Flattery goes a long way in the world of books

As Westmeath continues to establish itself as a big-league supplier of talent to the worlds of arts and literature, the latest candidate to emerge in the county’s colours is Kinnegad-born writer Nicole Flattery.

Nicole created a lot of excitement in the literary press last year when it was revealed that the internationally-known publishing house Bloomsbury had agreed a two-book deal with her, for a six-figure sum.

Now, her debut short story collection ‘Show Them a Good Time’ was published in Ireland on February 28 by The Stinging Fly Press, and on March 21 Bloomsbury will release the collection in the UK, with a US release planned for next year.

In 2021, Bloomsbury is to publish Nicole’s novel, ‘Nothing Special’, which tells the story of two 18-year-old girls who are working on the transcription of tapes for Andy Warhol in New York.

The Bloomsbury endorsement marks Nicole out as a force to be reckoned with, and even she admits that in ways she can’t get her head around it herself: “It feels very surreal,” she says. “I went to the office and it’s all full of Harry Potter stuff.”

That, of course, is because Bloomsbury is JK Rowling – the Harry Potter author’s – publisher.

Aged 29, Nicole is Westmeath born and bred. The daughter of Angela and Richard Flattery, she attended Saint Etchen’s NS and then Loreto in Mullingar, heading for Trinity in 2007 to study for a degree in theatre and film.

Acting was her original ambition: “I did a lot of drama and stuff when I was a child, acting and things, and I did want to be an actress,” she says, adding that at that stage, writing wasn’t part of the plan.

“But in around third or fourth year we started a writing plays and things and that’s when I would’ve thought about writing a bit more seriously.”

That shift in thinking came as Nicole found herself deciding she didn’t have what it took to be an actress: “I wasn’t very good – and you have to be very good,” she says. “And,” she laughs drolly, “you have to also be able to remember your lines.

“Whenever I go to the theatre I’m so impressed that they can remember all their lines. I still love theatre and I certainly go to the theatre a lot.

“But I don’t think I would ever act again, although I might consider writing for the stage.”

Emerging from college when the economy was still in flux and opportunities were relatively scarce, Nicole did various bits of jobs here and there, working in a card shop; working in a bar – all of which has added to her fascination with the subject of work, a topic that is something of a theme in her short story collection.

“I guess I’m interested in the idea of work. I came out of college at a time when there were very few jobs. That was certainly a question hanging over our generation,” she says.

“I feel work is something that has changed in the last decade in the day since I left college.

“There are a lot more people freelancing and working from home – that kind of thing.

“It seems like I came out of college at a time when work was an issue.”

At 23, she returned to college to study for a master’s degree in creative writing, although on reflection, she feels now she was a bit young for what was on offer; writing was still an idea more than a practice, and she had no firm project on the go.

“It was a great year and that,” she stresses. Nonetheless, whenever she is asked for advice by anyone thinking of studying creative writing she issues a word of caution: “I say ‘wait until you have something solid’.”

Nicole lives in Galway and teaches creative writing, but she has spent spells abroad, chiefly in New York, but also in Paris, where in 2017 she was invited to undertake a one-month residency.

“So I went there for a month and then I stayed on for another few months.

“I thought I might improve my French – I did not – but I did get some writing done .

“It was a very lovely time. When I look back on it now, I’m very happy that it happened. “

To a large extent, that freedom to stay on in Paris and just write came thanks to a ‘Next Generation Artists’ bursary awarded to Nicole by the Arts Council.

“That was a massive help: I don’t think I could have finished the collection without it.

“It’s just gave me a clear run at things, so it was brilliant,” she says.

Nicole’s fiction and non-fiction have at this stage appeared in The Irish Times, The Dublin Review, The White Review, Winter Papers, The Letters Page and The Stinging Fly.

As well as the Next Generation award from the Arts Council, she is a winner of The White Review Short Story Prize.

It was, however, through the Stinging Fly – a magazine and publishing house – that Nicole got her first short stories published, and now that ‘Show Them a Good Time’ has been published by that firm, Nicole’s focus is on the novel.

She is conscious that it is a different discipline: “I never attempted anything of that kind of scale before,” she admits.

“The thing about the short story is you can complete it! I think the novel will take a bit more time – but I have time.”

Now that the short story collection is due for launch, Nicole is conscious that it will be reviewed – something of a reversal of roles for her as she would have done a lot of book reviews to supplement her income while working on the short stories.

“It is a little bit nerve-wrecking and I am a bit nervous about it to be honest – but then again I also understand, because I’ve done so many; it’s not personal in any way; it’s not a reflection of you – it’s part of a larger cultural conversation, it doesn’t mean anything. So I guess I have that grounding to get me through.

“I sound so calm and reasonable now – but if I get a bad review I’ll probably lose my mind. We will see how things go.”