The publication of two new books by the late Cullybackey author Ian Cochrane, who died in 2004, will be celebrated at Waterstones bookshop in Ballymena’s Fairhill Shopping Centre on October 20.
Ian was born in 1941 and grew up in a remote cottage in Moylarg, before the Cochrane family moved to the newly built Ard-na-Maine estate in Cullybackey in the mid-1950s.
Despite going blind as a teenager, Ian settled in London in 1959, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Cochrane produced six widely praised novels in the 1970s and 1980s, with much of his fiction drawing on his upbringing in Co. Antrim. His writing presents a unique and darkly humorous picture of rural Ulster life, and is recognised as a major influence on writers such as Patrick McCabe, author of The Butcher Boy, who has described Cochrane as a “one-off genius.”
This month, Turnpike Books are publishing a new collection of Cochrane’s short stories, entitled The Last Word, as well as reprinting his debut novel, A Streak of Madness, originallyreleased in 1973.
Philip Taylor, who edited the short story collection and is currently writing a biography of Cochrane, will be joined by local historian James Greer from Queen’s University to discuss the Cullybackey man’s interesting life and work in celebration of these new publications.
This free event will take place at Waterstones in the Fairhill Centre, Ballymena, at 7.00 pm on Thursday 20 October.
Guests are welcome to turn up on the night, but for those wishing to ensure a place in advance, tickets are now available online via Eventbrite.