Brian Leyden facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brian Leyden
Born	1960 (age 64–65) Arigna, County Roscommon, Ireland
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, documentarian, editor, mentor
Language	English
Nationality	Irish
Education	Fine Arts, Creative Writing
Notable work	The Home Place, Love These Days

Brian Leyden, born in 1960, is a well-known writer from Ireland. He has written many different types of stories and books. These include three novels, two collections of short stories, and a very popular memoir. A memoir is like a true story about someone's life. Brian has also helped write a movie script and made radio documentaries. He often shares his work on a radio show called Sunday Miscellany. In 2021, he helped start a publishing company called Lepus Print.

About Brian Leyden

Brian Leyden grew up in the coal mining area of Arigna, County Roscommon, in Ireland. This special place and its way of life often appear in his books. He writes both fiction (made-up stories) and non-fiction (true stories). Brian studied Fine Art and Creative Writing at university. He earned a Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2022.

Brian's Work as a Mentor

For twenty years, Brian has been a mentor for creative writing students. He helps young writers learn how to tell their own true stories. He has worked at Carlow University Pittsburgh. He has also been a Writer in Residence for libraries in Leitrim and Sligo. This means he spent time helping people in those areas with their writing. He also mentored students at NUI Galway.

Travels and Inspiration

Brian has traveled to many places to share his writing. He went on a tour of Germany in 1996 with other Irish writers and musicians. He also read his stories at festivals in Newport, Rhode Island, and New York. Brian believes that the places we live in are very important for creative people. Today, he lives with his wife on the Atlantic coast in North Sligo.

Books by Brian Leyden

Brian Leyden has written many books. Here are some of his main works:

• Love These Days (2024) - a novel
• Summer of ’63 (2016) - a novel
• Sweet Old World: New and Selected Stories (2015) - a collection of short stories
• The Home Place (2002) - a memoir, which is a true story from his life
• Death and Plenty (1996) - a novel
• Departures (1992) - a collection of short stories

Other Creative Projects

Brian Leyden is not just a book writer. He has also worked on many other exciting projects.

Recent Special Projects

• The Sligo Wave (2024): Brian wrote about a big art show in Sligo. The show featured art about the Sligo landscape.
• The Sheemore Ambush (2020): He wrote this for a special project remembering important events in Irish history.
• The Sligo Bus and All That Jazz (2020): Brian worked with a musician, Eddie Lee, for a show at The Hawk's Well Theatre.
• Walking Bird Mountain (2018/2019): This was a multi-media art project. It combined different types of art.
• Creative Ireland Award script commission for the 'Famine Attic' (2018): He wrote a script for a project in Carrick-On Shannon.
• Old Flames (2016): Brian wrote a script for the Bealtaine Festival. He performed it live with musician Seamie O Dowd.

Plays for the Stage

Brian has written plays that have been performed in theaters:

• Remember Me (2023): Performed at The Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo.
• Ink and Lunacy (1990): Performed at The Factory Theatre in Sligo.
• W.B Yeats: Experiments in Magic (1989): This play was about the famous poet W.B. Yeats.

Film and Opera Work

• Black Ice (2013): Brian helped write the script for this movie. It was shown at film festivals and in cinemas.
• Humpty Dumpty (2010): He wrote the words (called a libretto) for a short opera. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung.

Radio Shows and Documentaries

Brian has created many radio programs:

• The Irish Station Mass (2015)
• The Closing of the Gaiety Cinema (2004)
• Even the Walls Were Sweatin' (1997)
• No Meadows in Manhattan (1991) - This radio show won an award!

He has also had his short stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4. He is a regular guest on the radio show A Word in Edgeways.

Essays and Anthologies

Brian's true stories and essays have been shared on national radio. They have also been included in many collections of writings called anthologies. Some of these include:

• Sunday Miscellany: A selection 2018-2023
• A Door Opening: Sligo and the Legacies of Partition (2023)
• Winter Papers 2 and 8 (2016 and 2022)
• Fermata: Writings inspired by Music (2016)

His essays about other writers can be found in books like Writing the Sky: Observations and Essays on Dermot Healy (2016). His fiction has also been in anthologies such as Reading the Future: New Writing from Ireland (2018) and Stories for Jamie (2002).

Awards and Recognitions

Brian Leyden has received many awards and honors for his writing:

• The Arts Council "Literary Bursary" in 2014 and 2022. This is a special grant to help writers.
• Culture Ireland Travel Award (2017) for his trip to the USA.
• Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Sound and Vision Award (2014).
• Sidney Brown Memorial Award (2012) for a musical based on his novel Death and Plenty.
• Sligo County Libraries Writer-in-Residence (2010).
• Norman Mailer Writers Colony Scholarship (2009).
• Arts Council Travel & Training Award (2009).
• Jacobs Award (1991) for his radio documentary No Meadows in Manhattan.
• Francis MacManus Short Story Award (1988) for his story "The Last Mining Village".