Laurence Lumsden

About me

I'm a writer of short stories and poems who also has mad notions of one day finishing the novel that's in bits and pieces on my laptop. 

 

In 2025 / 2026 I'm one of eight writers selected by The Stinging Fly to participate in a 6-month writing workshop with the brilliant Danielle McLaughlin.

 

I was gobsmacked and grateful to be awarded the 2025 Cúirt New Writing Prize. My stories have been published in Ireland, Canada, and the US, in publications including The New Quarterly, Blank Spaces, Crannóg Magazine, Necessary Fiction, Sky Island Journal, River, and The Galway Review. See the Writing tab at the top right of this page for a complete list with links.

 

A little bit more background

I grew up in Dublin, lived for several years in Stockholm and a few other places in Europe and North America, but since 2007 my hometown is Montréal (Tiohtià:ke). So I'm a Dubliner, et je suis montréalais.

 

After many years of procrastination and self-doubt I finally got around to writing fiction under the cover of the pandemic, only to realise that my new-found enthusiam far exceeded my ability. Happily, I discovered the excellent creative writing modules at The Open University and benefited from the guidance of two brilliant tutors, the poets Dr. Christy Ducker and Dr. Anne Caldwell.  Since then, my learning has continued at Philip Schultz's Writers Studio in workshops led by wonderful teachers including Lael Cassidy, Nancy Matsunaga, Lorraine Babb, and Nancy Connors. 

 

I worked for many years in software development, but I've left all those details on my LinkedIn page. Throughout my tech career I was always known as Larry Lumsden, but as a writer I've decided to go with my full name. Larry was a techie; Laurence writes.

 

Contact me

Email me at himself@laurencewrites.com or follow me on social media at Bluesky and Instagram.