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DUBLIN: TEN JOURNEYS, ONE DESTINATION is a collection of short stories centred around one place: the atmospheric, irreplaceable chaos of Dublin, a city which has attracted writers from across the island and around the world.
This collection - which coincides with UNESCO naming Dublin a City of Literature this year - captures the vibrancy the 'new Irish' have brought to this country from places as diverse as the Igbo-speaking region of Nigeria and the icy plains of rural Canada, and mixes it easily with sparkling new work from established Irish authors such as Galway-based Nuala Ni Chonchuir (recently shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize), Dublin's own Oran Ryan (recent recipient of an Arts Council Bursary), and prolific Derry-based author and award-winning journalist Garbhan Downey.
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Meet the Authors
Roslyn Fuller
Author of ISAK
Originally from Ontario, Canada
| Better known as the face (and, of course, the body) of bodypainting in Ireland, Argentine/Irish Canadian Roslyn Fuller is completing a PhD on Democracy and International Law at Trinity College Dublin, having obtained her first bar exams in Germany. A long-time Mensan, she is the author of political thriller ISAK and has previously worked alongside her studies as an academic copy-editor, translator, visa officer, lecturer and model. | |
Ifedinma Dimbo
Author of forthcoming novel She was Foolish?
Originally from the Igbo Region, Nigeria
| Having studied Sociology and Anthropology in Nigeria, Ifedinma obtained an MA in Sociology of Development from University College Cork. After forays into the worlds of fashion and banking she returned to Ireland in 2005. During a protracted legal battle with immigration, in which she experienced first-hand the Irish asylum system and facilities, she discovered her talent for writing. One of her stories was featured in the 2008 publication Takinga the Wise Man. | |
J. B. Rehnstrom
Author of forthcoming novel At Cross
Originally from Sweden
| J.B.'s writing life began with her grandmother's gift of a beautiful round-keyed typewriter. Having lived in her native Sweden, London, Los Angeles and New York, she moved to Dublin in 2004. A regular contributor to GCN magazine since 2005 on immigration and rural isolation issues, she is working on her novel At Cross due out this coming winter. | |
Nuala Ní Chonchúir
Author of critically acclaimed novel You
From Galway
| Galway writer Nuala Ní Chonchúir holds a BA in Irish from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Translation Studies from Dublin City University. Having worked as an arts administrator, translator and bookseller, she currently teaches creative writing. She has been shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize for her short story collection Nude, but is best known for her critically acclaimed novel You. | |
Oran Ryan
Author of The Death of Finn
From Dublin
| A former member of the Order of Friars Minor, Oran Ryan is a novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter from Dublin. He has been writing full time for 10 years and has completed a number of novels, of which The Death of Finn was the first to be published. Educated at Synge Street Christian Brothers School, as well as Carlow, Milltown Institute and UCD, he was awarded an Arts Council Bursary in 2008. | |
Isabel Roleff
Regular contributor of book reviews to
Metro Éireann
Originally from Germany
| Having settled in Dublin in 2001 with a Masters in Literature and Languages in her pocket, Isabel has worked in journalism, event management and banking. After exploring writing in her native German and French, she has chosen English as her literary 'home'. A relentless optimist and mental explorer, she enjoys a broad horizon with a perspective that meanders off the beaten track. | |
Melatu Okorie
Recipient of the 2009
Metro Éireann Writing Award
Originally from Nigeria
| Originally from Nigeria, Melatu now lives in Ireland. The recent winner of the Metro Éireann Writing Award spends her days in front of her computer and looking after her four year old daughter. | |
Garbhan Downey
Author of Private Diary of a Suspended MLA
Derry, Northern Ireland
| Derry-based writer Garbhan Downey graduated from University College Galway in 1987 and has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, newspaper editor and literary editor. His debut novel Private Diary of a Suspended MLA was described in the Sunday Times as "the best Northern Ireland political novel of the century", while a second novel, Yours Confidentially: Letters of a Would-be MP, was listed as one of the Philadelphia Inquirer's top seven International Crime Reads of the Year. | |
Kay Inckle
Author of Writing on the Body? Thinking Through
Gendered Embodiment and Marked Flesh
Originally from Derbyshire, UK
| Kay Inckle was born and raised in Derbyshire in the English midlands, but has been resident in Ireland and an honorary Dub for the last fourteen years. Kay lectures in Trinity College and also runs her own research, training and consultancy company specialising in the area of self-injury and a harm-reduction approach. She has published widely academically where she brings the use of creative practices to her research. | |
Joan Arbery
Art and theatre critic for RenegadeBus, Dallas
From Texas, USA
| Based physically in Dallas, Texas, Joan Arbery still lives with her head and heart in Dublin, where she lived between 2007 and 2008. Having received her PhD in Literature (French and Irish Studies) from the University of Notre Dame, she currently teaches Rhetoric Courses at Southern Methodist University. | |
Interviews and Media Coverage
The Dubliner
Books
9th June 2011
| Bridget Hourican reviews Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination for The Dubliner.
Bridget's review, which calls the book "just brilliant, period" can be seen here
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GCN
Quick and the Read
1st March 2011
| Review of Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination in GCN Magazine.
Click here to read the review.
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West Dublin Access Radio
Telling Tales
February 2011
| Jeanette Rehnstrom and Oran Ryan talk about Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination, how they became the writers they are today and what drew them to the project.
Listen to the interview below
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RTÉ Radio 1
Arena Programme
15th December 2011
| RTE Radio One's Arena programme with interviews and live readings by Roslyn Fuller, Jeanette Rehnstrom, Kay Inckle and Oran Ryan. Click here to listen. | |
Northside People
15th December 2011
| The Northside People covers the launch of Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination.
Online copy here (page 10)
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BBC Radio Foyle
Sarah Brett Programme
29th November 2011
| Editor Roslyn Fuller and Garbhan Downey appeared on the Sarah Brett programme to talk about Dublin: Ten Journeys, One Destination and how Ireland and its literary traditions have been transformed by the arrival of foreign writers.
This interview is unfortunately no longer on the BBC Foyle website.
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From personal freedom and personal tragedy to everyday life in Dublin's streets, each story is a reflection of the importance Dublin has for each writer, whether it's trawling along Grafton Street with Ifedinma Dimbo's cheerful African narrator candidly sharing her own hilarious perspective on all things Irish, or sailing into Dublin with Isabel Roleff's inspiring story of an elderly woman making her own peace with clerical abuse.
While the authors may be diverse, many of the book's basic themes are universal: being far from home and family in a new adopted country - a familiar situation for emigrating Irish over the centuries - but one so far unexplored for those arriving on these shores.
While preserving these unique perspectives, this upbeat, one-of-a-kind contemporary collection conveys a distinct sense of place that evokes Dublin's history, well-known city pubs and streets and, of course, its people - be it through JB Rehnstrom's evocative, emotional journey through place, belonging and hope, MetroEireann Writing Award winner Melatu Okorie's tale of a Nigerian asylum seeker forced to deal with a loan shark, or Roslyn Fuller's offbeat cast of sarcastic misfits, who have an attempted murder on their hands.
DUBLIN: TEN JOURNEYS, ONE DESTINATION not only features world-class writing; many of the authors are notable figures in the academics and arts spheres (the collection features no less than three PhDs). From the playful to the serious, from the vicious to the sublime, DUBLIN: TEN JOURNEYS, ONE DESTINATION is smart writing from some very different people.
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Where to Buy
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