There’s a new book in town about this town - and Mark Mullan of Sci Fi Ireland has his finger on the pulse of this timeline-bending odyssey through Belfast’s Golden Mile, featuring a love triangle & a cast of characters navigating the heady excess & uneasy peace of the post-Troubles Celtic Tiger era
Check out my book review of a new humour anthology - The Bare Bones Book of Humour (Ed. Ankit Raj Ojha), featuring 25 stories by writers from 8 different countries.
I ponder the nature of comedy across cultures & time, and share my own (humorous) travels in India
Link below ⬇️
An (almost) sunny day romp around Belfast with a book about a time-bending romp around Belfast.
Did You Pay the Piper Man? is a debut literary sci fi novel by Hanna Nielson
Available now from all major retailers.
We have 2 blog posts - on 22/2 - that makes it lucky, right?
First, a poem by Fiona Murphy about the state of the world in Ireland & beyond. Plus, we interview her about the importance of Irish women writers, the refugee crisis & her family history of displacement.
Absolute must-reads!
Links⬇️
I have a personal essay on the Belfast Review blog page this month. This one was very special to me and I'm so happy it found a good home. @thebelfastreview.bsky.social
Submit!
Our new Submission Call is now open! Poetry required!
A poster with the words Competition Deadline Reminder pinned to a cork board
📢REMINDER - Upcoming Writing Competition DEADLINES
The Cúirt New Writing Prize 2026 - 31st Jan '26
Footnote x Counterpoints Prize for Fiction - 13th Feb '26
Fish Flash Fiction Prize 2026 - 28th Feb '26
The Mairtín Crawford Awards 2026 - 11th Mar '26
👇
www.writing.ie/category/wri...
#writersky
The new year is already buzzing, but I can sneak in another couple writers who need help with their WIPs. Feedback, manuscript assessments & more. It’s free to query (link in bio for my website). Let’s collaborate to make your project sparkle, whether you’re querying or self publishing 🍀
We’re back from break, polishing up some features for our Spring Blog (starting next month), and getting ready for submissions to reopen 1st of March.
Our Winter/Spring 2026 issue is available now, and it’s our most popular yet - thanks to everyone involved 😎
The new year is already buzzing, but I can sneak in another couple writers who need help with their WIPs. Feedback, manuscript assessments & more. It’s free to query (link in bio for my website). Let’s collaborate to make your project sparkle, whether you’re querying or self publishing 🍀
Ah, thanks Aidan!! Hope you enjoy it 🙌😊
It’s here! It’s magic (realism)!
Thanks everyone who already snagged a copy of my debut novel, set in wintry, Celtic Tiger era Belfast.
Link in bio or below.
Want to review it? Get in touch for an ARC.
5/
Fits in nicely with The Benefactors, Close to Home, Trespasses - just with a bit of magic in it.
-end-
(Moodboard and cover art my own)
Blurb:
The struggles of an ex boxer, an American writer, and a hotel manager intertwine when timelines split on a busy night before Christmas - and the key to redemption is in a homeless piper man’s tune, if only someone will listen.
James Joyce’s Dubliners meets Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Available on Amazon now (other platforms soon). Physical launch plans for early next year.
Link to book here (hardcover, paperback, Kindle)
amzn.eu/d/bcjyzuw
Following a cast of characters on a single night before Christmas where timelines diverge - one leads to a tragic falling out between friends and the other leads to a love story.
Elements of Irish lore, feminist myth retelling, an Odyssey thru Belfast’s pubs, a journey into the underworld…
2/
My debut novel is debuting! Did You Pay the Piper Man? is a literary magic realism novel with time travel & speculative elements set in Belfast.
1/
It’s me, editor at large in Belfast - and I’ve a few openings in my schedule for editorial services. Also taking bookings for next year - for authors with novels in the works, small presses, and journals.
Work with an awesome human who lives & breathes storytelling & genuinely wants you to succeed
Submissions for Tolka Issue Eleven close in two weeks – at midnight on 6 November.
Absolutely loved this beautiful book! Congrats on all your success 🍀
It’s free to query. Check out my MSWL on my website
hannanielson.wixsite.com/mysite
Who’s going to be the first to book up my last few Oct/Nov slots? Authors, indie journals or small presses? I’m a full service editor and work with fiction, cnf, poetry, scripts. PLUS I have special rates for N Ireland writers, since I love seeing more NI books & chapbooks in the world.
Image states: Time to get excited! One week to go to Octocon 2025. www.octocon.com. Image includes our Mascot, Octo the Octopus.
Less than a week to #Octocon2025 and it's still not too late to get your membership. Be sure not to miss out and book yours now!
https://2025.octocon.com/join-us/
#Octocon #Scifi #Fantasy #Fandom #Cosplay #scificonvention #readingcommunity
Close to Home meets The Time Traveler’s Wife - with shades of James Joyce’s Dubliners and Irish mythology 3/
“… a vivid, time-bending journey across mid-2000s Belfast.
Set during the roaring Celtic Tiger days, this gripping novel follows the struggles of a former boxer, a young American writer, and an aged piper man whose tune holds the key to redemption.” 2/
