WRITING
In 2015 I wrote At Swim: A Book About the Sea, which was published by We Are Here publishing, then reprinted in 2016 by Collins Press. My debut novel Deep Burn is forthcoming in 2025 (blurb further below). My fiction and non-fiction has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Channel, the Honest Ulsterman, the Irish Times, the Guardian, and Sunday Times among others. I've participated in and chaired events at literary festivals across Ireland, and appeared on national radio, including Arena and the Brendan O'Connor show.
EDITING
I'm the founder, director and editor of Holy Show – an arts journal and production company. Through Holy Show I've produced numerous print journals, and toured 'live audiovisual essays' for stage, with Sara Baume and Ian Maleney. Holy Show is funded by the Arts Council. www.holyshow.ie
I'm about to embark on a print project that will collect and enliven five public art projects commissioned by Kilkenny Arts Office, which will also act as a print archive of each commission.
CURATION
I've curated and produced two multi-disciplinary exhibitions – at Pallas Projects (2023) and the Museum of Literature Ireland (2024). I'm the Emerging Curator in Public arts at Kilkenny Arts Office, for whom I'll produce a print archival project for five upcoming public art commissions in 2025 and 2026.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Starting with At Swim nearly ten years ago, I've been photographing various locations and adventures, and documenting numerous artistic projects ever since. I'm currently shooting with a Sony A7iii camera and a Sigma 28–70mm F2.8 lens. You can see more on my Instagram page here.
POLICY, SELECTION PANELS, PROJECTS
- Pay & Conditions policy documents with Match in the Dark and Words Ireland.
- EDI policy development and survey for Words Ireland.
- Selection panels, with Kilkenny, Westmeath and Sound Dublin Arts Offices.
- Chair of judging panels for the National Mentoring Programme
- Project management for Words Ireland and others.
EVENT PROGROGRAMMING
- Experienced chair / moderator for events and festivals.
- Produced two national tour of 'live audiovisual essays': Minor Monuments & The Alphabet of Birds
- Greatest Story Ever Told at Dublin Book Festival
- Party Piece @ILFD
- Commissioned the Words Ireland Lecture Series
- Programmed the National Writers Conference at IMMA
PREVIOUSLY...
- National Mentoring Programme, Creator & Co-ordinator
- Words Ireland, Programmer and Co-ordinator
- Match in the Dark, Co-Director
- Oxford University Press, Production Editor
- Irish Writers Centre, General Manager
- CreativeCareers.ie, founder and former-director
- The Stinging Fly, Editorial Assistant
COPY & PASTE BIOG
Brendan Mac Evilly is the author of At Swim: A Book About the Sea, and his debut novel, Deep Burn, is forthcoming in 2025. His fiction and non-fiction has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Channel, the Honest Ulsterman, the Guardian, the Irish Times, and Sunday Times. He is director and co-editor of Holy Show, an annual arts journal and production company. He is the 2024/25 Emerging Curator in Development at Kilkenny Arts Office. Brendan was born and lives in Dublin. He has nearly twenty years' experience working in literature and the arts.
DEEP BURN (forthcoming Sept 2025 with Marrowbone Books)
‘The curator wants to know if there’s a limit to what she will burn? Will she really burn anything?’
‘Of course,’ Vinny replied, ‘anything you like.’
In a small seaside village in South Kerry, Martha Knox develops an unlikely career burning emotionally charged objects and photographing the results. Her clients travel from far and wide with things they need her to destroy. But her new relationships become increasingly complicated with the arrival of curator, Kingsley Masozi-Kohler, who is considering her work in his renowned Berlin Biennale.
A surreal story of fame, love, contemporary art and professional envy.