This year-long course is a unique combination of (a) an opportunity to develop a manuscript, (b) peer review/critique, and (c) mentorship based on the one-on-one attention the facilitator gives to your work in progress.

This course will consist of:

· Eight workshops taking place over eight weekends from October 2026 to June 2027. There will be no workshop in December.

· A submission of between 2000-3000 words each month of your ongoing project for proofreading, editing and analysis. That is a total submission of up to 24000 words

· Extracts from your project being workshopped by the class on two occasions during the year. These extracts can be an entire chapter or a full short story but should not exceed 6000 words.

· Each month there will be a reading assignment of either an entire short story collection or a novel. This reading list will be provided in advance of the course start date.

The immersive Workshops.

Each day is 10am to 4.30pm. 

10am-11.30pm

· Discussion of monthly reading assignments with a focus on what you can take from it and apply to your own writing.

· Free write for twenty minutes from a bespoke prompt based on the submission you made that month

· Sharing of aspects of your free write to include any discoveries it has helped you make on your work in progress.

11.30pm-12.00pm

· Morning break in the dining room, where all refreshments are provided by the centre. Vegan and Coeliac diets are catered for.

12.00pm-1.30pm

· Focus on craft. This will be a detailed look at an aspect of craft, following a handout.

· Exploring genres. Each month a spotlight will be thrown on a different genre, where the nuances of that genre will be examined and discussed. The chosen genre each month will be suggested by that month’s reading assignment.

1.30pm-2.30pm.

· Lunch in the dining room, provided by the centre. Vegan and Coeliac diets are catered for.

2.20pm-4.30pm

· The work of two participants will be workshopped by the group.

· A general discussion about how each person’s work is progressing, any problems being encountered and a sharing of what is working… practices, routines, readings, etc. 

Submissions and workshopping.

Each month you will submit an extract of 2000-3000 words from your work in progress. This will be circulated to the entire group for them to read. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, because you will be using the free write to add to this work in progress and discuss it with the group, they will need to be able to contextualise what you share by having read your work. Secondly, the group’s knowledge of each other’s project will lead to a richer experience for both the group and the writer when your monthly submission is being workshopped.

The facilitator will deal with your monthly submission following the four stages of editing a first draft:

· Structural/developmental editing. This is looking at all aspects of the work needed to get the story right.

· Line editing. Looking at sentences and paragraphing and making corrections needed to aid the style, the flow of the work.

· Copy editing. Looking at grammar, punctuation and consistency in styles being used.

· Proofreading. Looking for typos and minor mistakes.

When your submission is being workshopped, the group will be invited to prepare their points in advance under headings provided by the facilitator. These headings may vary for each writer as they will be specific to each submission being workshopped.

Reading Assignments.

The reading list has not yet been finalised, but it will be a mixture of novels, novellas and short story collections taken from the works of contemporary and classical writers. Among them will be classics such as James Joyce, John McGahern, and contemporaries such as Tessa Hadley and Bernie McGill.

Course Facilitator; Pauline Clooney

Pauline Clooney is an award-winning writer and founder of the Kildare Writing Centre. A former teacher of English, History, and Drama for over 30 years, she now works full-time as a writer and creative writing facilitator, with experience delivering workshops for institutions including the Irish Writers Centre, NUI Maynooth, and numerous festivals across Ireland. Pauline holds an MA in Creative Writing from UCD, an MLitt from NUIM with a thesis on Charlotte Brontë, and a diploma in Creative Writing for Publication.

Her debut novel, Charlotte and Arthur (Merdog Books), a reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s Irish honeymoon, reflects her scholarly and narrative expertise. Her short fiction has received widespread recognition, winning the 2024 Dingle Literary Festival Short Story Competition. She is a recipient of the Arts Council Agility Award and a former winner of the RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition.

Pauline is a frequent festival speaker, including at the Bradford International Literature Festival and Brontë Society events in Ireland and Japan. She is a member of several professional literary organisations and continues to support emerging voices in Irish fiction through her teaching and mentorship.  

Fees and payments.

A deposit of €200 will secure your place on the course.

The balance of €1100 can be made in 8 instalments of €137.50 each month before the monthly immersion day or on the day itself.

The total cost of the course is €1300. Maximum of 9 participants.

Includes lunch and refreshments.

The dates for the immersion workshop days are as follows:

Saturday October 3rd

Sunday November 15th

Saturday January 9th

Sunday February 7th

Saturday March 6th

Sunday  April 11th

Saturday May 8th

Saturday June 12th

The course is ideally aimed at writers who have already completed at least one course/workshop with Kildare Writing Centre, as it is not suitable for absolute beginners. This is an intensive course and you will get the most out of it if you have a work in progress that you want to advance or finish.

You can book your place by clicking on the link below.