Books Ireland Trade News—a monthly catch up on what’s happening in the industry
This month’s Trade News is supported by Westchester Education UK & International
Sophie White nominated for Shirley Jackson Awards
Tramp Press’s Sophie White has just been nominated in this year’s Shirley Jackson Awards for her novel Where I End.
The awards recognise “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” and are voted on by writers, critics, editors, and academics. Previous winners include Stephen King and Carmen Maria Machado.
Reviewing Where I end for Books Ireland, Claire Hennessy said that “White wants the reader to squirm, to be uncomfortable, to re-see the female body, the mothering body. She succeeds.”
New Island to publish Two Summers by Glenn Patterson and a commemorative biography of Yeats this autumn
New Island will publish Two Summers by Glenn Patterson this September, in conjunction with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The book features two compelling novellas: Summer on the Road and Last Summer of the Shangri-Las.
Patterson takes readers on nostalgic journeys through the summers of 1980 Belfast and 1977 in New York City, exploring themes of self-discovery, resilience, and the transformative power of connection.
Aoife K. Walsh, commissioning editor of New Island said that just like the films of P. T. Anderson and Steve McQueen, Patterson weaves characters and places, events and atmosphere with the utmost humanity, humour and clarity.
“Seemingly random, colour creating moments are suddenly significant and hypnotising for their power to transport us into the hearts of two Belfast boys on the cusp of adulthood.”
Two Summers will be released on 18 September; you can preorder here.
Pilgrim Soul – W.B. Yeats and the Ireland of his Time
Copyright 2021 Marty Katz
In October, New Island will publish Pilgrim Soul – W.B. Yeats and the Ireland of his Time by former ambassador of Ireland to the United States, Daniel Mulhall. The book marks the centenary of Yeats’s Nobel Prize, a timely guide to the work of Ireland’s national poet and the changing Ireland he lived through.
From the Celtic Twilight, through the revolutionary period to his public poet status in the 1930s, W.B. Yeats lived through extraordinary times and made a lasting contribution to Ireland through his writing. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first such honour to be awarded to an Irish person.
Following the huge success of his personal guide to Ulysses in 2022, Mulhall returns with a similarly accessible and illuminating guide to W.B. Yeats and his special position in the Ireland of his time. Each chapter takes a poem and a major historical event as its starting point and focuses on Yeats’s Irish-ness and his contribution to his country as it transitioned towards independence.
Children’s Books Ireland seek Education Outreach Manager
A brand new position has opened up with Children’s Books Ireland, who are seeking an Education Outreach Manager.
The Education Outreach Manager will build on existing relationships with education sector partners and will grow Children’s Books Ireland’s reach and depth of engagement.
They will identify new opportunities to increase CBI’s impact in the education sector and will scope the needs of teachers and other education sector stakeholders to ensure that Children’s Books Ireland’s resources and programmes are relevant to the needs of those who encourage reading in the classroom.
The successful candidate will work on their own initiative with the ultimate aim of encouraging a positive culture of reading for enjoyment in schools, and bringing about change which supports all children to develop a love of reading.
For detailed information about the role, and how to apply, see here.
PublishOA.ie—the first digital directory of Irish publishers
The first digital Directory of Irish Publishers was launched on Bloomsday, by PublishOA.ie.
Through this directory, the Irish publishing landscape—including over 180 active book and journal publishers—has been mapped.
The directory reveals the wide range of Irish publishing, including fiction and non-fiction, scholarly, reference, professional, Irish language, children’s, lifestyle, culture and more.
From Irish language comic books to astrophysics, history and archaeology to fiction and poetry, thrillers and crime to legal textbooks, the directory reveals a rich publishing ecosystem in Ireland today.
The Directory of Irish Publishers is the work of PublishOA.ie – the research consortium funded by the National Open Research Forum (NORF).
The consortium has 10 partners and is co-led by the Royal Irish Academy and the Trinity Long Room Arts & Humanities Research Institute, with eight affiliate national and international organisations.
Applications now open: Irish Writers Centre Evolution Programme 2023-2024
The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to announce the return of the Evolution Programme for 2023-2024. This free 6-month programme will provide support for ten published (1 or 2 books) writers to advance their craft and career with confidence and resilience.
The ten writers will have the opportunity to choose from a range of supports to tailor the programme towards their specific needs. These include: career development with professional editorial, practical or creative support by way of a mentor; participation in clinics; performance opportunities at literary events, and self-selected IWC writing courses.
The successful writers will also participate in a monthly knowledge-sharing peer support forum and be allocated an IWC team liaison person to support them individually in building their own programme of supports.
The Irish Writers Centre is partnering with the School of English and Creative Arts in the University of Galway who are kindly offering three Evolution awardees the opportunity to teach on the Creative Writing undergraduate course as part of a paid internship. The three chosen awardees will be selected for this additional teaching internship via an interview selection. To be eligible for the Evolution Programme, applicants much be resident on the island of Ireland.
Application deadline: Wednesday July 26, 2023 at 5:00pm.
The Evolution Programme is in partnership with Arts Council Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the University of Galway, and IWC Ambassador Marian Keyes.
HarperCollins Ireland acquires A Lethal Legacy by Fin Dwyer
HarperCollins Ireland has acquired A Lethal Legacy, by the Irish History Podcast’s Fin Dwyer.
Described as a history of modern Ireland unlike any other, the book opens up the past as never before—by observing the grand societal changes of our time through eighteen murders and the lives and communities they altered forever.
Fin Dwyer said that although history is central to our identity as a people, “our understanding of the past is dominated by a handful of household names. In the shadows cast by these figures are the countless fascinating stories and people who shaped Irish history.”
“A Lethal Legacy focuses on 18 murders that took place at key moments in our past, shaping modern Ireland. These cases highlight the experiences and lives of ordinary people during these critical moments but have been forgotten as time moved forward. My hope is that this makes Irish history accessible while giving the reader a unique and personal perspective on the past.”
Publisher at HarperCollins Ireland Conor Nagle said that through his magnificent work on the Irish History Podcast, Fin Dwyer has cultivated an enormous, generation-spanning audience that has helped reinvigorate the field of Irish history.
A Lethal Legacy will be published on 14th September 2023.
Tom French wins the 2023 Pigott Poetry Prize for Company (Gallery Press)
Tom French is the 2023 Pigott Poetry Prize Winner for his latest collection of poems, Company (The Gallery Press). This is Ireland’s most prestigious award for poetry with a prize of €12,000.
Company displays an uncommon range of subject matter — from responses to the work of an American Midwestern primitive painter to a chilling account of the treatment of young, unmarried mothers in Ireland.
Previous winners of this award include Paul Muldoon, Vona Groarke, Eamon Grennan and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.
