Alannah Hopkin is a writer based in southwest Ireland. She is this year’s Frank O’Connor International Fellow and will be teaching on the M.A. in Creative Writing at University College, Cork. Her story collection The Dogs of Inishere was published by Dalkey Archive Press in 2017. Her stories have appeared in the London Magazine and The Cork Literary Review, among others, and been short-listed for the RTE Short Story Award. She has worked as a freelance journalist mainly in arts and travel, and as an art critic and book reviewer. She has published two novels with Hamish Hamilton (London) and her non-fiction books include Eating Scenery: West Cork, the People & the Place. She regularly hosts events for the Cork International Short Story Festival, the West Cork Literary Festival and Words by Water in her hometown, Kinsale. In 2019 she was a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, researching her latest book. ‘A Very Strange Man’: A Memoir of Aidan Higgins is due from New Island in Spring, 2021.
Cork City in Poems and Songs - a beguiling mosaic of a city that has been much loved by natives, transient residents and visitors alike
EATING SCENERY
‘You can’t eat scenery’ is an old saying about the difficulty of making a living in beautiful but remote places. West Cork, from Kinsale to the Beara Peninsula and from the Atlantic to the Lee Valley is such a place.
SHIP OF SEVEN MURDERS
In June 1828, the Mary Russell sailed into Cork Harbour from the West Indies. Seven crewmen lay in the main saloon, brutally and inexplicably murdered by the captain.
THE OUT-HAUL
A few years ago I was introduced to a woman at a party in Kinsale, where I live. ‘I’m very interested to meet you,’ she said, ‘I hear you’ve written a novel about my husband.’
A JOKE GOES A LONG WAY IN THE COUNTRY
There is a certain librarian in Cork who, every time he sees my name on my ticket, says in a furtive whisper ‘You wrote A Joke Goes a Long Way in the Country!’, and winks...
INSIDE CORK
Travel guide to Cork city and county. Probably the most thorough guide to Cork City and County ever written, this was one of the first books from the Collins Press, now a major figure in Irish publishing.
THE LIVING LEGEND OF ST PATRICK
This book looks at the historical man and the evidence of his writings, the apocryphal legends, the myth and the process that led in the 18th century to his emergence as a symbol of Irish nationalism.
THE DOGS OF INISHERE
A collection of the best of my stories from the past thirty years, will be published in Europe and the US on 21 April, 2017. This marks a welcome return to fiction writing after a long gap.
Events
CORK INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY FESTIVAL
Online Festival available worldwide, October 6-10, 2020
(Irish time = GMT+1) http://www.corkshortstory.net/programme.html
At 7pm on Tuesday 6 October, I will be reading from my own work in an event hosted by Sarah Byrne and also featuring Cathy Sweeney.
At 9pm on Friday 9 October I will be in conversation with American writers Bret Anthony Johnston and Ron Rash.
€5, book in advance
At 7pm on Tuesday 6 October, I will be reading from my own work in an event hosted by Sarah Byrne and also featuring Cathy Sweeney.
At 9pm on Friday 9 October I will be in conversation with American writers Bret Anthony Johnston and Ron Rash.
€5, book in advance
(click just to the left of the timestamp if it won’t play)
The Dogs of Inishere, a collection of the best of my stories from the past thirty years, will be published in Europe and the US on 21 April, 2017. This marks a welcome return to fiction writing after a long gap.
I always welcome the opportunity to work with Alannah
for her professionalism, tact, diligence and ability to transform a script.
She can see straight to the heart of the matter and is insightful about
what is required to turn a script into a publishable prospect.
”
Paula Elmore, Editor, The Collins Press Guide Books
“
I have worked with Alannah on several Insight/Berlitz projects.
She is a pleasure to work with and has brought her wide knowledge of the
tourism business in Ireland, including hotels, restaurants, attractions,
outdoor activities and cultural life, to each project.
”
Tom Stainer, Senior Editor, Insight Guides/Berlitz Handbooks
“
Alannah has ably hosted and interviewed John Banville and Kevin Barry, among others. She has
an instinct for fielding audience responses and framing them to create an engaged, enjoyable
session that really opens up a sense of the books. With a writer’s insight, she creates
an atmosphere that gives fresh insight, and a sense of really knowing the authors on stage.
”
Gemma Tipton, Guest Artistic Director, Kinsale Arts Festival, 2011 and 2012.
“
I have enjoyed working with Alannah
on a number of projects.
The Cork World Book Fest has commissioned Alannah to be guest curator
for continental European writers in 2014.
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Contact 
087 6799397 
2 Higher St, Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland