Week
www.lismoreimmrama.com

July 8-14

A whole week of events and a treasure chest of speakers at West Cork Literary Festival (WCLF) www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie One speaker in particular I hope to meet is Woo Saro-Wiwa. One of my short stories, That Tears Might Fall, won first prize at the Listowel Writers Week some time back.It’s based on events in Nigeria’s Ogoniland and on the story of Woo’s father, writer and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. I interviewed Ken’s brother Owens for The Irish Times and from that came the story That Tears Might Fall which you can read here.

This year, the WCLF week has a section celebrating West Cork’s maritime heritage so:

July 12 I’ll be talking about the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic.

July 13 I’ll be running a master class on Travel Writing and

July 14 I’m sharing a platform with Peter Somerville Large when he’ll be reading from his new novel and I’ll be reading from my latest book My Home is Your Home A Journey Round Syria.

October 18 – 20

I have been invited to speak at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris which is located in, you’ve guessed, Rue des Irlandais.The conference is entitled Poesie and Prose. You can check out the Centre at www.centreculturelirlandais.com

TBA Some time in the autumn, I’ll be giving a sound and vision presentation on Syria, at Dublin’s Chester Beatty Library www.cbl.ie

Meanwhile, here’s an interview I did with Regan Hutchens of Lyric FM. When you’ve opened the link, go to June 5th. The music, by the way, is by a sufi group from Cape Town.

Click here to view what happened in 2011

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