The residency, which runs until December 2020, is managed by Meath County Council Library Service and is a key element of the five-year Creative Ireland Culture and Creativity strategy for County Meath. Through Nicola’s online events, virtual projects and mentoring the residency is an excellent opportunity for children and adults to work with writers to develop their creative writing skills. 

Nicola spent the summer months researching and writing her fourth novel and has also been granted a week’s residential stay in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Her upcoming project, Nanowrimo, which aims to support and encourage writers to 50k words in a month, begins this month. She will also host a series of workshops on blogging, podcasting and YouTubing for younger audiences. 

Nicola Cassidy writes historical fiction and has published three novels. She is also a script writer, blogger and spoken word poet. Her first novel December Girl, set in Meath’s Boyne Valley was published in 2017 by Bombshell Books. Her second novel The Nanny at Number 43, published by Poolbeg  Press, was set in Drogheda and featured scenery and characters from Meath. Her third novel  Adele, is a bio-fictional account of stage star Adele Astaire.  Her forthcoming fourth novel is due for publication in November.

Check out other Libraries Ireland projects including the Start A New Story campaign and the ongoing work with Fighting Words.