The Stinging Fly Podcast

On this month’s episode, The Stinging Fly poetry editor Annemarie Ní Churreáin is joined by poets Simon Costello and Jane Robinson to read from and discuss their poems that appear in The Stinging Fly Issue 53 Volume Two, the climate issue.Simon Costello is from Tullamore, Co. Offaly. His poetry has been published in The Poetry Review, Poetry London, Poetry Ireland Review, The Stinging Fly, bath magg, New England Review, The London Magazine, The North, The Moth, Magma, The Rialto, The Irish Times and RTÉ. He has been awarded first prize in The Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry (2024), Southword Editor’s Poetry Award (2023), The Rialto Nature Competition; Place Poetry Prize (2021). In 2021, he was highly commended in The Moth Poetry Prize. In 2024, his poetry chapbook Saturn Devouring was published by The Lifeboat Press. He is currently a Government of Ireland IRC Scholar and PhD candidate. He teaches at the Mary Lavin Centre/School of English in University College Dublin and also works for Granta magazine. He lives in Dublin.Jane Robinson’s collections, Journey to the Sleeping Whale (Salmon, 2018) and Island and Atoll (Salmon, 2023), as well as other poems and essays, reflect her deep ecological awareness. With a doctorate in Biology from Caltech, Jane is also a recipient of the Shine-Strong and Strokestown Poetry awards. She lives in Dublin.Annemarie Ní Churreáin is a poet from northwest Donegal. Her books include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017), The Poison Glen (The Gallery Press, 2021) and Ghostgirl (Donegal County Archives, 2023). Her work has been shortlisted for the Shine Strong Award for Best Debut Collection (IRE) and for the Ledbury Hellens Best Second Collection (UK). She is a recipient of the Arts Council’s Next Generation Artist Award, The Markievicz Award, and a forthcoming 2025 Hawthornden Foundation Residency (NYC). Ní Churreáin is a former fellow of Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowship (GR). Her writing for stage has appeared at the Abbey National Theatre of Ireland.  Her poetry has been toured widely through Ireland, Europe and America. She is the poetry editor at The Stinging Fly Magazine. www.studiotwentyfive.comThe Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast ⁠⁠can be found here⁠⁠. The podcast’s theme music is ⁠⁠‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan⁠⁠. All of the ⁠⁠Stinging Fly archive⁠⁠ is available to ⁠⁠subscribers.⁠⁠

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by magazine editor Lisa McInerney and former non-fiction editor Róisín Kiberd to discuss putting together the latest issue of The Stinging Fly. Taking the climate emergency as its theme, The Stinging Fly Issue 53 Volume Two presents a variety of responses to the impending climate catastrophe and our responsibility to the current political moment, exploring the ways in which our world is changing and, for better or worse, our role in that change.Roisin Kiberd has written essays and features for The Dublin Review, Winter Papers, The White Review, The Guardian and Vice, among other places. Her first book, The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet, was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2021. She lectures in creative writing at the University of Galway.Lisa McInerney is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor and screenwriter from Galway. She is the author of three novels: The Glorious Heresies , The Blood Miracles and The Rules of Revelation.Nicole Flattery⁠⁠ is a writer and critic. Her story collection ⁠⁠Show Them A Good Time⁠⁠, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast ⁠⁠can be found here⁠⁠. The podcast’s theme music is ⁠⁠‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan⁠⁠. All of the ⁠⁠Stinging Fly archive⁠⁠ is available to ⁠⁠subscribers.⁠⁠

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Odrán Waldron to read from and discuss his story ‘Temporary’, published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Stinging Fly ⁠⁠Issue 52 Volume Two.⁠Odrán Waldron is a writer and hurler from Freshford, County Kilkenny, living in Belfast. His work has appeared in Sonder and The Stinging Fly and is forthcoming in The Pig’s Back; he hurls for Lámh Dhearg CLG.⁠⁠Nicole Flattery⁠⁠ is a writer and critic. Her story collection ⁠⁠Show Them A Good Time⁠⁠, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast ⁠⁠can be found here⁠⁠. The podcast’s theme music is ⁠⁠‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan⁠⁠. All of the ⁠⁠Stinging Fly archive⁠⁠ is available to ⁠⁠subscribers.⁠

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Rosa Mäkelä to read from and discuss her story 'Breathwork', published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Stinging Fly ⁠Issue 52 Volume Two.Rosa Mäkelä is a writer from County Galway. Her stories have been published in The Stinging Fly, The Pigs Back, Banshee and Channel.⁠Nicole Flattery⁠ is a writer and critic. Her story collection ⁠Show Them A Good Time⁠, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast ⁠can be found here⁠. The podcast’s theme music is ⁠‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan⁠. All of the ⁠Stinging Fly archive⁠ is available to ⁠subscribers.⁠ 

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Aoife Bhreatnach to read from and discuss her essay 'Re-cataloging', published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 52 Volume Two.Aoife Bhreatnach lives in Cork and writes in English and Irish. Her podcast Censored explores the censorship culture of twentieth-century Ireland. Her essays have been published by Howl and Aistí ón Aer. She is currently working on a volume of non-fiction.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by James Hudson to read from and discuss his story ‘Dog Story’, published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 52 Volume Two.James Hudson is a writer, editor and programmer from Dublin. His writing is published with Southword Editions, The Stinging Fly, The Liminal Review, Channel, Neon Hemlock, and others. He is the director of the Trans Image/Trans Experience Film Festival and Assistant Programmer at the GAZE LGBTQIA International Film Festival. Across both literature and film, his focus is on queer art, horror, fantasy, sexuality, transgression, and whatever gets you going.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Tenaya Steed to read from and discuss his story ‘Water Lilies’, published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 52 Volume Two.Tenaya Steed is a writer and artist. Her stories have been published in The Stinging Fly and won the Michael McLaverty Award and The Stinging Fly/FBA Fiction Prize. She lives and works in Dublin.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Paula Dias Garcia and James Young to read from and discuss their stories featured in the Winter 2024-25 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 51 Volume Two.Paula’s story, ‘The Woods’ can be found on page 193, and James’ story, ‘Long Term Parking’, can be found on page 154.Paula Dias Garcia is a queer writer and designer from Brasília, with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick. Their works have been published in The Stinging Fly, Analog SF&F, Channel, The Ogham Stone, Silver Apples and Riverbed Review. Currently, they’re the artistic director for Sans. PRESS.James Young is a writer from Northern Ireland. His short stories have appeared in a wide range of publications and been shortlisted for the Sean O’Faolain, Wasafiri, Fish, and Bath prizes. He is the co-editor of Short Fiction literary journal and runs the Hastings Writers Workshop, a creative writing centre. He is also a translator, and his translation of The Love of Singular Men by the Brazilian author Victor Heringer was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards John Leonard Prize and the ALTA First Translation Prize, won the 2024 Jabuti Prize for the best Brazilian novel published abroad, and was runner-up for the Society of Authors/Translators Association First Translation Prize.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.

On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Tim MacGabhann to read from and discuss his story ‘Pit’, published in the Winter 2024-25 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 51 Volume Two.Tim MacGabhann is the author of the novels Call Him Mine and How to Be Nowhere, the long poem, ‘Rory Gallagher —Live!— at the Hotel’ of the Dead and the memoir The Black Pool. A book of poems and a book of short stories are also forthcoming.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.

{Note: It’s almost 8 years since we started our podcast and this is our 55th episode. Up to now, the series has focused on the wealth of material contained in the magazine’s back catalogue and our guests have been asked to select and read a story or essay from the archive. Starting this month, we switch the attention to more recent work with contributors to the current issue being invited to read and discuss their own writing with host Nicole Flattery.}On this month’s episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by Darragh McCausland and Nicole Morris to read from and discuss their essays featured in the Winter 2024-25 issue of The Stinging Fly Issue 51 Volume Two.Darragh’s essay, ‘Isometric Games’ can be found on page 166, and Nicole’s essay, ‘How to Get Rid of a Ghost, Part One’, can be found on page 212.Darragh McCausland is a writer from Kells, County Meath based in Dublin. He writes fiction and nonfiction and is widely published in various journals and anthologies.Nicole Morris is a poet who writes essays. Her writing has also been featured in Banshee, Blood Orange Review, and elsewhere. She has been supported by Tin House and was shortlisted for the 2024 Disquiet International and Indiana Review nonfiction prizes. Originally from Los Angeles, she lives near the sea in County Mayo.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers from the latest issue of The Stinging Fly to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers.