Newbridge writing group raises funds for local branch of Samaritans with 2024 book
Ink Tank Creative Writing Group was supported by local bookshops, businesses and schools in Kildare
In April 2024, the Ink Tank Creative Writing Group based in Newbridge published a novel, Behind the Bookshelves.
The book was unusual in that seven group members wrote the story in relay.
The group paid for publishing costs out of their own funds with the help of a small grant from Kildare County Council.
The group was able to donate the sales proceeds to chosen charity, The Samaritans. Several local independent bookshops supported the endeavour: Farrell and Nephew, Newbridge, Seanchai Books in Kildare and Woodbine Books in Kilcullen as did several businesses such as Manguard Security, Newbridge Business Centre and local schools.
Maria McDonald of Ink Tank Creative Writing Group said: "We raised €2,116 which has been transferred to The Samaritans Newbridge, Kildare. We met with the director of the Samaritans for a formal presentation of the cheque."
Maria added: "Behind the Bookshelves was our third publication. Our first anthology, Timeless in Kildare was published in 2019 and raised €3,000 for St Brigid's Hospice. The following year we published a second anthology, Let Me Tell You Something which raised €3,000 for HopeD, a mental health charity. This year our chosen charity was the Samaritans who are mentioned in our book."
Ink Tank Creative Writing Group met on the third Saturday of the month in Newbridge Library.
For further information, please contact Maria at: [email protected]