NEIL JORDAN may still be better known as a film-maker, but he was last night recognised for his work as a writer when inducted into the Hennessy XO Literary Awards Hall of Fame.
At a ceremony at Trinity College Dublin, Jordan joined previous inductees, including Hugo Hamilton and Anne Enright.
Jordan's most recent novel, Shade, was released in 2005. Previous works include novels The Past, The Dream of a Beastand his prize-winning 1976 collection of short stories, Night in Tunisia.
The organisers described the award as recognition of Jordans contribution to “so much to the fabric of Irish life over the last four decades”.
However, the prize is most important for rewarding new writers.
Cork writer Madeleine D'Arcy was announced as winner of the New Irish Writer award, having also won the First Fiction category for her short story Is This Like Scotland?
In total, the prize is worth €4,000, although the prestige remains more valuable.
Writing since 2005, D’Arcy is currently working on a novel about punks and confused ex-hippies set in 1980s Cork and London.
The prize for Emerging Fiction went to Michael O'Higgins for his story The Migration. He had previously won a Hennessy XO award in 2007.
Downpatrick-based Olive Broderick won the Emerging Poetry category for her poems Misconception and Market Forces. In all, 18 writers had been nominated across the three categories.
Now in its 39th year, previous winners of the Hennessy XO writing prizes include Dermot Bolger, Marina Carr, Pat McCabe, Colum McCann, Frank McGuinness and Joseph O’Connor.
