Scattering

aki McCarrick lives in Dundalk and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, gaining a Master of Philosophy Degree, Creative Writing – Distinction. Before this Jaki gained a BA Performing Arts, First Class Honours Degree at Middlesex University. She has also completed an RNT Directors Course, 2001. Jaki is a playwright and short story writer who is also working on a novel. She has won many awards for her work including: Winner of the 2005 SCDA National Playwriting Competition for The Mushroom Pickers; Shortlisted for the Sphinx Playwriting Award 2006, Bruntwood Prize 2006, Kings Cross Award 2007 for The Moth-Hour; Shortlisted for the 2009 Adrienne Benham Award for Leopoldville and the 2009 Asham Award for short fiction for The Congo – in this collection. Most recently her short story The Visit, included in the Badlands collection, won the Wasafiri Prize for New Writing in October 2010 and Jaki was declared the first ever winner of the Liverpool Lennon Paper Poetry competition, which she was awarded by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Another story from the collection, Hellbores, was recently shortlisted for both the Fish Short Story award and Bridge House Publishing's World Stopping Event writing prize. Bridge House want to publish that story in a new anthology and it has also appeared in the Irish Pages journal.

"McCarrick's locations and characters are wonderfully diverse and we often get a touching insight into the human psyche. The prospect of her first full length novel is awaited with bated breath." - Gerard O'Hare, We love This Book "...an amazing body of work...this book deserves tremendous success and a very wide readership." - The Reading Life Blog 'Jaki McCarrick tells a chilling tale of death and despair.' - The Irish Emigrant 'The Sanctuary' ' - a tender story of mourning and longing.' - writewords.org.uk 'Of particular note - Jacqueline McCarrick's "The Sanctuary"; a tender portrait of a lover dealing with the death of a long-term partner. ' - Mark Brown, The Short Review 'The Badminton Court' 'I was totally knocked for six by this story. It is an incredible piece of writing - The spare, sinewy sentences had me going over and over them; and such economy of writing! I must, simply must see more of her work - ' - Alex Smith The Frogmore Papers 'The Visit' '"The Visit" takes the reader deep into old sadnesses and lifechanging feuds which still burned under the surface of Irish society at the time of Bill Clinton's visit.' - Susan Haigh, The New Short Review 'By the Black Field' 'My highlights to date would be: Jaki McCarrick's "By the Black Field"... it has such an understated menace running through it and the writing is so subtly coloured, it reads like looking at a painting." - Brian Kirk, Wordlegs "Jaki McCarrick is the best short story writer I've encountered in well over 20 years. I am just coming to the end of the Scattering. I do not have words to express how incredibly taken I am with this collection. The Jailbird is a masterpiece. The prose is brilliant and the funny one liners in what is essentially such a tragic tale have blown me away. For example, " Norman Bates is alive and well and living in Castlemoyne". As for the main protagonist's fantasies re modes of slaughtering his cruel, sociopathic and domineering mother - outstanding.1976 and the Congo are for me two other profoundly affecting stories. I was weaned on Frank O' Connor, first read his short stories when I was a child of 9 or 10, and have revisited them again and again over the last few decades. Frank has always been the pinnacle to me when it comes to the short story. Jaki McCarrick is, to me, now his equal. Thank you, Jaki. This is a collection that I will treasure." - Intense Debate