Brian Leyden

Brian Leyden is the Sligo based author of the best selling memoir, The Home Place (New Island, 2002). Previous publications are the short story collection Departures (Brandon, 1992) and the novel, Death & Plenty (Brandon, 1996). His work for radio includes The Quiet Quarter Anthology (Lyric FM – RTE New Island, 2004), The Clifden Anthology (Clifden Arts 2004) the Jacobs Award winning documentary No Meadows in Manhattan, the dancehall era, Even the Walls were Sweatin’, and more recently The Closing of the Gaiety Cinema in Carrick-on-Shannon. He edited issue seven and issue eight of the acclaimed Sligo based Irish literary journal Force 10. He is a past winner of the Francis Mc Manus Short Story Award. He was Writer in Residence in Leitrim in 2000 and edited the anthology First Cut. He has been a guest performer at The Merriman Summer School, The Green Ink Festival in London and the Ireland and its Diaspora Writers and Musicians tour of Germany, The Frank O’Connor Weekend, Cork and The Newport Festival Rhode Island. A popular reader at venues throughout Ireland he has recently been reading his work alongside music by Steve Wickham of the Waterboys. Brian is also well known for his creative writing workshops for Writers Groups and at Literary Weekends and he conducts one day and weekend masterclasses on request. Please contact through Sligo Arts Office.