2018

SHOW [STORYTELLING & SONG]: THE WONDER TALES – East Antrim Boat Club, Wednesday 14 November, Larne, 7.30pm – 9.30pm. *One-woman show* Info here.

 

SHOW [STORYTELLING & SONG]: THE WONDER TALES – CS Lewis Festival, Saturday 3 November, Skainos, Belfast, 4pm – 6pm. *One-woman show* Tickets and info here.

 

STORYMAKING: #TheBigStory 10am – 4pm Saturday 29 September, Portstewart. As part of Big Telly Theatre Company’s Big Weekend, I’ll be out and about in Portstewart. I’ll be on the prom, in the shops and in the library – and I’ll be looking for your story-making help. The story we build together will be tweeted live!

READINGS & CONVERSATION: WOMEN’S VOICES FROM NORTHERN IRELAND – 6.30pm Friday 17 August [Waterstones Argyle Street, Glasgow] and 10.30am Saturday 18 August [The Mitchell Library, Glasgow]. Join me and Hilary McCollum (Golddigger) as we discuss our work with Margot McCuaig (The Birds That Never Flew). Tickets here [Friday] and here [Saturday].

SHOW [STORYTELLING & SONG]: THE WONDER TALES – Crieff, Scotland, Thursday 16 August, Strathearn Artspace, 7.30pm – 9.30pm. *One-woman show* Tickets and info here.

 

SHOW [STORYTELLING & SONG]: THE WONDER TALES [90 minutes] – Belfast [12 June], Portstewart [15 June], Derry [21 June], Bellaghy [22 June] and Portaferry [29 June]. More dates/locations may be added for late summer and early autumn performances. If the words dark faerie tales, steampunk, bawdy and Baz Luhrmann appeal to you, this show is for you! Stories written by: Jane Talbot. Songs written by: Jane Talbot and Noel Harron. Performers: Jane Talbot and Noel Harron. For: adults [not suitable for those under 12]. Keep up-to-date with show news here.

READINGS: 1.30pm – 3.00pm, Thursday 8 March, Waterstones Coleraine, 7.00pm – 9.00pm, Thursday 8 March, The Primrose Quay, Derry; and PANEL EVENT and READINGS on Saturday 10 March, Irish Writers Centre, Dublin. Women Aloud NI 2018 is a series of events taking place between 08 and 10 March [International Women’s Day]. The initiative aims to raise the profile of women writers in Northern Ireland. 100+ writers will be taking part in a range of events in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

TALK & READING: 10.30am – 11.30am, Thursday 8 March, Ballymoney Library, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. I’ll be reading from The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories and talking about the links between local places, local folklore and my stories! There’ll be a Q&A session too. Book through Ballymoney Library.

2017

STORYTELLING: 4.00pm – 6.00pm, Wednesday 13 December, Grand Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland Join me and actor Noel Harron for a afternoon of ghost stories and tall tales! [This event is for Friends of the Grand Opera House only.]

STORYTELLING: 4.00pm – 5.00pm, Sunday 24 September, Kiltonga Hall, Newtownards, Northern Ireland. Join me for a spellbinding afternoon of faerie tales! More info/tickets here.

 

STORYTELLING: 2.00pm – 4.00pm, Saturday 23 September, Portstewart Library, Portstewart, Northern Ireland. As part of Big Telly Theatre Company’s Big Sunday programme, I’ll be performing four faerie stories that all set in the North Coast area! Performances: 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm.

WOMEN ALOUD NI READATHON: 2.00pm – 4.00pm, Saturday 17 June, Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I’m the MC for this brilliant event and I’ll be reading at it too! 50 women writers will be taking part. More info/tickets here.

MAGICAL MASQUERADE BOOK LAUNCH: 12.00pm – 1.00pm, Saturday 17 June, Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I’ll be in coversation with Claire Savage at the launch of her new book for young readers, Magical Masquerade. This is a free event but you’ll need to book. More info/tickets here.

MYRIAD ROUTES FROM PAGE TO STAGE: 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Wednesday 7 June, Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I’ll be joining fellow writers Hilary McCollum and Claire Savage for an hour of fascinating conversation about the journey our work has taken from page to stage. More info/tickets here.

READING: NORTH COAST VOICES 2.00pm – 4.00pm, Saturday 20 May, Waterstones, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Come along and listen to 12 women writers from the North Coast area read their work. I’ll be reading some new work at this event! More info here.

TALK & READING: 2.30pm – 3.15pm, Saturday 15 April, Waterstones, Coleraine, Northern Ireland
Big Telly Theatre Company’s new production, The Faerie Thorn, starts its UK/Ireland tour at the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, on Friday 21 April. Come along and listen to me talk about what it’s like to work with a professional theatre company and the process of adapting stories for the stage. I’ll also read and sign books!

READING: 7.30pm – 10.00pm, Wednesday 8 March, Aras Cholmcille, Derry and various events on Saturday 11 March, Irish Writers Centre, Dublin. Women Aloud NI 2017 is a series of events taking place between 07 and 11 March. The initiative aims to raise the profile of women writers in Northern Ireland. 150+ writers will be taking part in a range of events in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

2016

STORYTELLING: 5.30pm – 7.30pm, Thursday 15th December, Cornfield Project, Coleraine, Northern Ireland
I’ll be telling winter faerie tales at the Cornfield Project’s Christmas Grotto event. Suitable for all ages. Entry £2.50 [includes a present from Santa]. 

TALK, READING & STORYTELLING: 7.30pm – 9pm, Friday 18th November, Iona Hostel, Isle of Iona, Scotland
Come along and hear me talk about my residency at the hostel and my writing process. I’ll also be telling a story and reading from my work.

READING & CHAIRING:  Pop-up reading 3.30pm ; chairing ‘Extraordinary Women’ event 4.45pm Saturday 1st October, Women of the World Festival, Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Find full details on the WOW website.

STORYTELLING: 2-4pm, Sunday 25th September, Portstewart Promenade, Portstewart, Northern Ireland.
As part of Big Telly Theatre Company’s Big Sunday programme, I’ll be performing four faerie stories that all set in the North Coast area! Performances: 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm. 

READING : 2pm – 3.30pm Saturday 10th September, Banbridge Library, Banbridge, Northern Ireland.
I’ll be reading from The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories and talking about the links between local places, local folklore and my stories! There’ll be a Q&A session too. Book through Banbridge Library.  

Q&A SESSION AND PREVIEW OF BIG TELLY THEATRE COMPANY’S STAGE PRODUCTION OF THE FAERIE THORN: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm Saturday 13th August, The Old Auction Rooms, Bangor, Northern Ireland.
 For one day only, you can witness a key stage of the development of the stage production of ‘The Faerie Thorn’ and participate in a Q&A session with the actors, the director and the writer [me!]. This is a rare opportunity to see a dynamic theatre company at work and get a glimpse of their latest production before it tours the UK and Ireland in spring 2017. You can find more details and book tickets here.

READING: 2pm and again at 2.45pm Sunday 19th June, Old Bushmills Distillery, Bushmills, Northern Ireland.
There’s nothing better than listening to – or reading – a story in the place it is set. Come along to the Bushmills Salmon & Whiskey Festival on Sunday 19 June to listen to ‘The Spirit of the Meadow Burn’ the story of how Bushmills Irish Whiskey REALLY got its flavour! Find more details for this free event here.

NORTHERN LIGHTS [PANEL MEMBER]: 8pm Friday 17th June, Crescent Arts Centre, Northern Ireland. 
Publishing Ireland’s celebrates the explosion of fresh talent in the Northern Irish writing scene in recent years at this event. I’ll be part of a wonderfully diverse line-up! Book tickets for this free event here.

TALK & READING: 1.15pm – 2.15pm Thursday 16th June, Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
I’ll be talking about fairy tales, folklore and ‘place magick’ at this year’s Belfast Book Festival. You can get full event details, and book your tickets, here.

READING & CONVERSATION : 1.15pm Tuesday 8th March, Waterstones Bookshop, Coleraine, and 7pm Tuesday 8th March, No Alibis Bookshop, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Women Aloud NI 2016 is a one-day event which aims to raise the profile of women writers in Northern Ireland. 130 writers will be taking part in a range of events across the country. I’ll be in conversation with fellow author, Bernie McGill in Waterstone’s Coleraine in the morning [details here] and I’ll be hosting, and taking part in, a readathon at No Alibis Bookshop in the evening [details here].

2015

BOOK LAUNCH : 6pm Friday 25th September, North Down Museum, Bangor, Northern Ireland
The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories will be launched at the Aspects Festival. I’ll be reading from the collection, talking about the stories and answering questions too. The event is free and you can find full details on the Aspects Festival website.

READING : 3pm -4.30pm Saturday 24th October, Waterstones Bookshop, Coleraine, Northern Ireland
I’ll be reading from The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories and talking about the links between local places and my stories! I’ll be happy to answer questions and sign books too.

LIVE-STREAMED BOOK GROUP : 7pm Sunday 1st November, On-Line 
I’ll be guesting at an on-line book group, and you can participate in the event from the comfort of your own sofa! Three panelists will be discussing The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories, and they’ll be asking me questions too. You’ll be able to watch the event here via YouTube [this is also the replay link] or here via Google Hangouts. If you watch via Google Hangouts, you’ll be able to post questions and comments at the live event too. Join the Facebook event page to keep up-to-date with all event news and post questions for the panel to consider.

READING : 12.10 – 12.55pm Friday 13th November, Dublin Book Festival, Ireland
I’ll be reading alongside some of Ireland’s freshest new voices : Kelly Creighton (The Bones of It), Gerard Lee (Forsaken) and Alan Walsh (Sour). You’ll find full details of this event on the Dublin Book Festival website .

READING : 6pm – 7.30pm Thursday 19th November, Waterstones Bookshop, Belfast, Northern Ireland
I’ll be reading from The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories and talking about the links between local places and my stories! I’ll be happy to answer questions and sign books too.

READING : 7pm – 8.30pm Friday 4th December, Waterstones Bookshop, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
I’ll be reading from The Faerie Thorn & Other Stories and talking about the links between local places and my stories! I’ll be happy to answer questions and sign books too.

THEATRE : 4pm-5pm Mon 14th – Wed 16th December, Big Telly Theatre’s Creative Shop Project, Ballymoney, NI
I’ll be with the Big Telly Theatre Company, working on the development of a piece of theatre based on The Faerie Thorn and Other Stories. There will be a daily public sharing of our work between 4pm and 5pm.