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‘Love is Mortifying’
A chance encounter one night leads to a surprising connection and relationship. As time passes, the couple faces challenges and their story takes an unexpected turn.

The Author
Gina Donnelly is a multi-award winning writer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Along with her writing partner Seón Simpson, she has gained recognition for their play ‘Two Fingers Up’ after winning the Abbey Theatre Dublin Fringe Creative Thinking Award in 2019 and the Summerhall Lustrum Award in 2022 at the Edinburgh Fringe. Her other writing credits include ‘Maybe If We'd Stayed Angry’ for Origins First Irish Festival New York, 'Tea' as part of Now for the North and 'Don't Tell Me to Smile' for Fortnight Magazine's 50th Anniversary special. As writing partners, Gina and Seón were both part of the 2022 Â鶹Éç Writersroom Belfast Voices.

‘She Named Us’
A musician looks back at the punk band he left weeks before they hit the big time.

The Author
Matthew McDevitt was the recent recipient of the Element Pictures NI Writer’s Award. He was a participant in the Â鶹Éç Writersroom’s Drama Room and Belfast Voices schemes. His credits include Â鶹Éç NI’s ‘Soft Border Patrol’, Radio Ulster’s ‘Lock In’ and the Radio 4 short story ‘Handy Number’. Matthew also has a series of failed musical projects behind him that may or may not have been "ahead of their time".

Produced by Michael Shannon
Executive Editor Andy Martin
A Â鶹Éç Northern Ireland production.