UFR LLASICLanguage, literature, performing arts, information and communication, journalism

Ruth GILLIGAN is an award-winning novelist originally from Dublin who now lives in the United Kingdom, where she teaches creative writing atthe University of Birmingham. She was the youngest person ever to top the Irish bestseller list, while her latest novel, The Butchers, won the 2021 Ondaatje Prize from the Royal Society of Literature and the 2024 Readers' Prize at the LEC Festival (Littératures Européennes Cognac). Her first play was performed in London in January 2026. She is a regular contributor to literary reviews for The Guardian and the Irish Independent and is an ambassador for the global charity Narrative4, which aims to develop empathy.

On this occasion, two events will punctuate the residency:

>> Conference Writing in a Time of Crisis– Tuesday, March 24 – 2:00 p.m. > 3:30 p.m. (Live Arts Lab, MaCI). Free admission.

In an era marked by global anxiety and increasingly alarming climate forecasts, what does it mean to be a fiction writer today? Can—and should—contemporary novels attempt to address these challenges, or are other forms of expression better suited to conveying the urgency of the moment? Through a mix of personal reflections and textual analysis—from Beckett's Happy Days to Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven —this lecture will explore the role of artistic creation in difficult times, in the hope of reaching an optimistic conclusion...

Creative Writing Workshop Re-telling Old Texts - from Shakespeare to Super Mario! (Rewriting old texts, from Shakespeare to Super Mario!) – Thursday, March 26 – 9 a.m. > 12 p.m. (room 209, MaCI). Registration required (limited number of places).

This writing workshop will explore the possibilities and political issues involved in rewriting old texts to tell new stories. Why have we recently seen a resurgence of interest in rewritings of Greek myths? What do we gain from rewriting a familiar fairy tale from a new angle? As in music, why are we drawn to covers rather than completely new ideas—or are there such things as completely new ideas? Through a mix of theory, examples, and writing exercises, this workshop will explore these thorny questions and allow participants to try their hand at their own rewritings...