In tomorrow’s edition of The Irish Times, Carys Davis discloses to Edel Coffey bout her latest novel entitled “Clear”. Additionally, Jane Casey provides insight to Fiona Gartland regarding her newest detective installation, “A Stranger in the Family”. British writer and former politician, Chris Mullin opens up about his struggles in his campaign to free the Birmingham Six wrongly incarcerated for bombings, and his fight to protect his sources from revelation. Claire McGowan shares the hardships a family encounters when living with a severely handicapped family member, like her brother David, in her new release, “This Could Be Us”. Irish Author Colin Walsh, known for his Laureate debut novel “Kala”, converses with Caroline Madden about his winning piece and his experiences living abroad. Gary Stevenson, who penned “The Trading Game”, discusses with Mark Paul about amassing his wealth in London’s financial district and his pessimistic outlook on the global economy. Writer Rebecca Ivory engages in a Q&A about her first anthology “Free Therapy”.
Book critiques include a review from Declan Hughes on James Kaplan’s “3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool”; Daniel Geary on Adam Shatz’s “The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon”; Edel Coffey on Clara Dillon’s “The Playdate”; Jessica Traynor commends the latest poetry collections; Ian Hughes on Peter Pomerantsev’s “How to Win an Information War”; Muireann Ó Briain’s “Colm Ó Briain: A Coat of Many Colours” gets a thumbs up from Brian Maye. We have additional reviews from James Conor Patterson, Ray Burke, Brian Cliff, John Boyne, NJ McGarrigle, Anna Carey, and Sarah Gilmartin on books like “Unconditional Freedom”, “Mick Lynch: The Making of a Working-Class Hero”, “The Hunter”, “The Tower”, “Write Cut Rewrite: The Cutting-Room Floor of Modern Literature”, “Bluestockings”, and “Barcelona” respectively.
In this week’s Eason book deal from The Irish Times, you can grab Michelle McDonagh’s “There’s Something I Have to Tell You” with your newspaper purchase for only €5.99, clinching a €5 discount.
The Cúirt International Festival of Literature has disclosed the plans for its 2024 programme, innovatively put together by festival director, Manuela Moser. Showcasing an eclectic mix of notable writers from Ireland and across the globe, the 39th iteration of the festival is set to unfold in Galway, Ireland, from April 23rd to 28th. The festival is packed with more than 50 events, comprising poetry readings, fictional and non-fictional showcases, memoir presentations, masterclasses, workshops, exhibitions, and a variety of family-friendly endeavours. Attendees may book their places now for all the events.
Underlining the festival line-up are two Booker Prize laureates, Paul Lynch and John Banville, alongside prolific Galway authors such as Rita Ann Higgins, Edel Coffey, Elaine Feeney, and Mary Costello; Mike McCormack also features prominently. The list extends to include Paul Murray, Jackie Kay, Sinéad Gleeson, Rafeef Ziadah, Lemn Sissay, Leontia Flynn, and numerous others.
In anticipation of the festival, Moser expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to welcome both audiences and authors to Galway for an invigorating week honouring literature. The Cúirt festival holds space for sharing narratives and innovative concepts, and as such, they enthusiastically anticipate hosting a breadth of accomplished authors, at the apex of their writing careers, in conjunction with emerging talents.
The upcoming Cúirt Festival plans to amplify the voices of established and nascent Irish authors, including renowned 2023 An Post Book of the Year winner Paul Murray, Colin Batrett, Edel Coffey, Sinéad Gleeson, Annie MacManus, and Ferdia Lennon. Also in attendance, 2023 Booker Prize laureate Paul Lynch will delve into his novel Prophet Song, while John Banville, a 2005 Booker Prize winner, will share the Town Hall Theatre stage for an engaging dialogue alongside Mike McCormack, focusing on their latest novels.
Extra emphasis has been placed on the burgeoning talents in Galway, including Elaine Feeney, longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, who will be launching her upcoming poetry collection. Novelists Nuala O’Connor and Colin Walsh will be celebrating the launch of their highly awaited novel and dark coming-of-age mystery Kala respectively. Also featured are social historian Jackie Uí Chionna, children’s author Méabh McDonnell and Mary Costello discussing her fresh short story collection, Barcelona.
The Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre has unveiled the nominees for the 2024 John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize. This year marks the sixth iteration of this annual award, which recognises a significant debut compilation of poetry in English.
With a substantial prize of €10,000 sponsored by the John Pollard Foundation, the prize is organised by the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre, part of the School of English at Trinity College Dublin. Stephen Vernon, who established the foundation in honour of his grandfather, John Pollard, is its patron.
The award ceremony is scheduled for April 11th at Trinity, where the winner will be announced. Those shortlisted include: Kevin Graham’s ‘The Lookout Post’, Amy Acre’s ‘Mothersong’, Declan Ryan’s ‘Crisis Actor’, Susannah Dickey’s ‘ISDAL’, Patrick James Errington’s ‘the swailing’, Eli Payne Mandel’s ‘The Grid’, Dawn Watson’s ‘We Play Here’, and Alisha Dietzman’s ‘Sweet Movie’.
As the magnitude and quality of entries from budding poets keep growing, the job of selection becomes increasingly challenging, according to Prof Eoin McNamee, Chair of the judging panel and head of the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre. He and his co-judges, Vona Groarke, Alice Lyons and Tom Walker, consider it an honour to review and discuss these submissions.
The prestigious award’s former recipients include Hannah Sullivan (2019), Isabel Galleymore (2020), Diane Louie (2021), Gail McConnell (2022), and Victoria Adukwei Bulley (2023).
Elsewhere in the literary world, Bono took home the Audiobook of the Year at the Aufie Awards in Hollywood this week. His memoir ‘Surrender’, which he also read himself, was published by Penguin Random House Audio. Billie Fulford-Brown was celebrated as the Best Fiction Narrator for ‘The Last Lifeboat’ authored by Hazel Gaynor, coincidentally, also a publication by Penguin Random House Audio.
The book titled “Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes”, authored by Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons and illustrated by Jessica Louis (Little Island Books) is in the running for the Children’s Non-Fiction Book of the Year title at the British Book Awards. Another nominee in the discovery category is a book named “Sunburn”, penned by Chloe Michelle Howarth, an author hailing from Cork (published by VERVE Books). Moreover, Nathan Anthony’s work, “Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book,” with illustrations by Sophie Yamamoto (Ebury Press, Ebury) is competing for the Non-Fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated award.
In the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize 2023/24, Max Lury took home the victory for his engaging tale, “Santa Fe”. This feat was no small feat given that his submission was chosen amongst over 1,500 entries. The judging panel – Alex Clark, Chigozie Obioma, Tomiwa Owolade, Susan Tomaselli, and Galley Beggar Press co-directors Sam Jordion and Eloise Millar – commended Lury’s poignant and ambiguous depiction of desolate English areas and unease, written in a bright, clear prose. Lury’s style, they commented, has an almost Ballardian feel, suggesting a promising future for the new writer.
“Santa Fe”, along with nine other noteworthy stories from the 2023/24 Prize, are available to read at no cost.
Lastly, the Gordon Burn prize of this year was awarded to Kathryn Scanlan, an American writer, for her narrative on horse training, “Kick the Latch”.
The novel, which draws upon interviews with Sonia, an American horse trainer from the Midwest, has been dubbed a “stupendous accomplishment” by Terri White, a journalist who served as the Chair of the judges. White lauded the novel’s exploration of character development. Scanlan was excited and humbled to receive the unique acknowledgement for her piece which experiments with genre and stylistic elements.
The inaugural Pratchett Prize winners, announced by Trinity College Dublin, are Bryan Murray, an actor, and Deirdre Kinahan, a playwright. Both of them were recognised for their efforts in reducing the prejudice associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. The award-winning play, An Old Song, Half Forgotten, was part of the Abbey Theatre production 2023 and was exclusively authored for Ireland’s distinguished performer, Bryan Murray, who is himself an Alzheimer’s patient. Admired by “assessing wizards”, Murray’s performance was an innovative approach to theatre, where he was holistically supported from script to stage.
The award, inspired by Terry Pratchett’s legacy, is managed by the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation. It acknowledges the efforts of artists, activists, scientists or anyone living with the disease who are dedicated to minimising the consequences of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Belgrade Irish Festival in Serbia has announced Rob Doyle as its inaugural Writer-in-Residence. The residency program is jointly managed by Literature Ireland, the Belgrade Irish Festival, under Jas Kaminski’s leadership, and the Krokodil Creative Centre, directed by Vladimir Arsenijević. This program gifts an Irish writer a chance to indulge in thoughts and writing while exploring the diverse cityscape of Belgrade. The residency’s timing coincides with the festival providing the writer a profound cultural immersion and the opportunity to network with international and local writers and artists. Doyle expressed his delight at being invited to attend this residency and was keenly looking forward to his maiden visit to Belgrade.
Sinéad Mac Aodha, the head of Literature Ireland, expressed her excitement over a new residency. This opportunity, she said, will provide Irish authors an opportunity to immerse themselves in Belgrade’s rich culture. Belgrade is one of the world’s oldest cities that’s still inhabited today. The experience gained by writer Rob Doyle during this programme will prove invaluable, and it signifies a stepping stone for future international collaboration efforts, according to Mac Aodha.
The Belgrade Irish Festival is slated to go ahead between March 8th and March 18th.
On another note, Paul Lynch, a winner of the illustrious Booker Prize, is set to take part in an enlightening conversation with Alex Clark at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire on March 26th at 8pm. The tickets will be priced at €20.
Meanwhile, the Irish Writers Centre (IWC) Board is in quest of a Chief Executive Officer to guide the future development of the institution with a fresh viewpoint. Since its inception in 1991, the IWC has been the primary support and development base for writers across Ireland, aiding them at every stage of their profession. The deadline for application submissions is set for March 25th.
In other literary news, Trinity College Dublin Library’s spring program 2024 is hosting their next event on March 21st, where Professor Christopher Morash will give a talk on his book, “Dublin: A Writer’s City”. The talk is being held in Trinity College Dublin’s Mháirtín Uí Chadhain Lecture Theatre at 5pm. Admission is gratis and there’s no need to book ahead.
Finally, to celebrate the half-centennial of John Hewitt’s “Rhyming Weavers” – a collection of 18th- and 19th-century Ulster poetry published in 1974 – Ulster University Belfast staged an event in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy. Influential individuals well-versed in Ulster-Scots and Gaelic poetry from the same period were in attendance. The convention aimed to laud Hewitt’s re-introduction of Ulster poets’ works from the era and the impressive bearing their works have had on the province’s literature and culture.