WRITERS’ CIRCLE
What Other Writers Say About the Writers’ Circle!
“I think it is important to say that I have tried a few different writing workshops and groups in the past few years, and this has far and away been the most expansive experience for me.”
The Writers’ Circle is warm, welcoming, creative and safe space, and it is truly a gift to writers!”
“I would be surprised if anyone in the group didn't say that they made serious progress over the past 6 months - I could see the growth in everyone's work from month to month.”
The 2024/25 Writers’ Circle featured three plays, two novels, and an exceptional group of talented writers, which you can meet in the gallery below!
Submissions for the 2026/27 Writers’ Circle will open in mid-July 2026 and close August 31st 2026, with the programme beginning in September / October 2026 and ending in March 2027. We’ll be seeking writers writing from across genres (except horror and poetry) and those experimenting with new approaches to storytelling.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about their writing challenges, receive constructive feedback, access peer support, and become part of a vibrant creative community.
Writers must have a core project that they intend to work on, and they must be willing to commit to supporting other writers in the Circle.
In 2026, the Writers’ Circle will continue to focus on critiquing excerpts, while we also encourage participants to use the Circle to explore the broader challenges that naturally arise across a complete work.
We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment for all participants.
All applicants will be informed in early September with successful applicants only invited to pay the fee to book their place.
To be considered applicants must submit a 2,000 words sample HERE and complete the following form below.
Accidental Writers Circle 2024/25
Darcey Elizabeth Youngman is a Manc writer, based in Belfast. She graduated from Queens University with an MA in Creative Writing in 2023. Her work has been published/performed with BrickFox Theatre, The Blackbird anthology, Slugger O'Toole and Tenby9.
She is currently working at the Seamus Heaney Centre, as co-ordinator and editor of critique.
Fionntán Macdonald is a writer of prose, poetry and drama born and based in Belfast. He has previously written for QFT Belfast, been featured in Film Daze and Hear Us Scream and has had poetry published in Aurora’s and Blossoms and Eascair Magazine. His short drama has been performed with Patchwork Productions and he is currently collaborating with local artists on several theatre projects.
He is currently writing his first full length play and working on his first novel with the Writer’s Circle.
Kristen Kernaghan is an American playwright and educator living in Belfast. She studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, and her short plays Yes, No, Maybe So (Guerilla Theatre), Fallen Socks and Fear (Accidental Theatre, Cork Arts Theatre), Shakespeare’s Sisters (Fickle Favours) and This is the First Scene, Maybe the Only (Accidental Theatre) have been produced in Ireland, England and America. Her first full-length play Visitations received a staged reading with Ransom Production’s Write on the Edge programme. Her second play Our Father explores what we do with uncomfortable legacies as three adult children move their father into a dementia care facility.
Bethany Waterhouse-Bradley is an American, living for two decades in Belfast. She has been writing poetry and short stories since she was a precocious girl in Maine. She has published a volume of academic work in sociology and social policy journals. Bethany is in the final stages of completing her first novel, Murmurations - a ghost story about intergenerational trauma and the terrors of motherhood. She has shared her poetry in workshops at Seaside Books, read a short story at Accidental Theatre's Piano and Prose, and is a member of the 2024/25 Accidental Writer's Circle.