Galwayman Conor Montague who now lives in London, will return home next Friday, November 3, to launch his debut collection of short stories at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop.

He describes Capital Vices as an eclectic mix of stories with plots that reflect his various careers from bare-knuckle fighting to academia, and which for which he has also drawn on his extensive travels.

He writes about a backpacker in India admiring the integrity of cockroaches; how Santa Claus ruins a Galway Christmas; about an amputee who hustles a biker gang in a last-chance saloon; and a US marine who decides to assassinate Donald Trump in order to save America.

Conor is a graduate of the MA in Writing at NUI Galway (now University of Galway) and is currently playwright-in-residence at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, London, where he facilitates workshops in playwriting and fiction.

A series of his plays, titled Who Needs Enemies, was previously staged at the city’s Town Hall Theatre, while The Chain, a commissioned piece, was performed at the Inishbofin Arts Festival in April. Chasing Reindeer, which was shortlisted for the Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize and Druid Theatre’s New Writing Award, is currently in development with a London theatre.

Nothing to be Done, a short film adapted from one of the prize-winning stories in Capital Vices, was an official selection at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh and was highly commended at this month’s Offline Film Festival. It’s due to be screened at other film festivals in the coming months.

Published by Reflex Press, Conor’s debut collection has been praised by fellow-writers, among them the award-winning novelist and short story writer, Mike McCormack, who described the book as “the work of a born storyteller”.

Capital Vices will be launched in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Middle Street, on Friday, November 3, at 6.30pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.

More information at Conormontague.com.

Pictured: Conor Montague.