Majella Kelly: ‘Nature makes more sense to me than the man-made rules of the church’The poet’s debut collection, The Speculations of Country People, reckons with the legacy of Ireland’s mother and baby homesSat Apr 22 2023 - 05:00
Dalkey Book Festival reveals line-up; Mercier Press shortlisted for IPA Prix Voltaire A preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsFri Apr 21 2023 - 15:55
International Booker Prize shortlist: ‘bold, subversive, sensual and nicely perverse’Firsts for Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire and Catalan as Irish translator Frank Wynne is shortlisted againTue Apr 18 2023 - 11:30
Tom Benn: ‘Experiencing the worst day in a fictional life is very funny to me’The award-winning author on his long-awaited new novel Oxblood, Irish roots and moving to NorwichSat Apr 15 2023 - 05:00
Seán Hewitt on Ondaatje Prize longlist; West Cork Literary Festival; Arts and Minds FestivalA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsFri Apr 14 2023 - 11:48
Sara Baume and Thomas Morris on Granta list of future starsRunning since 1983, the list spotlights 20 novelists under the age of 40 every 10 yearsThu Apr 13 2023 - 12:24
Writers on the Belfast Agreement: Michael Longley, Jan Carson, Michelle Gallen, Neil Hegarty and more reflect on 25 years of changeLeading authors reflect on the changes wrought by the 1998 agreement and what the future might holdSat Apr 08 2023 - 05:00
Michelle Gallen: ‘My wee brother told me I’m not even the funniest person in our family’Factory Girls author on receiving her second Comedy Women in Print Prize nomination and her latest projectsSat Apr 08 2023 - 05:00
Pigott Prize picks Tara Bergin, Nithy Kasa, Tom French; Lucy Caldwell, Adrian Duncan make historyA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Apr 06 2023 - 05:00
Irish author Darran Anderson awarded $175,000 Windham-Campbell prize Derry writer ‘grateful and slightly dazed’ on learning of the life-changing €160,000 awardTue Apr 04 2023 - 19:15
Ten Irish literary gems to read before you die, chosen by Roy Foster, Fintan O’Toole, Lucy Caldwell and more From Chrysal to My Dream of You to The Pale Gold of Alaska, these neglected books are all worthy of your timeMon Apr 03 2023 - 05:00
Poets and politicians rhyme at Abbey celebration of Belfast Agreement’s 25th anniversaryMichéal Martin: ‘We are in a vastly better place and that is what we celebrate tonight’Sun Apr 02 2023 - 22:00
Michael Magee: ‘My family for a long time couldn’t really show their Irishness, it wasn’t safe’The author’s forthcoming novel, Close to Home, explores themes of class and identity, inspired by his own west Belfast childhoodSat Apr 01 2023 - 05:00
Sheena Wilkinson: ‘After 20 years of happy celibacy, I fell in love with an old friend’ Author Q&A: Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau is a book with a difference: a historical feminist romance centred on a naive young Northern Irish womanSat Apr 01 2023 - 04:49
Colm Tóibín to publish sequel to Brooklyn next yearLong Island reunites readers with Eilis Lacey and her family 20 years after BrooklynTue Mar 28 2023 - 10:23
Liz Nugent: ‘Scotland was a revelation ... loads of places to dispose of a body’The author discusses her latest novel, Strange Sally Diamond, plus her ideal presidential candidate, the wisdom of Judge Judy and the book she threw into the bin as fast as she couldSat Mar 25 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Sara Baume shortlisted for £20,000 Dylan Thomas PrizeA round-up of the latest literary news and preview of Saturday’s books pagesThu Mar 23 2023 - 09:00
‘Much of my poetry has been inspired or provoked by the blues’The Rathbones Folio Prize judge on her love of music, her role as Scottish poet laureate, and on observing the mores and manners of the better-offSat Mar 18 2023 - 05:00
BBA shortlists: Louise Kennedy, Maggie O’Farrell, Yeva Skalietska, New Island, Halfway Up the StairsA round-up of the latest literary news and a preview of Saturday’s books pagesFri Mar 17 2023 - 09:00
International Booker Prize 2023 longlist: a gap of 54 years spans oldest and youngest nomineesList spans 12 countries, 11 languages and features Irish translator for second timeTue Mar 14 2023 - 10:17
Francis Spufford: ‘I’ve always loved novels best as a reader, but for a long time I was too timid to take the plunge’Author and judge of young writer of the year award shares his literary insightsSat Mar 11 2023 - 05:00
Nine-way auction for Roisín O’Donnell’s debut novel; comedy success for IWC novel fair winnerA preview of Saturday’s books pages and round-up of the latest literary newsThu Mar 09 2023 - 12:00
Women’s Prize for Fiction: Louise Kennedy and Maggie O’Farrell on 16-strong longlistDebut Irish novelist Kennedy longlisted for Trespasses; previous winner O’Farrell for The Marriage PlotTue Mar 07 2023 - 18:00
Author Jane Casey: ‘I miss Dublin. It’s very easy to idealise a city when you don’t live there’The Close is the Irish author’s 10th Maeve Kerrigan novel, Casey tells us why Kerrigan is such a successful series characterSat Mar 04 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: awards for Emilie Pine and Amy Devereux and a shortlisting for Michelle GallenA round-up of the latest literary news and a preview of Saturday’s pagesThu Mar 02 2023 - 12:01
‘The death of a child changes everything in ways that are too many, too small and too big to recount’The author on writing his latest novel, The World and All That It Holds, and Russia’s invasion of UkraineSat Feb 25 2023 - 05:00
‘I felt the physical charge of traumas like the deaths of my siblings, my alcoholism’ The author reflects on her memoir, In Ordinary Time, and its inspirationsSat Feb 18 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Irish bookshops and publishers on awards shortlistsA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsFri Feb 17 2023 - 09:00
‘Deirdre Purcell was as warm and captivating as her books’: Leading figures pay tribute to author and broadcasterAuthor’s many successes included Falling for a Dancer and ghostwriting Gay Byrne’s autobiographyMon Feb 13 2023 - 15:46
‘I admire anyone who keeps going in the face of adversity’Mullingar crime writer has published a dozen novels and sold in excess of two million copiesSat Feb 11 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Children’s Books Ireland award shortlists; new Women’s Prize for Non-FictionA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Feb 09 2023 - 12:35
Joseph O’Connor Q&A: Every good writer aims for the ability to make something difficult seem effortlessO’Connor’s latest work, My Father’s House, follows a group of activists who run an escape line in Nazi-occupied RomeSat Feb 04 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Book deal for debut author; Ennis Book Club Festival; Limerick Literary FestivalA preview of Saturday’s pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Feb 02 2023 - 09:27
Dublin Literary Award longlist revealed: three Irish authors among 70 up for €100,000 prize84 libraries from 31 countries take part in prize sponsored by Dublin City CouncilMon Jan 30 2023 - 13:44
Meena Kandasamy Q&A: ‘I went to where Sylvia Plath is buried, and sat there hugging her gravestone’The Tamil poet reflects on her new work The Book of Desire and her distinguished careerSat Jan 28 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Listowel honours Stephen Rea; Irish on Dylan Thomas Prize longlistA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Jan 26 2023 - 16:29
Adiba Jaigirdar Q&A: ‘I love balancing some of the heavier themes in my work with lighter moments’Writer born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and living in Dublin since age 10 has grown up to have a healthy relationship with both cultures but says it was an arduous process needing much self-reflectionSat Jan 21 2023 - 05:00
Sally Hayden: ‘You have to be careful not to let your empathy or your humour be torn away’Hayden’s new book, My Fourth Time, We Drowned, looks at efforts by the rich world to keep refugees from seeking safetySat Jan 14 2023 - 05:00
Books newsletter: President leads tributes to poet Kevin Higgins; Kate O’Brien Award shortlistA preview of Saturday’s pages and a roundup of the latest literary newsThu Jan 12 2023 - 13:18
From Prince Harry to Naoise Dolan, here are the best books to look forward to in 2023The most exciting Irish and international fiction and nonfiction titles of the year aheadSat Dec 31 2022 - 05:00
Colleen Hoover is 2022′s bestselling author in Ireland with four books in top 10Marian Keyes pips Graham Norton to have year's bestselling Irish titleThu Dec 29 2022 - 13:56
Michelle Gallen and Marian Keyes longlisted for comic novel awardA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Dec 22 2022 - 16:48
Michael Harding: ‘There’s a part of our collective soul embodied and hidden in the Irish language’The writer says everything is a vocation, Mongolia is remarkable and direct provision is wrong.Sat Dec 17 2022 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Irish winner of BBC playwright competition; Paul Muldoon TV documentaryA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Dec 15 2022 - 15:44
Paul Muldoon: ‘Putin’s assault on Ukraine is an assault on us all. This poem is my way of enlisting’Paul Muldoon on being the next Ireland Professor of Poetry, the Troubles and his most treasured possessionSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Christmas book appeal; Storyshaped podcast; media and conflict symposiumA preview of Saturday’s books pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsFri Dec 09 2022 - 14:28
Sally Hayden wins An Post Irish Book of the Year award for My Fourth Time, We DrownedJournalist wins third major award for her first book, which highlights how Europe is failing refugeesWed Dec 07 2022 - 23:35
‘I am fascinated by how accepting we are of violence’Q&A with Audrey Magee, award-winning author of The Undertaking and The ColonySat Dec 03 2022 - 05:00
Books newsletter: Nick Laird wins Forward Prize for best poem; Colm Tóibín awarded Bodley MedalA preview of Saturday’s pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Dec 01 2022 - 16:51
Mark O’Connell to publish Malcolm Macarthur profile; O’Mahony’s Booksellers celebrates 120 yearsBooks newsletter: a preview of Saturday's pages and a round-up of the latest literary newsThu Nov 24 2022 - 16:01
