'This So-Called Writing Life' Essays: Editor and Writer Olivia Fitzsimons

As part of The Write Time in the Carnegie Free Library, Write Time Festival 2024

This So-Called Writing Life is a series of essays, commissioned by author Olivia Fitzsimons for The Stinging Fly, reflecting on the craft, process, pains and pleasures of writing and publishing. Olivia will be joined by author Kevin Curran, himself a contributor to the series, to discuss what the essays show us about writers, what they have in common and how they differ. Olivia will also discuss her own work and her debut novel, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop.

Olivia Fitzsimons is a writer from Northern Ireland. Her debut novel, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop (2022), was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien and Butler Literary Awards, and was one of the Irish Examiner Books of the Year for 2022. Her fiction and essays have appeared in numerous publications including The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, and Banshee, as well as being broadcast on BBC Radio 4. She is a contributing editor at The Stinging Fly and commissions This So-Called Writing Life essay series.