Waterford Libraries are delighted to work in partnership with the Munster Literature Centre and with funding from Creative Waterford, Dún Garbhán le Gaeilge and the Irish Writers Centre to provide a series of creative writing courses for adults. All courses are free of charge, but places must be booked in advance.

The programme runs from July to October 2026 and gives participants an opportunity to attend courses in both Irish and English with experienced, well-established writers in their fields. The workshops are either online or take place in library locations.

Courses are free of charge and open to people over 18 years resident in the City or County of Waterford.

View the Writers at Waterford Libraries Writing Courses 2026 Brochure.

Writing Courses 2026:

July / August :

Fundamentals of Fiction with William Ryan

This course provides the nuts and bolts of prose fiction, along with individual feedback on offer.
There will be takeaway exercises to apply to your own writing outside of the group and also weekly writing deadlines in place.

Level: Beginners/Emerging
Dates: 14th, 21st, 28th July & 4th August (Tuesdays)
Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Location: ONLINE

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/396

Closing Date for Course Application: 30th June 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

How To Plan A Murder – A One Day Crime Novel Course with William Ryan

This one-day crime novel workshop is aimed at writers who have either completed their novel or are working on a first draft, as well as beginners who hope to turn a promising idea into something more. It will focus on plot, central and subsidiary characters, setting, research flow and opening chapters.

Level: All Levels
Date: 5th  September
Time: Full Day
Location: ONLINE

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/401

Closing Date for Course Application: 16th August 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

A Voyage Around Travel Writing – One Day Masterclass in Travel Writing with Madeleine Keane

Join award-winning journalist Madeleine Keane on an exciting journey into the rewarding world of travel writing. The technical aspects of the craft will be examined – from research and factchecking to composing compelling openings, controlling your narrative and creating rich, vivid prose. Learn how to avoid cliche, how to navigate the ethics of travel writing and how to repurpose your work. The day-long master class will also delve into the digital world of online media and blogging.

Level: All Levels
Date: 22nd  August
Time: One Day
Location: Central Library

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/400

Closing Date for Course Application: 18th July 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

September:

Creative Non-Fiction and Arts Reportage with Peter Murphy

This course will be a primer on all practical facets of feature writing, reportage, interviewing techniques, reviewing, podcasting, broadcasting, and the art of the personal essay. The course will provide a brief overview of the last fifty- something years of arts reportage, from the new journalism of Tom Wolfe and Joan Didion through arch critics Grell Marcus and Pauline Kael, the gonzo school of Lester Bangs and Nick Kent up to Gen X commentators such as Greg Tate, Gina Arnold and Simon Reynolds. It will also draw from Peter’s own archive of interviews with writers, musicians, and artists as well as encouraging practical participation and writing exercises.

Level: All Levels
Dates: 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th September (Saturdays)
Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Central Library

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/403

Closing Date for Course Application: 22nd August 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

As I Recall – Writing Workshop with Aingeala Flannery

How does memory shape the stories we tell? This creative writing workshop invites participants to use memory as inspiration through guided prompts, short readings, and group discussion. Participants experiment with sensory recall, perspective, and ethical considerations when writing from life experience. This course will involve sharing written pieces produced by participants. It is best suited to emerging writers who have attended workshops in creative writing previously.

Level: Emerging
Dates: 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th September (Tuesdays)
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Tramore Library

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/404

Closing Date for Course Application: 22nd August 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

Filíocht le Joanne McCarthy

Sa chúrsa seo tabharfar deis do rannpháirtithe dul i ngleic le filíocht na Gaeilge. Tógfar am chun filíocht chomhaimseartha na Gaeilge a léamh agus a phlé i suíomh comhoibritheach. Tabharfar am chun scríbhneoireacht a dhéanamh bunaithe ar leideanna cruthaitheacha.

Múinfear an cúrsa seo trí mheán na Gaeilge.

Leibhéal: Cúrsa do Thosaitheoirí
Dáta: 19 Meán Fómhair
Ám: Lá Amhain
Suíomh: Leabharlann Dhún Garbhán

Chun iarratas a dhéanamh ar áit ar an gcúrsa seo, líon isteach an fhoirm iarratais atá ar fáil i mbrainsí leabharlainne nó ar líne: https://waterford.submit.com/show/395

Dáta deiridh le haghaidh iarratas: 3 Meán Fómhair 2026

September / October: 

Poetry for Beginners with Conor O’Callaghan

A four-week generative poetry workshop for beginners. In each session we will discuss a handful of poems by contemporary poets such as Vona Groarke, Tom French and Amy Clampitt, and use those poems as models for set weekly exercises. In each session, also, students’ poems written to those exercises will be read and discussed. Exercises will be fun, and all feedback will be gentle and constructive. This is a course designed specifically for people who have always wanted to write poetry and are now ready to try.

Level: Beginners / Emerging
Dates: 17th & 24th September, 1st & 8th October (Thursdays)
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: ONLINE

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/405

Closing Date for Course Application: 3rd September 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

October: 

Dilemma and Delusion – How to Write a Short Story with Niamh Mulvey

This course will show you how to write a powerful short story. We will discuss transformations, delusions, predicaments and dilemmas. We will also read and discuss stories by Chekhov, Yiyun Li, Maeve Brennan and others. At the end of the four weeks, you will have written, at the very least, the first draft of a short story.

Level: All Levels
Dates: 3rd, 10th, 17th & 31st October (Saturdays)
Time: 2:30pm – 4:30pm
Location: Central Library

Apply Online for a place on this course at: https://waterford.submit.com/show/406

Closing Date for Course Application: 3rd September 2026

Application form also available on request from library branches.

Writing Course Tutors: 

William Ryan
William Ryan is the author of six novels which have been shortlisted for numerous prizes including the Irish Crime Novel of the Year, The Crime Writers Association’s Steel, New Blood and Historical Daggers, the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. His latest novel is The Winter Guest, set in the War of Independence.

Madeleine Keane
Madeleine Keane is Literary Editor of The Sunday Independent. She has written and broadcast on books, publishing and travel, regularly judges literary awards, and presents at arts festivals and events. She lectures on writing at UCD and the Irish Writers’ Centre and is Chair of Children’s Books Ireland.

Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy is a writer and performer from Wexford, Ireland. He is the author of two acclaimed novels, John the Revelator and Shall We Gather at the River (Faber) and numerous short stories, including the audio-drama The Hands of Franky Machine. His journalism and non-fiction have appeared in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Irish Times, Hot Press, Stinging Fly and Winter Papers, for whom he also serves as contributing editor. He performs and records with his band under the name Cursed Murphy, and has released two albums to date, Cursed Murphy Versus the Resistance (2020) and Republic of the Weird (2022), the latter voted spoken word album of the year by Hot Press. This coming autumn will release a poetry album and book project entitled Ghost Voltage, in collaboration with violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire, the band Basciville, and artist Mirona Mara. He has just completed his first non-fiction project, We Are Dead Stars, about the connection between punk rock and dystopian fiction.

Aingeala Flannery
Aingeala Flannery is the author of The Amusements, which won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2023 and the John McGahern Prize. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Irish Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Paper Visual Art, and The Winter Papers, and have been broadcast on RTÉ Radio One. Aingeala has taught Creative Writing at University College Dublin, Dublin City University, the University of Galway, and The Irish Writers Centre and is deputy pubilsher at The Dublin Review and is the current Kildare Arts Writer in Residence at Maynooth University.

Joanne McCarthy
Tá saothar Joanne Nic Cárthaigh le léamh i bhfoilsiúcháin éagsúla, ina measc sa chnuasach Lampa ar Lasadh: Gradam Mháire Mhac an tSaoi. Cuireadh dánta dá cuid i gcló ar irisí éagsúla – Comhar, Aneas, An Dearcán, The Stinging Fly, Poetry Ireland Review, Channel, Southword agus Rattle ina measc. Roghnaíodh í mar dhuine d’fhilí Céadlínte ag Éigse Éireann, 2025. Bhuaigh sí comórtas An Fhéich Dhuibh, 2023. Bhronn An Chomhairle Ealaíon dhá sparánacht uirthi. Is comheagarthóir í ar an iris The Waxed Lemon.

Conor O’Callaghan
Conor O’Callaghan is originally from Dundalk. He has published five collections of poems, all with Gallery Press, most recently The Sun King (2013) and Live Streaming (2017). He has also published two critically acclaimed novels and a football memoir. He lives half the year in Sheffield in England, and the other half in the mountains of northern Portugal.

Niamh Mulvey
Niamh Mulvey is a novelist and short story writer. Her short story collection Hearts and Bones: Love Songs for Late Youth was published in 2022 and nominated for the John McGahern Prize. Her novel, The Amendments, was published in 2024 and nominated for an Irish Book Award.

• All courses are free of charge but places must be booked in advance.
• All courses are open to people over 18 years old who are current members of Waterford Libraries and resident in the Waterford City and County administrative area.
• Course places are limited.
• Please note that due to the demand for these courses participants will be granted a place on one course only.
• Proof of library membership and residence may be requested.

Places are limited and due to the demand for these courses early application advised.