Frazzled Lit Podcast

Seamus Moran is a man of many talents: actor, director, playwright, novelist and short story writer. In his riveting performance of his story Finding Voice, which was highly commended in the Frazzled Lit Short Story Award 2025, we meet young JJ McHale, a boy with a golden voice, and follow him from his earliest days, through tragedy, to his awakening as a young man. Seamus Moran is an actor , dire...

In Mark Burrow’s highly commended story, we enter the gritty and troubled world of Jay, a young boy in an impoverished inner-city London school, where violence is normalised, and innocence is lost. Mark Burrow has published a novella, Coo , which is about an alcoholic turning into a pigeon in a world where people turn into birds (Alien Buddha Press). His short stories have appeared in a range of t...

In this session of Writer to Writer, Patrick Holloway dicusses THE LANGUAGE OF REMEMBERING (epoque press, 2025), his debut novel, with Jennifer. Patrick Holloway is a prize-winning Irish writer of fiction and poetry. His debut novel, The Language of Remembering, was published in 2025 to critical acclaim. His second novel is forthcoming in 2027 with Eriu. His work appears in The Stinging Fly, The M...

In this session of Writer to Writer, Irish author Barbara Leahy discusses REMBRANDT’S PROMISE, her fabulous debut novel, with Jennifer McMahon, our co-EIC. Rembrandt’s Promise begins in 1642, during the Dutch Golden Age, and is inspired by the life and times of Geertje Dircx, a wronged woman who demanded justice. Geertje was Rembrandt van Rjin’s mistress after the death of Saskia, his first wife....

In this moving and evocative story that seamlessly merges past and present, the author reveals a tale of enduring love and the memory of a passionate marriage. Linda M. Bayley is a writer living on the Canadian Shield. Her work has recently appeared in voidspace zine, Five Minutes, BULL, Short Circuit, FlashFlood Journal, Underbelly Press, Stanchion, Does It Have Pockets, Roi Fainéant, and Tiny Sp...

In this session of Writer to Writer, Barbara Byar dicusses IN THE DESERT, her debut novel, with Jennifer McMahon. IN THE DESERT is published on March 3rd, 2026, by Cowboy Jamboree. It is available in U.S. at this link , and in Ireland and the UK at this link . Irish readers can also get the paperback from O’Mahony’s Bookshop in Tralee, or from O’Mahony’s online store . Barbara Byar is a working-cl...

International award-winning Irish author Nuala O’Connor discusses SEABORNE, her latest novel (shortlisted for Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2024), the craft and practice of writing, and neurodivergence with Jennifer McMahon, our co-EIC. Nuala O’Connor lives in Galway, Ireland. Her sixth novel SEABORNE , about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny, was published in April 2024 by New Island, and...

Nuala O’Connor described Gary Finnegan’s winning story as ‘… a word-perfect gallop through the highs and lows of a post-Leaving Cert trip, and the swift transition from irresponsible child to semi-responsible adult-in-training. Great imagery and dialogue.’ Jennifer said: ‘ Limbo Nights is a masterful story, set amid the painful transition between school and university. The characters are beautiful...

Alison Langley’s gorgeous and cautionary near-future tale deals beautifully with issues of consent, that which we willingly give, and that which we unknowingly sacrifice. Alison Langley is a former journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, among others. Her novel, Budapest Noir: Ilona Gets a Phone (Dedalus Books, 2024) won the Irish Writer’s Centre Novel Prize. Langle...

Nuala O’Connor, our competition judge, described Amy’s Mom as ‘… a perfectly pitched, voice-lead story of the luck of the draw, where teen girls get a dose of reality, and try to cope with it. Charming, moving, and irreverent.’ Jennifer said: ‘ Amy’s Mom is as heartwrenching as it is endearing. The writer uses a light touch, which is just perfect for this story, and by so doing, she renders her ch...

In this session of Writer to Writer, Irish author Neil Hegarty discusses his debut novel, INCH LEVELS , and his second novel, THE JEWEL , with Jennifer McMahon. Neil Hegarty grew up in Derry. His novels include The Jewel ; and Inch Levels , which was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Novel of the Year award. Neil’s non-fiction titles include: Dublin: A View from the Ground ; Frost: That Was the Life...