On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Oisín Fagan to read and discuss Mariana Enriquez's story, ‘Back When We Talked to the Dead', translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell, originally published as in The Stinging Fly Issue 35, Volume 2: Winter 2019/20. Oisín Fagan is the author of Hostages, and Nobber, which was lon…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Mary O’Donoghue to read and discuss Colm O’Shea’s story, ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’, originally published as part of the Online Fiction series on The Stinging Fly website in October 2023. Mary O’Donoghue is the author of The Hour After Happy Hour (Stinging Fly Press, 2023). Her short s…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Colin Walsh to read and discuss Clara Kumagai’s story, ‘Real Boys’, originally published in Issue 35, Volume 2: Winter 2016 – Fear & Fantasy. Colin Walsh‘s first novel, Kala, was published in 2023. A number one international bestseller, Kala won the Irish Book Award for Newcomer of t…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Rebecca Ivory to read and discuss Eamon McGuinness’s story, ‘Viewpoint’, originally published in Issue 38, Volume 2: Summer 2018 of The Stinging Fly. Rebecca Ivory is a writer based in Dublin. Her short fiction has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Banshee, The Tangerine and Fallow Media…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Roisin Kiberd to read and discuss John Patrick McHugh’s essay, ‘Name Your Character’, originally published in Issue 44/Volume 2: Summer 2021 of The Stinging Fly. Róisín Kiberd has written essays and features for the The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, Winter Papers, The White Review…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Caoilinn Hughes to read and discuss Emma Devlin’s short story, ‘The Gift’ originally published in Issue 49 Volume 2, Winter 2023-4. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience as part of Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2024. Please note: there are some brief mome…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Gavin Corbett to read and discuss Rebecca Ivory’s short story, ‘Arrivals’ originally published in Issue 45 Volume 2, Winter 2021-2. The story was written as part of the ‘One Night Stands’ project, curated by Thomas Morris, for which Rebecca and three other writers were asked to write…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Dean Fee and Emily Cooper to discuss their work as writers and editors of The Pig's Back. Read and discussed on the podcast are Danielle McLaughlin’s short story, 'Night of the Silver Fox’ originally published in Issue 23, Volume 2 of The Stinging Fly, and Mathew Sweeney's poem, 'Donegal', …

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Claire-Louise Bennett to read and discuss Lucy Sweeney Byrne’s short story, ‘To Cure a Body’ originally published in Issue 35, Volume 2, a special Fear & Fantasy issue, guested edited by Mia Gallagher. You can access the story here. Claire-Louise Bennett grew up in Wiltshire and stud…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Sheena Patel to read and discuss Oisín Fagan’s short story, ‘Triangle’ originally published in Issue 39, Volume 2 of The Stinging Fly. You can access the story here. Sheena Patel is a writer and assistant director for the film and TV industry. She is part of the 4 Brown Girls Who Wri…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Jan Carson to read and discuss Sheila Armstrong’s short story, 'Harlow'. Originally published on The Stinging Fly website in 2021, 'Harlow' is and available to read here. Jan Carson is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast. Her first novel, Malcolm Orange Disappear…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Colin Barrett to read and discuss David McGrath’s short story, ‘The Untameable Donkey’, originally published in our All New Writers issue, Winter 2022/23. Colin Barrett grew up in County Mayo. His stories have been published in The Stinging Fly, Granta, Harper’s and the New Yorker. H…

On this month’s episode, publisher and founding editor Declan Meade is joined by poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin who has just been announced as The Stinging Fly’s next poetry editor. Annemarie will take over the role from Cal Doyle in November. Here she talks about her own work as poet and editor, and reads recently published poems by Paula Meehan and …

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Kevin Power to read and discuss Eimear Ryan’s short story, ‘Body Clock’, originally published in our Winter 2009/10 issue. Kevin Power is the author of two novels, Bad Day in Blackrock (2008) and White City (2021), as well as a book of criticism, The Written World (2022). He is the w…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Sophie Mackintosh to read and discuss David Hayden’s short story, ‘Leckerdam of the Golden Hand’, originally published in our Summer 2016 issue. Sophie Mackintosh is the author of three novels: The Water Cure, Blue Ticket and Cursed Bread. Her debut novel was longlisted for the Man B…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Lucy Caldwell to read and discuss Niamh Prior’s short story, ‘Peter and Jane’. ‘Peter and Jane’ was originally published in July 2021 as part of our online fiction series. Lucy Caldwell was born in Belfast in 1981. She is the author of four novels, several stage plays and radio drama…

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Darran Anderson to read and discuss Mary O’Donoghue’s short story, ‘During the Russian Blizzard’. The story first appeared in the Summer 2014 issue of the magazine and was included in Stinging Fly Stories, 2018. It is one of twelve stories included in The Hour After Happy Hour, Mary’…

On this month’s episode of the podcast, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer and editor Michael Magee to read and discuss Louise Kennedy’s short story, ‘The End of the World is a Cul de Sac’. The story first appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of the magazine. It went on to become the title story of Louise’s first collection of stories, which was…

On this month’s episode of the podcast, host Nicole Flattery is joined by novelist and critic Rachel Connolly, to read and discuss a short story, ‘Rustlers’, by Michael Magee, which first appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of the magazine. Michael Magee is the fiction editor of The Tangerine and a graduate of the PhD Creative Writing programme at Qu…

On this month’s episode of the podcast, new host Nicole Flattery is joined by novelist and poet Susannah Dickey, to read and discuss a short story, ‘How They Live Now’, by Wes Lee, which first appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of the magazine. Wes Lee lives in New Zealand. Her work has appeared in a wide array of publications. She has won a number …

For our Winter 2021-22 issue, Editor-at-large Thomas Morris invited Marie-Helene Bertino, Rebecca Ivory, Jon McGregor, and Stephen Sexton to each write a short story in a single night: starting at dusk and submitting by dawn. In this second episode of a two-part series, we are joined by Jon McGregor, who reads and discusses his story ‘Dwell’, which…

For our Winter 2021-22 issue, Editor-at-large Thomas Morris invited four authors to each write a short story in a single night: starting at dusk and submitting by dawn. On this month’s episode of the podcast, he is joined by three of those authors – Marie-Helene Bertino, Rebecca Ivory, and Stephen Sexton – who read from their ‘One Night Stands’ and…

On this month's episode of the podcast, editor Danny Denton is joined by translator Frank Wynne, to read and discuss a short story, "Britney Spears' Sandwich", by Togolese writer Kangni Alem, which first appeared in English in our most recent issue, Summer 2021. Kangni Alem is an award-winning Togolese writer, critic and playwright. He founded the …

On this month's episode of the podcast, editor Danny Denton is joined by writer John Patrick McHugh, to read and discuss Sean O'Reilly's story 'All Day And All of the Night', which first appeared in our Winter 2011 issue. John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His fiction has appeared in Winter Papers, The Tangerine, Banshee, Granta and The Stinging F…

On this month's episode of the podcast, editor Danny Denton is joined by novelist Niamh Campbell, to read and discuss Kevin Power's darkly surreal story 'The Dead Hotel', which first appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of the magazine. Niamh Campbell's debut novel This Happy was published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 2020, and nominated for the An P…

On this month's episode of The Stinging Fly Podcast, Declan Meade is joined by Nuala O'Connor, to read 'Sing, Dance, Earn Your Keep', an essay by Nicole Flattery first published in the Winter 2015 issue of the magazine. Nuala O'Connor is a writer of novels, short fiction, poetry, and essays. She also publishes under the name Nuala Ní Chonchúir. Nua…

On this month's episode of The Stinging Fly Podcast, Ian Maleney is joined by Adrian Duncan, to read a piece from the Summer 2008 issue of the Stinging Fly, an essay from the 'First Passions' series written by the Longford poet Vona Groarke. Adrian is the Berlin-based author of two novels, Love Notes from A German Building Site, which won the John …

This month on the Stinging Fly podcast, we're taking a little diversion from our usual format to present a special reading of a story from our Summer 2020 issue. 'Getting the Electric' was written by Louise Hegarty, and is read here by musician Maija Sofia. This recording was made as part of View Source, a unique online publication, curated by Fall…

In this month's episode of the podcast, Danny Denton is joined by novelist Conor O'Callaghan to read and discuss the essay 'Suddenly A Duck', by Claire-Louise Bennett. Conor O'Callaghan was born in Newry in 1968 and grew up in Dundalk. His first novel, Nothing on Earth, was published in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of th…

This month on the Stinging Fly podcast, we're taking a little diversion from our usual format to present a lecture by the novelist Paul Lynch. Paul is the author of four internationally acclaimed novels: Beyond the Sea, The Black Snow, Red Sky In Morning, and Grace, which won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in 2018. He was born in Lim…

In this month's episode of the podcast, Declan Meade is joined by novelist Rónán Hession to read and discuss the story 'Eight Days', by Chinese writer Zou Jingzhi. Rónán Hession is an award-winning musician and writer. He wrote and recorded music as Mumblin’ Deaf Ro and was nominated for a Choice Music Award for his album, Dictionary Crimes. Leonar…

Caelainn Hogan is the author of Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland's Institutions for Fallen Women, published in 2019 by Penguin. She has worked as a journalist and filed stories from all over the world for publications like National Geographic, the New York Times magazine, Harper's, the New Yorker, and The Guardian. She's also written essays …

Mark O'Connell, author of To Be A Machine and Notes from an Apocalypse, joins Ian Maleney to read and discuss 'Bland God: Notes on Mark Zuckerberg', an essay from our Summer 2018 issue written by Roisin Kiberd. Mark O'Connell is a writer based in Dublin. His books, To Be a Machine: Encounters With a Post-Human Future, and Notes From An Apocalypse, …

Naoise Dolan, author of the acclaimed debut novel, Exciting Times, joins Declan Meade in studio to read and discuss the subtle gothic horror of Emma Donoghue's 'Looking for Petronilla', a story that appeared way back in Issue 11 of the magazine in Winter 2001. Naoise Dolan was born in Dublin, studied at Trinity College, and completed a master's deg…

To celebrate the publication of her debut collection, Modern Times, Cathy Sweeney reads 'The Chair', a dark and funny story from the book. Modern Times is available to purchase from The Stinging Fly: https://stingingfly.org/product/modern-times/ Praise for Modern Times: "Cathy Sweeney's stories have already attracted a band of fanatical devotees, a…

In the first episode of 2020, Declan Meade is joined by Cathy Sweeney, to read from and discuss the work of Tania Hershman. Cathy Sweeney’s writing has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, Egress, Winter Papers, Banshee, and The Tangerine. Her stories have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Her debut collection of short fiction, …

Stephen Sexton joins us on this month's episode of the Stinging Fly podcast, to read and discuss two poems by Sinéad Morrissey. Stephen Sexton's debut collection, If All The World And Love Were Young, was published in September 2019 by Penguin, and won The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in October. Sexton’s first pamphlet, Oils (Emma …

Oisín Fagan, novelist and short-story writer, chooses 'Hay', a story by David Hayden which first appeared in our Spring 2010 issue. Oisín Fagan has had fiction published in The Stinging Fly, New Planet Cabaret and the anthology Young Irelanders. He won the inaugural Penny Dreadful Novella Prize for his novella The Heirophants. His debut collection …

Eimear Ryan, writer of fiction and essays, as well as the co-editor of Banshee, joins Danny Denton to read and discuss 'Danny', a story by Lucy Sweeney Byrne taken from our 2016 special issue on the Easter Rising. Eimear Ryan is from Co. Tipperary and lives in Cork. She writes about sport for the Irish Examiner and is an editor for the literary jou…

Wendy Erskine, author of the acclaimed debut collection Sweet Home, joins Danny Denton at the Belfast Book Festival to read and talk about 'Prosinečki', a story by Adrian Duncan taken from our Summer 2018 issue of the magazine. Wendy Erskine’s work has been published in The Stinging Fly, Winter Papers, and on BBC Radio 4. Her work has been collecte…

Nicole Flattery, author of the newly-published debut collection, Show Them A Good Time, joins Danny Denton in the studio to talk about 'Andy Warhol', a story by Keith Ridgway taken from the Winter 2011 issue of the magazine, and recently collected in the Stinging Fly Stories anthology. Nicole Flattery's stories have been published in The Irish Time…

Melatu Uche Okorie, author of the much-heralded story collection This Hostel Life, joins Sally Rooney in the studio to discuss two pieces of flash fiction: 'Cute', by Ian Shine, and 'FA Cup Winners On Open Top Bus Tour of My Village', by Jonathan Edwards.

Sally Rooney is joined in the studio this month by Anne Griffin, best-selling author of When All Is Said, recently published by Sceptre. Anne reads 'Scaffolding', a story by Oisin Fagan, from our Spring 2015 issue.

In the November edition of the podcast, Sally Rooney is joined in the studio by Jessica Traynor. They read and discuss Wendy Erskine's story, 'To All Their Dues', first published by the Stinging Fly in Summer 2016 and included in Erskine's recently-published debut collection, Sweet Home.Jessica Traynor was born in Dublin in 1984. Her poems have bee…

Emilie Pine, bestselling author of the essay collection 'Notes to Self', joins Sally Rooney in studio to talk about Julian Gough's essay, 'How To Edit Your Own Lousy Writing'.

Evelyn Conlon reads from her story, 'The Park', about the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979, and discusses its relevance ahead of Pope Francis' upcoming visit.

Martina Evans joins Declan Meade in the studio to read Sinéad Morrissey's story, 'The Day I Brought Water'.Martina Evans is an Irish poet, novelist and teacher. She grew up in County Cork in a country pub, shop and petrol station and is the youngest of ten children. She is the author of eleven books of prose and poetry. Her latest poetry collection…

In this month's episode, Sally Rooney is joined in studio by Mia Gallagher to read and discuss 'Ten Days, Counting Slowly', a short story by Jennifer Brady. 'Ten Days, Counting Slowly' was first published in our Summer 2008 issue, and is included in our new anthology, 'Stinging Fly Stories'.

Sally Rooney is joined by Sarah Gilmartin for a very special edition of the podcast this month. They discuss five stories selected from the new 'Stinging Fly Stories' anthology, a collection of 40 stories by 40 writers which celebrates 20 years of the Stinging Fly magazine. Excerpts from the stories are read by Karl Parkinson, Nora Pyne, Lucy Sween…

Colm Keegan joins Sally Rooney to read and discuss 'The Cavalcade', a dark and ambiguous story by Sean O'Reilly.