I’m back in hospital for surgery connected to the removal of my kidney two years ago because of cancer. Not exactly where I’d planned to be, but I’m still here, still writing, and still looking forward.

There was some good news in among it all. My poem “Samhain Harvest” made the longlist for the Frances Browne Poetry Competition 2026. Sadly, it didn’t make the shortlist, but I’m genuinely delighted it got that far.

And, all going well with recovery, I’ll be in Castlebar on 10 October for the Wild Atlantic Words Festival, where my short story has been shortlisted for the festival’s short story prize. I’ll be there to read the piece and attend the prize-giving.

The countdown is also officially on for the release of my first adult novel, Why the Curlew Cries, which is out later this month.

Cancer has interrupted plenty over the last couple of years, but it hasn’t managed to stop me writing or showing up.

See ye on the other side of this one.

J.M. Lane