Thought for the Weekend - Stephen King on Short Stories

As I am trying to do catch up big time over the last few days, I am going to incorporate the weekly Thought for the Weekend  with a brief note on my short story reading at the Irish Writers Centre.

Firstly seeing as how I am trying to put the two together, it seems only right that the Thought for the Weekend should be about short story writing.

'A short story is a different thing all together - a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.'

- Stephen King -

So just to say, the Irish Writers Centre is a wonderful place to read, full of atmosphere, old in the really good sense of the word.  My fellow readers on the night were Celeste Auge, reading 'Mammary World', Finbar Rafferty, reading 'The Tormentor', and Patrick Fitzgerald, reading 'Nebraska', all brilliant stories.


The evening went really very well and despite nerves and sweaty palms, I think overall I did a good job on the reading, at least my fans (slightly bias ones), all said so.


Jack Harte, the chairman of the Writers Centre gave everyone a lovely introduction, and his kind words about my story 'Hello' were as follows:

'This story visits an all-too-familiar tragedy of the Ireland of not-so-long-ago. The savagery of a society dominated by a callous theocracy has been well exposed by now. But this story does not engage in polemics or even righteous indignation. It quietly enters the world of the protagonist and illuminates the tragedy from within. It is all the more powerful for that, leaving the reader to share and enjoy the possibility of hope that emerges from the situation.'

All in all, it was a great evening, and one that I will remember for a very long time to come, so thanks to everyone that got there on the night, and thanks to Claire from the Irish Writers Centre who pampered us and made us all feel very special.