Katherine Mezzacappa talks all things bookish for the companion series to our popular podcast, Burning Books “In The Maiden of Florence, Katherine Mezzacappa crafts a sensuous and raw story about beauty, sex, sacrifice, and a mother’s undying love, a moving delineation of what it means to be a humble pawn of powerful men finding dignity amid the chessboard of Renaissance Italy.“ — Gina Buonaguro, author of The Virgins of Venice. A book from your early days?  Ruth Duffin’s Handy Andy and the Wee House, published in Dublin in 1957 (no, I am not that  ..read more

Soldier, Sailor, and The Wren, The Wren make this year’s shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Claire Kilroy and Anne Enright have both made this year’s shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Kilroy’s Soldier, Sailor (Faber), her first novel in ten years, and Enright’s The Wren, The Wren (Vintage) join the list of six books in the running for the prestigious award. In her first novel for over a decade, Claire Kilroy takes us deep into the early days of motherhood. Exploring the clash of fierce love for a new life with a seismic change in identity, she vividly realises the raw, tum ..read more

Join judges Olivia Fitzsimons, Conor Nagle, and Susan Tomaselli for an online session on Novel Fair 2025 If you’ve been wondering whether your manuscript is ready to submit to this year’s Novel Fair at the Irish Writers Centre, and if you’d like some tips from the pros, then sign up for tomorrow’s online launch of Novel Fair 2025, an event now renowned for kick starting many novelists on the road to publication. Find out what happens on the day itself and the path afterwards on this panel chaired by Programming Officer Betty Stenson, and hear first hand Novel Fair experiences. Featuring author ..read more

An extract from the bestselling Anxious Children in an Anxious World, by Dr Mary O’Kane ‘This book will introduce you to ways your child can learn to live with their fearful thoughts’—Dr Mary O’Kane by Dr Mary O’Kane When it comes to our children, knowledge is power. Psychology can teach us about how anxiety impacts the brain and the body. Research can teach us what interventions are proven to work and how we can use that knowledge. Others with similar experiences can share with us what has worked for them. I have spent many years, both professionally and personally, working to better understa ..read more

Alvy Carragher reads from her new collection, What Remains the Same (The Gallery Press) What Remains the Same|Alvy Carragher|The Gallery Press The post Poetry Happening—Alvy Carragher appeared first on Books Ireland ..read more

Bernadette Gallagher reads from her new collection, The Risen Tree (Revival Press) The Risen Tree|Bernadette Gallagher|Revival Press The post Poetry Happening—Bernadette Gallagher appeared first on Books Ireland ..read more

The 2024 All Ireland Scholarships Creative Writing Award winners have been announced The winners in the Alumni and Public categories of the All Ireland Scholarships Creative Writing Awards have been announced. The winner of the 2024 AIS (Alumni) award is Rites of Passage by Surnaí Molloy. In second place is On the Platform, by Chess Law, and in third place is Mouse, again by Surnaí Molloy. Shortlisted writers were Lorraine McEvoy and Eoin Corcoran. Surnaí MolloyChess Law The judges also picked Mouse by Surnaí Molloy in third place. This is a very special achievement and speaks to her writing ..read more

Dinosaur Pie|Jen Wallace|Alan O’Rourke|Little Island ‘Illustration is a dopamine-generating endeavour’—Alan O’Rourke talks about his winding road to becoming an illustrator What brought you to illustration?  I took a very circuitous route, as many illustrators do. After a year studying Fine Art in ATU (GIT back then), I was advised my work was more illustrative. I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the time. Soon after, I left Galway and took up various jobseeker schemes back home.  While working with a non-profit, I discovered an old computer in the office and started making ..read more

Publishing Ireland welcomes Peter McKay as new president Peter McKay has been announced as the new president of Publishing Ireland, bringing decades of experience in the book industry to the role. Along with several leadership positions, he was Managing Director of Thomas Nelson, one of the largest educational publishers in the UK, which was then part of the Thomson Organisation (later Thomson Reuters). After the sale of Nelson to Kluwer, he joined Derwent Information before establishing his own strategic consultancy in 2004. Peter was instrumental in the Publishers Association, representing t ..read more

The National Library hosts an inaugural series of events featuring Ireland’s Booker Prize winners The National Library is to host an exciting new series featuring Ireland’s Booker Prize winners in conversation with their literary contemporaries, starting at the end of April. Paul Lynch starts the series off, reading from Prophet Song, followed by an in depth discussion with Belinda McKeon including questions from the audience. May and June will see John Banville and Claire Kilroy, Anne Enright and Nuala O’Connor, Roddy Doyle and Rob Doyle take part in these inaugural events which are curated b ..read more