In The Irish Times tomorrow, Torrey Peters talks to Naoise Dolan about her new novel, Stag Dance, and her hit debut Detransition Baby. Anthea Rowan writes about caring for her mother in the last 18 months of her life, the subject of her memoir, A Silent Tsunami. As Jan Carson and Duke Special are bringing Margery Williams’s classic book The Velveteeen Rabbit to the stage for Belfast Children’s Festival, Jane Coyle hears the details. A handful of billionaires and a million artists in penury: Hugh Linehan on big tech’s effect on culture, and what you can do about it. And there is a Q&A with YA author Clara Kumagai about her new novel and career so far.
Reviews are Nicholas Allen on Twist by Colum McCann; Peter Murphy on David Keenan’s Volcanic Tongue; Ian Hughes on Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan by Richard Overy; Declan Ryan on the best new poetry; Kevin Rafter on The Sorrow and the Loss by Martin Dillon; Nicholas Grene on Sonya Kelly’s Druid Plays; Edel Coffey on The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami; Jenny McAuley on Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney; John Boyne on Flesh by David Szalay; Henrietta McKervey on Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall; Julia Kelly on A Time Outworn by Val Mulkerns; Lucy Sweeney Byrne on Show, Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld; and Kevin Power on Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara, just €5.99, a €6 saving.
Sally Rooney and Colm Tóibín have been shortlisted for fiction book of the year at the British Book Awards, while Ferdia Lennon has made the debut fiction shortlist.
Former Author of the Year winners Marian Keyes (2022) has been shortlisted for fiction audiobook of the year for My Favourite Mistake. Oliver Jeffers has been shortlisted for illustrator of the year. Chris Haughton’s The History of Information is in the running for Book of the Year: Children’s Non-Fiction.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney and Long Island by Colm Tóibín face stiff competition from James by Percival Everett, All Fours by Miranda July, You Are Here by David Nicholls and Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon is up against The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley; The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey; Green Dot by Madeleine Gray; When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker; and Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
Winners will be announced on May 12th.
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Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love has been named as the overall winner of the Nero Gold Prize, beating three other titles in contention for the £30,000 prize, including Wild Houses by Colin Barrett, which had won the debut fiction prize.
The winner was announced by celebrated journalist and bestselling author Bill Bryson at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday evening.
Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love by Sophie Elmhirst (Chatto & Windus) is a captivating true story of a couple in the 1970s who are shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for 118 days on a life raft, after their boat is struck by a whale.
Bryson, chair of judges, said: “Maurice and Maralyn is an enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit. Impressively novelistic in its narrative approach, it is a gripping retelling of a true but forgotten story. It is a story of a marriage as much as of an adventure at sea, one that subtly explores the dynamics of a relationship under the greatest imaginable stress. Shining through is the heroine’s courage and fortitude; as Maurice flounders, it is Maralyn’s strength that allows them to survive at sea for 118 days – the book is a tribute to Maralyn’s grit. Sophie Elmhirst’s writing is understated but powerful, immersing the reader intimately in the unfolding drama and the horror of struggling to survive against the odds with very few resources.”
Simon & Schuster UK’s Scribner imprint has acquired Frida Slattery As Herself, a novel by Irish writer Ana Kinsella, in a hotly contested six-publisher auction. It will be published next May.
It follows the relationship of two Irish creative artists, actor Frida Slattery and writer-director John Reddan, over 17 years, a story of desire and friendship, of art and honing a craft, of finding one’s voice and one’s place in the world.
Sophie Missing, Scribner publishing director, said: “I’m a longtime admirer of Ana Kinsella’s writing, which combines intelligence, warmth and keen observation in a deeply enjoyable way, and I was immediately captivated by her expansive debut. Frida Slattery As Herself is a richly absorbing exploration of the kind of pivotal connection that influences who you are and who you want to be. We all fell for Frida and John instantly and we can’t wait to bring this book to readers.”
Kinsella said: “It’s such a solitary endeavour, writing a novel, and so I was thrilled to meet Sophie Missing and her colleagues and hear their response to Frida Slattery As Herself. I feel incredibly lucky to be published by Scribner and I can’t wait for readers to meet Frida and John. I’m also deeply grateful to my agent Seren Adams for her trust and belief in this novel.”
Kinsella is based in Dublin. She has written for the Guardian, Frieze, Dazed, n+1, AnOther and others. Her first book, Look Here: On The Pleasures Of Observing The City, was published by Daunt Books in May 2022.
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In the next two episodes of the Lyric Feature, RTÉ lyric fm’s weekly documentary slot, poets Annemarie Ní Churreáin and Louis de Paor go back to places that are central to their poetry and identity. On Sunday, March 9th, at 6pm, Annemarie goes to the Donegal Gaeltacht, where she grew up, and in the programme ‘Among the Heather Rocks’ explores the folklore and history, landscape, language and personal experiences that all influence her poetry. The following week, on Sunday, March 16th, at 6pm, Louis de Paor presents ‘The Shaky Bridge’. Louis grew up in Cork, but has not lived there for many years, but the the Cork of his childhood, where he first learned Irish, and especially the Cork that his father knew, run throughout his poetry.
Sheila Armstrong’s Falling Animals has been nominated by Literature Ireland for the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), which recognises emerging fiction writers from the European Union and beyond. The nomination will likely lead to further translation interest in her book across Europe. It has been published in Danish and will be published in French.
This year’s other shortlisted authors are: Austria: Ljuba Arnautović, Erste Töchter (First Daughters); Belgium: Philippe Marczewski, Quand Cécile (When Cécile); Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mihaela Šumić, Čovjek vuk (The Wolf Man); Georgia: Tea Topuria, იაკობის ჭასთან (By Jacob’s Well); Greece: Makis Malafekas, Deepfake (Deepfake); Italy: Nicoletta Verna, I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass); Lithuania: Kotryna Zylė, Mylimi Kaulai (Beloved Bones); Norway: Maria Kjos Fonn, Margaret, er du i sorg (Margaret, Are You Grieving); Romania: Bogdan Crețu, Mai puţin decât dragostea (Less Than Love); Slovakia: Lukáš Cabala, Spomenieš si na Trenčín? (Will you remember Trenčín?); Spain: David Uclés, La peninsula de las casas vacías (The Peninsula of Empty Houses); Ukraine: Halyna Matveeva, Ключ соль (The Key of G)
The seven members of the European Jury will now read excerpts from all the shortlisted books and make their choice in the upcoming months to award one EUPL Prize winner for this edition, as well as recognising two special mentions. The 2025 EUPL Prize winner and the two special mentions will be revealed on May 16th at the Prague Book Fair.
Bonnier Books UK has acquired Dirtpickers, a debut novel by Irish writer Edie May Hand. It will be published next spring by Manilla Press, Bonnier Books UK’s boutique literary imprint.
Publisher Sophie Orme acquired world rights from Brian Langan at Storyline Agency in a pre-empt.
Dirtpickers follows a man, a woman and three children who flee a silver mine in a remote Idaho valley, the only survivors of a terrible event. Haunted by what they have seen and done, their only choice now is to, somehow, learn to become a family.
A winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2024, Edie May Hand is a 26-year-old author from Navan, Co Meath, Ireland who studied English and history of art at University College Dublin and graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Maynooth University in 2024.
Edie May Hand said: “It was clear to me from the outset that Sophie and the team at Manilla Press have a real vision for this book.”
Sophie Orme said: “I devoured Dirtpickers, my heart in my mouth the whole time. This is an unforgettable story of love, loss, redemption and found family, written by an astonishing new talent.”
Brian Langan said: “I’m thrilled that Manilla Press will be publishing Dirtpickers. I knew the moment I read the first page that this would be a special novel, a breathtaking story of ordinary people finding connection in extraordinary circumstances. Edie May is a talent for the future.”
Little Island Books has acquired Shorelines by Ruth Ennis, a YA debut which uses The Little Mermaid to dissect questions of contemporary beauty standards.
Shorelines will be Little Island’s YA lead for spring 2026, and continues the Irish indie’s work at the forefront of novels-in-verse for young adults, which includes the 2025 Carnegie-longlisted Trigger by CG Moore, Solo by Gráinne O’Brien (2025), and Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan, a 2022 Kirkus Book of the Year.
Ruth Ennis is a poet and verse-novelist from Kildare, Ireland. She has an MPhil in Children’s Literature from Trinity College Dublin and is usually found giving book recommendations or working with books in some capacity. She works as a Book Doctor with Children’s Books Ireland and reviews children’s books for Inis Magazine and Books Ireland. She is previously published in The Irish Writer’s Handbook (Books Ireland) and I Am The Wind: Irish Poems for Children Everywhere (Little Island). She has been awarded a Literature Bursary and an Agility Award by The Arts Council of Ireland.
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The Irish Writers Centre has announced two new events taking place in its Dublin residence in Parnell Square this March and April. At the centre’s bi-annual Publishing Day (Saturday, March 29th, 10am – 4.30pm, tickets cost: €55/€50. More details here) get acquainted with Ireland’s publishing scene and gain some valuable insights into this constantly changing industry. The line-up of speakers includes award winning writer, Nuala O’Connor, and representatives from Hachette Ireland, Sandycove, The Dublin Review and New Island Books. The centre will also hold a special spoken word showcase, Words in the Air on Parnell Square (Saturday, April 5th, 7.30pm-9pm, tickets cost: €30/€27 More details here) hosted by Ireland Professor of Poetry and Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Muldoon.
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President Michael D Higgins marked World Book Day 2025 by donating 250 books to Cabra public library, including books bought by the President as well as books given as gifts to the President by the books’ authors and related groups.
The donation was the latest in a series made by President Higgins to the public library service, commencing with more than 700 books in February 2020. The President will make further donations of books to public libraries until his term of office ends in November.
President Higgins said: “World Book Day is an important reminder of the importance of reading and of the insight that books can provide into so many worlds, real and imaginary. Public libraries provide a vital resource within communities, offering assistance and guidance to readers of all ages, and helping each of us to find the book that we need at a given moment.
“Books are written to be read, and it is my hope that the books which I am donating today will be read and enjoyed by members of the public, helping to spread the work and knowledge so meticulously written and shared by the authors to new and further readers across the community.”
