Five Dials:free mag-stories from Kevin Barry, Nuala Ni Chonchuir and Lydia Davis et more!

Twitter is great for following new literary talent and any sort of bookish and writing news. I follow the brilliant Nuala Ni Chonchur, who not only writes and writes novels, poetry and short stories, teaches classes but she also runs a pretty cool blog. It is called http://womenrulewriter.blogspot.ie/. I think she writes 3 other blogs too but let’s just focus on this one. Easy now!

Nuala’s twitter handle is @NualaNiC and she is a brilliant social conversationalist. She tweets you right back and if you make a comment on her blog, she replies! That’s manners for you!

Seriously, though her blog and tweet alerted me to the Five Dials magazine. I have heard of it before but didn’t quite realise how good it was. I must admit I only really went to delve into it properly when I saw these 4 words-Kevin.Barry.new.writing.

But, this issue not only has writing from himself, it has short stories, fiction, poetry and strange images from Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Lydia David, Mike McCormack and D.W Wilson. Kevin’s story is well, very Kevin. A story called “The lovely Miss-what’s her face” is about a frustrated young man with psoriasis who likes to cook spaghetti bolgonese. Little does he know is that a man will never find a nice, young girl if he is going ot present her with a made from scratch spag bol. This woman is not really after the spag bol.

Nuala’s story Room 313  is really, really nice and sad and tender and the ending just hits the right spot. It’s about a chambermaid and the things she sees, the work she does/doesn’t do and her favourite room, Room 313. The chambermaid kicks some bottom at the end.

So, you can see why I am so excited because not only does five dials have these amazing short story writers and other bits of fiction and poetry, it also puts out  a call to all.

Zsuzsi Gartner is another pretty cool short story writer(why so many?), she is looking for people to “adopt” her short stories. She gives eleven of her story starters and you have to write to her, the old fashioned way and ask for adoption rights. She will send you a cert and you must finish the story. Simple.

I wish. Your story may be published in a future issue of Five Dials. I am going to have a go so why not you?

The link to the Five dials Issue 25 can be found here. and Nuala’s blog at here.

I am so good to you, you know.

4 Replies to “Five Dials:free mag-stories from Kevin Barry, Nuala Ni Chonchuir and Lydia Davis et more!”

  1. It’s one of my to-read-soon! I’ve never read an issue of FIve Dials but I keep hearing good things about it. So now that’s they have a Cork festival themed issue, I’ve no excuse not to. I love that they encourage you to print it, and that the lay-out is designed for that – very democratic!

    1. Yes, it was brilliant! Loads of great readings and discussions (Kevin Barry IS the man!), and I got to discover new writers – as if I needed to add anything to my too-read mountain!

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