Mayo based writer Edel Burke has been selected for Words Ireland’s National Mentoring Programme

Date: 08-10-2021

Mayo based writer, Edel Burke, has been selected by Words Ireland to receive professional literary mentoring over the next eight months from an acclaimed Irish writer of their choice.  Mayo County Councils Arts Service funded this literary mentorship along with the Arts Council of Ireland.  The funding ensures that Edel receivesthe mentoring free of charge and it is an investment in the long-term literary reputation of Mayo.

Edel has lived in Castlebar since 1991, having grown up in Tuam, Co. Galway.  She is a member of a local writing group and she is currently working towards a first collection of poetry.  Edel was the winner of Dromineer Poetry Competition 2017, she was highly commended for the iYeats Poetry Competition 2017 and the Over the Edge, short story, 2014.  She has been both long and shortlisted in a number of national competitions, most recently the Raftery Returns Poetry Competition.  She has been published in a number of journals including Something About Home, New Writing on Migration and Belonging, Crannóg, Boyne Berries, Banshee Literary Journal, The Cormorant Broadsheet and Book, Drawn to the Light. 

Edel will be paired with her mentor over the coming weeks and they will have four meetings.  The mentor reads Edel’s writing in advance of each meeting and then shares their critical feedback and advice.  This form of peer to peer teaching has become increasingly popular in literature, and it formalizes the process whereby masters pass on their craft to students.

Further details: mayoarts@mayococo.ie or +353 (0) 94 9064367