Sinéad Gleeson: Hagstone

Verb is delighted to welcome back Irish bestselling author, Sinéad Gleeson. Sinéad is one of Ireland's most beloved literary voices and she thrilled audiences when she appeared at Verb's 2029 festival. Join Sinéad for a discussion on her much anticipated first novel Hagstone with the brilliant Noelle McCarthy.

'Startling, engrossing, darkly playful' Roddy Doyle

‘I read Hagstone with with a feeling of ease and awe. Packed with the most incredible, sensuous nature writing; I felt I was living and breathing on that island’ June Caldwell

On a wild and rugged island cut off and isolated to some, artist Nell feels the island is her home. It is the source of inspiration for her art, rooted in landscape, folklore and the feminine. The mysterious Inions, a commune of women who have travelled there from all over the world, consider it a place of refuge and safety, of solace in nature. All the islanders live alongside the strange murmurings that seem to emanate from within the depths of the island, a sound that is almost supernatural – a Summoning as the Inions call it. One day, a letter arrives at Nell’s door from the reclusive Inions who invite Nell into the commune for a commission to produce a magnificent art piece to celebrate their long history. In its creation, Nell will discover things about the community and about herself that will challenge everything she thought she knew.

‘Wild, elemental and brimming with ideas and intelligence, Hagstone feels both ancient and very modern. I adored it Louise Kennedy

Sinéad Gleeson’s essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life was published by Picador in 2019 and won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at 2019 Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Michael Deon Prize. She is editor of The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers (named for a line from Maeve Brennan, which includes a story by Brennan), The Glass Shore: Short Stories by Women Writers from the North of Ireland and The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories. Sinéad also collaborates with artist and musicians, with commissions from The Wellcome Collection, BBC, Frieze and various galleries. In 2022, with Kim Gordon, she co-edited This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music, published by White Rabbit Books. Hagstone is her first novel. 

Presented in partnership with Auckland Writers Festival, WORD Christchurch and HarperCollins New Zealand. 

At Verb Wellington we’re all about making space for stories, books, writers and readers to come together. We passionately believe that stories, books and ideas can change the world. Verb Community members receive discounted tickets and advance notice of festival sales. To find out more, please visit: verbwellington.nz/members