Irish book launch of THEY SHUT ME UP; in conversation with Martina Durac as part of EIFF festival

The Season of the Witch is upon us. I'm excited and very much looking forward to the Irish book launch of THEY SHUT ME UP as part of EIFF, the Ennis International Fantastic Film Festival in partnership with the beautiful Ennis Bookshop- it's such a wonderful gift to have festivals and bookshops like this in Co. Clare.

Now, the UK launch of THEY SHUT ME UP was tremendous - after ten years of writing, there's still the thrill of launching a book in tandem with horror luminaries like Ramsey Campbell,Stephen Jones, Tim Lebbon and Ian Whates. And PS Publishing were so warm and kind, it felt like joining a new publishing family. As for the beautiful people who bought my book -well, you are all very wonderful.

But now, I'm excited to get to talk about this novella in its place of origin - my adoptive home of Co. Clare. Since I moved here, I've been fascinated by the local folklore, by the feeling that stories bubble just under the skin of the landscape. Historic women of the locality like Máire Rua, Biddy Early -they've stood out to me in all their defiant glory as archetypal, fearless, older women- true descendants of the Hag.

So come join me and Martina Durac, filmmaker and creastive director of the Ennis Book Club Festival, as we discuss women, voices, power and agency at the brilliant boutique festival of EIFF. I'll also be speaking at a panel on the influence of Irish folklore on horror and fantasy movies at 11am on the 28th, and introducing The Wicker Man, one of my favourite movies, in ARC cinema at 9pm that night.

Check out the full line-up here, book tickets for the launch here, tickets for the panel here, and tickets for the film screening of The Wicker Man here.