The Stinging Fly

THE STINGING FLY is a literary magazine, a book publisher, an education provider, and an online platform. A registered charity, our mission is to seek out, nurture, publish and promote the very best new writers and new writing. The organisation is governed by a voluntary board of seven directors with Declan Meade, founding editor and publisher, acting as Chief Executive, leading a highly committed artistic and administrative team. Our organisational purpose is to enrich lives and deepen human understanding though literature, with a vision of making the world a more compassionate place through literature. The Stinging Magazine was founded in 1997 by Aoife Kavangh and Declan Meade. The first issue appeared in March 1998 and we continue to publish two issues every year. The Stinging Fly Press imprint was launched in May 2005 with the publication of our first title, Watermark by Sean O’Reilly. Like the magazine, the imprint is particularly interested in promoting the short story. Since the press’s foundation, we have published landmark, award-winning debut story collections by Colin Barrett, Kevin Barry, Claire-Louise Bennett, Mary Costello, Wendy Erskine, Michael J Farrell, Nicole Flattery, Danielle McLaughlin, and Cathy Sweeney. We have also re-issued key works by Maeve Brennan; published anthologies of contemporary fiction and theatre; and published masterful new work by Sean O’Reilly and Philip Ó Ceallaigh. Our titles and authors have won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, The Guardian First Book Award, The Kate O’Brien Award, The Butler Literary Award, and The Windham-Campbell Prize.