As part of a new series of Autumn Workshops presented by Galway Arts Centre and Cúirt International Festival of Literature

What exactly makes up a fully realised character in fiction? How do you create a fictional character that feels real? In this workshop, we will examine these very questions through looking at character in relation to scene, relationships, dialogue, and setting. Through discussion and in-class exercises, participants will learn how to deepen their characters, how to better explore their characters once they are on the page, and how to use setting more effectively as a means to enhance characterisation. It will a welcoming, discursive, fun, and practical two-hour workshop.

John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Winter Papers, Banshee, The Tangerine, Tolka and Granta and been broadcast on BBC Radio3. He is the Fiction Editor of Banshee. He is the author of a collection of short stories, Pure Gold (4th Estate, 2021), and a novel, Fun and Games (4th Estate, 2025), which was shortlisted for Irish Book of the Year 2025, selected as an Observer Best Debut Novel, and chosen as a Book of the Year in The Irish Times, Vogue, The iPaper and the Observer.

Accessibility & Assistance

When booking your place please let us know in advance of any special requirements so we can make your visit as enjoyable as possible. Please phone +353 (0) 91 565 886 or email info@galwayartscentre.ie to let us know of any special requirements.

Please be advised the workshop will take place on the second floor which is currently not wheelchair accessible.

Description supplied by the event organiser.