we all stand together

I’ve started working on a very part-time basis for the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. Mostly, I’m working on streamlining their web site and maintaining their electronic newsletter. An early stripped-down version of the Guild site is now live. It’s serving up basic information at the moment, and I hope to add extra features over time.

As one would expect, the Guild is not overflowing with cash, so I’m doing my best on a limited budget. It is thanks to the munificence and foresight of funding bodies like the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board that I’ve been able to begin work on our long-term plans.

I’ve started up a Guild Blog to better serve up regular information on funding, competitions, courses, awards, and news pertinent to Irish playwrights and screenwriters. I hope that this service will be helpful to the Irish writing community.

If anyone wants to pass along notices that would be of interest to our members, they can send them to me at newsletter (a) script dot ie.

I’m happy to be working for a group that is lobbying in Ireland to protect the rights of writers. In the 1990s I was active in student politics, and was President of the Graduates Students Union of Trinity College in Dublin for a year. I know the importance of having a group to articulate and defend the needs of the under-represented. Playwrights and Screenwriters often feel vulnerable and powerless–with good reason–when trying to get their work in production. One of the ways we can create change is to support organisations like the IPSG. While I won’t be active in the political side of the Guild, I’m glad that in my small way I’m aiding its objectives.