I'm Irish and I can't help but see how active Ireland is in promoting its authors and producing prizes so prestigious that world class authors enter their books for them. There is also a hive of activity around getting famous authors to visit Ireland to teach/talk and all the rest. There is also a respected number of Irish actors/directors who seek out stories about Ireland by Irish writers to film. John Banville's prize-winning 'The Sea' is on the way to cinemas soon. Ireland has been used as landscape for Game of Thrones.
Then look at Cyprus, another small island with a wealth of talent on offer, an Everest mountain of stories, not to mention a goodly number of well-educated young people who are capable - if given the chance - of bringing the stories writers create to the big screen, thus giving Cyprus a higher profile. Why is there no really positive drive generally, towards helping writers 'get out there'? Armida's book shelves alone are an illustration of the variety of writing available here. Discuss!
Then look at Cyprus, another small island with a wealth of talent on offer, an Everest mountain of stories, not to mention a goodly number of well-educated young people who are capable - if given the chance - of bringing the stories writers create to the big screen, thus giving Cyprus a higher profile. Why is there no really positive drive generally, towards helping writers 'get out there'? Armida's book shelves alone are an illustration of the variety of writing available here. Discuss!