After 18 years as a resident of Vineyard Haven, Irish author Lara O’Brien returned to live in her hometown of Howth, a little fishing village north of Dublin. When she went, she took much of the Vineyard with her — nothing material, but a deep education earned through writing workshops and arts-based community building. That background has led to her recently becoming a best-selling author, who in turn nurtures other budding writers.
“Twenty years ago, I began prompt-writing in Nancy Aronie’s Chilmark Writing Workshop, which was a transformative experience. Then I joined John Hough Jr.’s writing workshops, and spent years learning about craft and storytelling by listening to others. I attended as many workshops and book conferences as I could at Noepe [Center for Literary Arts] while raising four kids. In 2016, I received my first grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council to host a writing workshop at Featherstone. That little acceptance allowed me to begin my own workshops,” O’Brien recently told me.
She also attended Pathways’ winter series, at which writers present their work, reading at the microphone. From there, O’Brien became a board member on the Arts Council, representing Tisbury. She believes this was the education she needed to experience how a little encouragement goes a long way.
“The encouragement of my writing mentors and the financial nod from the Cultural Council gave me the wings to start my own writing workshop,” O’Brien explained.
Then, on her return to Ireland in 2019, she started Howth Writing Workshops.
It wasn’t long before her fledgling writers in Howth were writing to prompts and developing stories. They came back with her to the Vineyard on writing retreats — as well as to New York and Cork, Ireland — and flourished under her guidance. “They were completing memoirs and short stories,” she said. “Some even ventured into murder mystery.”
Looking around her hometown, O’Brien decided the stories generated in her workshops needed a home. Inspired by the Pathways winter reading series, she created “Hooks and Reels,” evenings of story and song, which supported emerging writers and local musicians. These events were immediately popular. “It’s a reminder of the age-old Irish tradition of gathering over storytelling,” says O’Brien.
Last month, O’Brien, who previously self-published the middle school novel “Chesca and the Spirit of Grace,” published her first nonfiction book, “The Power of the Prompt.” Buoyed by the enormous community she had created, the book sold quickly and went straight onto the Irish Times Bestseller list. “The Power of the Prompt” is both a memoir and writing guide, full of evocative personal prompts, reflecting a particularly Celtic sensibility. Readers are encouraged to write, join, or start a workshop; those engaged with their local arts scene may be inspired to bring their community together under the traditional Irish banner of gathering for story and song.
“I couldn’t have dreamed the book would make such a splash,” she says, “but nearly 200 members of the community came out to rally for launch sales, and we had the best night. Stories, song, and a book launch! There was a lot of goodwill, nurtured from the Hooks and Reels event. People were delighted to now read about something they were part of growing,” O’Brien smiled.
Nicole Galland will be interviewing O’Brien at Stillpoint on Saturday, June 13, from 3 to 5 pm, about her remarkable journey, both personal and writerly, from Howth to the Vineyard and back. There will be music by Violet Southwick (cello and fiddle) and Aiden Weiland (fiddle and song), as well as stories by local authors Beth O’Connor and Sherry Sidoti. O’Brien will also be signing books on the porch of Edgartown Books on Sunday, June 14, from 2 to 4 pm.