A novel night at The Novel Bean
Last night (Thursday, 11 December, 2025) I had the pleasure of being the very first guest author at the newly opened The Novel Bean, Cathal Kelly’s eclectic new book-cum-coffee-cum-gift-cum-so-much-else store in Swinford. I was there to read from – and be interviewed about – my debut novel, On The Way Out.
Huge credit to Cathal, Róisín, Seán and everyone involved for hosting such a generous and welcoming night. The place was buzzing. There was that hum you get when people have gathered because they are happy to be out to enjoy a new event in a new setting.
We had three terrific local readers. Nine-year-old Odhrán Kelly charmed the room with his reading from one of his favourite David Walliams’s books, bot.
Writers Colette O’Malley-Oates and Dannie Cassidy read their own work.
Colette’s short story Pushed Out was beautifully weighted and drew multiple laughs and knowing smiles from an appreciative audience.
Dannie has published his novel, Last Year’s Turf, and he read a compelling extract from it that – it had nothing to do with footing and turning, or drinking tea from an ensocked bottle, and everything to do with espionage and an emerging dictator, which made it all the more compelling.
I look forward to getting my hands on a copy of it and have already placed my order with Cathal.
Buy On The Way Out in your local bookstore or from our online store
The Novel Bean feels like it’s going to become a fulcrum for local writing; and reading too. I hear the Book Club is already booked in.
My friend and early John Culhane did a fine job as MC, keeping everything flowing with good humour. People lingered afterwards for a nibble and a chat as we allowed ourselves to slip a little further into the Christmas ease.
John picked up on a life-imitating-art element of the event. In On The Way Out, Louise is struggling with her stationery shop. She is wondering if she should transform the place into a book store where you can also get a cup of coffee, and a nice savoury, an oasis where people could tarry a while…the exact kind of place Cathal has actually created.
If you’re ever – or, indeed, always – in the Swinford area, it’s worth dropping in to see what he has done. It’s quite the treasure. You’ll easily pass a therapeutic hour there.
There are some lovely book stores around Ireland now, many with coffee shops as part of the mix. It’s easy to lament the loss of old businesses. Every town has its own ‘when I was young, there were 54 pubs here’ story. New enterprises are emerging too and it’s important to enjoy them.
One question from the floor stuck with me. Someone asked – it might have been Cathal himself – whether, since I began writing short stories and my debut novel, I now read books differently. The short answer is yes. And the long answer is yes, yes, yes.
It’s something I plan to explore in more depth in the Craft section here on my site, because once you start paying close attention to how stories are built, you can’t quite switch that part of your brain off again. I’ll link to that piece when it’s up here.
Mostly, though, this is just a thank you. Thanks to everyone who came out and made the night what it was. And a special nod to Cathal, who confirmed that I am now the best-selling author in the history of The Novel Bean. A short history, I accept…but already a proud one. And the people of Swinford and its environs clearly are the most discerning of readers.
Special thanks to Tommy Stenson for turning this video around overnight.
