While working together as freelancers for Words Ireland, Dani Gill and Brendan Mac Evilly discovered a shared passion for creating more paid opportunities for writers, and for driving literary innovation led by the needs of writers and the wider arts sector.

As writers themselves, they know the challenges firsthand, and as curators and producers they have learned from their journeys and want to share that experience with others.

Match in the Dark was born of a shared desire to offer professional development and partnership connections to writers and literary producers seeking to develop new projects, publications, events, and tours.

It will also advocate for writers needs within the literary sector – particularly around writers’ pay and working conditions – and will develop practical documents, public campaigns, and reports regarding these issues.

The name is inspired by a Virginia Woolf quote:

“The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead, there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one.” —Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse

Change starts with a spark. Ideas and innovation emerge from questions that arise that require an answer. Match in the Dark is a solutions-orientated practice that welcomes the exploration of nuance and complexity to arrive at a new destination.