Meeting the Book Trade and getting an unwelcome Bonus

I’m afraid this post has been delayed, for reasons that will soon become apparent.

I went to Dublin for two days of meetings with experts in the book trade at the Irish Writers’ Centre. The joy of winning the debut novel competition was now tempered by the fear that no-one might actually want to take my novel on. I met twelve agents and publishers in total. They had my bio, the genre of my novel and the title. I had just fifteen minutes to pitch my novel to each of them. I’d worked very hard on my pitch for the previous week. I started with an overview of the novel, introduced my two protagonists and went through their character arcs. I proposed that my novel would make a good book-group publication and outlined comparator titles. Then came their questions and the verdict.

Seven were interested in seeing more of my novel, and three of these wanted to read the full manuscript. Even the ones that weren’t interested told me I’d done a good pitch. I was overjoyed. I’d taken another big step closer to publication. Coming back on the crowded train I felt completely drained. I got off at Newry and drove home. It was a dark and rainy night, I was so tired I had difficulty seeing the road. I almost collapsed when I got in. A day later I went down with the flu. So the past two weeks have been spent coughing up gunge from my lungs and trying to update my manuscript ready to be sent out. I hope I perk up for Christmas.

International Debut Novel Competition

A big thank you to my friends for their many congratulations on winning this novel-writing competition. It’s fantastic and amazing to be selected as one of the twelve winners. I was told over a week ago and had to remain silent until the news was officially announced, yesterday afternoon. That was a challenge! The Irish Writers’ Centre received almost 600 submissions from unpublished novelists in 33 countries. The process by which the winners were determined seems to have been like that of the Booker Prize. Each of the six judges had to select their top five out of nearly 100 submissions that they read blind. The 30 shortlisted novels were then circulated, the judges then had to choose their top two. This was followed by a long meeting at which the judges debated the merits of each of the shortlisted novels and came up with the twelve winners.

I’d like to thank the Irish Writers’ Centre, the judges and the other winners. I am over the moon at being chosen. Now comes the hard work of actually getting a publishing deal. At the end of this week I go to Dublin to meet agents and publishers and pitch my novel to them. So there is a lot of work to do.

The greatest boost I’ve received so far came in the judge’s report which assessed the merits of my novel, 'The Cut'. All the rejections I’d previously received began to fade into the background. Finally someone had recognised and appreciated what I was trying to achieve in my writing. I’ll leave you with an extract from the report.

“The Cut is a taut, skilful excerpt that establishes it’s world with immediacy and detail. The writing is alive to thematic concerns of class, race and power without needing to announce those themes in a clunky or forced way. From the opening lines the voice is distinct and fully inhabited: wary, weary, but edgy – dark humour and resilience. The setting feels immediately three-dimensional – the damp streets, the factory grime, the hierarchies of post-war Britain.

The author’s control of tone, sentence structure, and pacing is notable, reflecting the protagonist’s discipline and inner tension. We wonder what will come, and come it will, but are willing to wait for the narrative to reveal that in good time. No sentimentality here; emotion is earned through necessary/exacting detail and restraint. The novel’s synopsis indicates an ambitious reach – a novel about murky moral clarity and empathy. The Cut is an assured excerpt, relying on the slow build, the careful layering of of observation and suspicion, the incremental threat. The dialogue is sharp, regional and unforced, sounding like real (if finely crafted) back and forth conversation. This writer understands that narrative control, not flash or overwrought writing, sustains tension and empathy. An immediately intriguing excerpt.”

https://irishwriterscentre.ie/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2025-international-debut-novel-competition/

Holiday in Son Baulo

We set off for the north coast of Mallorca looking forward to sunshine and blue skies; we encountered torrential rain and dire warnings from the Spanish Government about being outdoors. But that didn’t matter to us, as T had gone down with a bad dose the day before we left and I caught it from her. We huddled in our apartment with thunder, lightning and tropical downpours for company. T was coughing so badly that I called the doctor. He diagnosed bronchitis and prescribed an inhaler and antibiotics. I began to improve fairly quickly and could tend to T, who was slower to recover.

Thankfully, after a very stormy week, the good weather returned. T took it easy, painting and reading by the pool. I cycled inland to explore the old hilltop towns that populate the interior of Mallorca – each with narrow winding streets, a tree-lined central square with a church on one corner and a bar on the other and a traditional market one day a week.

By the end of our stay, T had done plenty of local walks and I had managed to complete two of the classic Mallorcan cycling routes. The first to the Santuari de Lluc, situated high in the mountains, via a switchback climb through a pine forest with wild goats to the Coll de sa Batalla at 1870 feet. The second, along the very hilly promontory to the lighthouse at the Cap de Formentor, with steep climbs and magnificent costal views. So the holiday that started so badly, had turned out fine, just like the weather. We’re already looking forward to going back next year.

'True' on National Poetry Day

My first collection of poetry was launched in a snowstorm. The second was during the Covid lockdown. And the tail-end of a hurricane blew in last night for the launch of my new collection, ‘True’.

But the poetry lovers of Northern Ireland are a hardy bunch and we had a full house for the National Poetry Day reading. There were representatives from the City Chapter and the John Hewitt Society; also in attendance was the Dean of Armagh, the Keeper of the Robinson Library, who lives upstairs. So a heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who braved the wind and rain to support live poetry.

The library, founded in 1771, is a truly magnificent space. The walls are lined with ancient books and mahogany display cases hold particular treasures, such as Jonathan Swift’s own copy of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. The room is adorned with the busts of benefactors and has marvellous acoustics – it’s a lovely place for a reading and feels very intimate. Wendy Sinnamon read her intriguing poems and I followed with a selection of mine from ‘True’. The audience were most appreciative and congratulated us on our performances. There was plenty of chat afterwards and book sales were brisk.  

I still have some launch copies of ‘True’ available at the special price of £10 – that’s 20% off the normal RRP.

 If anyone would like a copy, please email me – poetrypaul@gmail.com

 I’d be delighted to sign the book for you. 

National Poetry Day

I’m really looking forward to the launch of ‘True’, my new book of poetry, on National Poetry Day – October 2nd – in Armagh.

National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 to show that poetry has a place in everyone’s life. Poetry brings people together, and that’s so important as our lives have become more fragmented.

The reading takes place in the magnificent Robinson Library and is hosted by the City Chapter, in association with the John Hewitt Society. The library was founded in 1771 and has many treasures, including Jonathan Swift’s own copy of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’.

I’m very much hoping that you will be able to join me and Wendy on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Book Launch

My third collection of poetry, ‘True’, has just been published by Black Spring Press, and I’m delighted to invite you to the launch on October 2nd – National Poetry Day.

‘True’ will be launched at Armagh’s magnificent Robinson Library, founded in 1771. The reading is hosted by the City Chapter and will also feature emerging poet Wendy Sinnamon. The start time is 7.30pm and entry is free.

The poems in ‘True’ were inspired by true stories from real lives. The sources were news reports, exhibitions, diaries, brochures, sagas, public notices, journals, broadcasts, obituaries and word of mouth. They are not ‘found poems’ – instead, each real-life story provided the launch pad for new work. Ciaran Carson called them ‘discovered poems’. ‘True’ brings together my discovered poems, twelve of which have won awards. The book is dedicated to the late Ciaran Carson, founding Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre in Belfast.

I look forward to seeing you in Armagh on National Poetry Day, where ‘True’ will be on sale at a special launch price. I will be delighted to sign the book for you.

You can also buy a copy of ‘True’ directly from the publisher. https://blackspringpressgroup.com/products/true

Paul Jeffcutt’s poetry has always been tempted by the coincidental and the accidental, finding strange wonders in juxtaposition and enigma. With ‘True’, this risk-taking reaches a new stage of fluency, insight and daring. A joy to read.  ―Damian Smyth.

Paul Jeffcutt’s latest collection of poetry proves that his mentor, Ciaran Carson, was bang on – poems are out there waiting to be discovered and recovered from the true stories of real lives. ―Rachael Hegarty.

An Encounter with Ian Rankin

Having arrived rather early for an event featuring Ian Rankin, I was checking out the bookstall when a tall man in a dark suit came and stood beside me. Is that him, I wondered? Surreptitiously, I opened his latest Rebus novel – the author photo confirmed my suspicions. “Hello, Ian,” I said. He smiled and we began to chat. I said that many years ago I’d sent him, via his publisher, a poem I’d written following his appearance on Desert Island Discs in 2006. He had replied, some months later, thanking me and saying it was the first time he’d had a poem dedicated to him.

“That was Sue Lawley’s last Desert Island Discs,” Ian said, rolling his eyes. I nodded, “She was rather tetchy.” Sue, the haughty presenter, had challenged Ian about his gritty depictions of crime, almost implying that he had a disturbed imagination. Ian had responded with his, now famous, riposte – “Most crime writers are actually well-balanced individuals. We get all the dark stuff out on the page. It’s the romance writers you’ve got to watch out for.”

I told Ian that these very words had stimulated my poem ‘Dear Reader, I Murdered Him’ (see below). It was one of the first poems I’d written which was directly inspired by a real-life story. I’d carried on writing poems of this type and they had just been brought together in a book called ‘True’. Taking out an advance copy of my new collection, I showed him the poem. He was nodding as he read it. I then wrote a dedication thanking Ian and signed the book for him. He smiled and shook my hand. Gathering up a copy of his new book, ‘Midnight and Blue’, Ian signed it for me. The dedication reads, ‘From one writer to another’.

Dear Reader, I Murdered Him.

                                    for Ian Rankin

Heaving bosoms…

a child abused,

the tall, dark stranger…

a fugitive from justice,

every breathless encounter... 

a padded cell

in the maximum security wing.

 

Romantic novelists,

stranglers

and machete artistes,

compose birthday-card ditties

to get phone time and snout.

No remission

for repeat offenders.