Ilona to read from Original Sins

A Kilcullen woman is one of three County Kildare writers who will read from their works in Original Sins, a book of short stories and poetry, next week, writes Brian Byrne.

She's Ilona Blunden, who will read with Valerie Ryan and Jeanne Beary from Naas.

The event will take place in the Barker & Jones bookshop in Poplar Square, Naas, on Thursday 16 June at 7.30pm.

Original Sins is the result of a four years-long writing course at the NUI Kilkenny Campus, and was edited by long-established writers and course directors Suzanne Power and John MacKenna.

Ilona was a member of the Kilcullen Writers Group which is currently taking a rest. She was short-listed in the 2011 RTE Radio 1 Francis MacManus Short Story Competition, along with another contributor to the book, Pat Griffin, who took second prize in the competition.

Ilona and Jeanne Beary also feature in the Stories for the Ear CD which was launched by actor Tom Hickey at the recent Kildare Readers Festival.

Pictured are Valerie, Ilona and Jeanne, at the original launch of the book in St Kieran’s College, Co Kilkenny.