Catch up on our podcast Burning Books and curate a rather different reading list
What a year it’s been on Burning Books—we’ve had all sorts of moods, grooves, and discussions, talking about craft, reading, life, the universe and everything. If you’ve missed one or two episodes, why not catch up over the holidays, it’s a fabulous way to curate a rather different reading list. We’re looking forward to what a shiny new year brings, but in the meantime, here are the authors who joined us and gave us lots to think about.
John Banville
John Banville talks about the mystery in great art, the escape into life rather than out of it, the observation at work in the heart of good writing, bearing witness to the world in all its beauty and horror—and also cats and dogs… John Banville, who won the Booker Prize in 2005 for his novel The Sea is known for his exquisite use of language, acutely observed characters, and novels which are not afraid to look into the dark. See episode.
Una Mannion
Author Una Mannion talks about Pippi Longstocking, Anne Carson, and the distillation and immediacy of the short story. Una Mannion’s first novel, A Crooked Tree, was published in 2021. Her latest book, Tell Me What I Am, is out now with Faber. See episode.
Sophie White
Sophie White talks about Stephen King, Nuala O’Faolain, and Marian Keyes, exploring why she is drawn to horror stories, the choppy waters of motherhood, and much more besides. Sophie White is a writer and podcaster from Dublin. She is the author of several books, including the highly acclaimed Corpsing: My Body and Other Horror Shows (2021), and Where I End (2022), both published by Tramp Press. See episode.
Thomas Morris
Thomas Morris talks about The Outsider by Albert Camus, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and discovering an inner life. Thomas Morris’s debut story collection We Don’t Know What We’re Doing won The Wales Book of the Year Award, The Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Award, and a Somerset Maugham Prize. Born and raised in Caerphilly, South Wales, he now lives in Dublin, where he is Editor-at-Large at The Stinging Fly. His collection Open Up, is out now with Faber. See episode.
Shane Hegarty
Shane Hegarty talks about Douglas Adams, Clive James and Marvel comics, exploring the balance of funny and profound. Author and journalist Shane Hegarty is one of Ireland’s most popular writers of children’s fiction, including the best-selling series Darkmouth and Boot. His latest series The Book of Impossible Ice Creams is out now with Hachette. See episode.
Claire Kilroy
Claire Kilroy talks about the genesis of her new novel Soldier, Sailor which took over a decade to emerge, how early motherhood affected her creativity, and the profound rewiring that happens to you as an artist and as a person when you have a child. Claire Kilroy won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2004, and is the author of All Summer, (Faber 2003), Tenderwire, (Faber 2006), All Names Have Been Changed, (Faber 2009), and The Devil I Know (Faber 2012), which was described by The Guardian as “a satiric danse macabre of brio and linguistic virtuosity.” See episode.
Kevin Curran
Kevin Curran talks about Claire Keegan, William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy and many more, revealing how teaching, reading and writing are the touchstones of his life. Kevin Curran is from Balbriggan and has been a secondary-school teacher in his hometown for over a decade. His fiction largely concentrates on working class life in the Dublin suburbs. His first novel, Beatsploitation, was published in 2013 and brought him national attention due to his depiction of Ireland’s new multicultural landscape. Citizens was published in 2016, and his latest novel, Youth, is out now with Lilliput Press. See episode.
Anne Tannam
Anne Tannam talks about Angus Fletcher, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and the crone energy which runs through her forthcoming collection. Anne Tannam is Poet in Residence with Poetry Ireland (2023 – 2025). She is the author of three poetry collections: Take This Life (Wordonthestreet 2011), Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor (Salmon 2017) and Twenty-six Letters of a New Alphabet (Salmon 2021). Her fourth collection dismantle is forthcoming with Salmon in early 2024. See episode.
Órfhlaith Foyle
Órfhlaith Foyle talks about a kind of faith in creativity, a different way of being in the world as a writer, and a sense of the other-worldly. Órfhlaith Foyle writes fiction, poetry and drama and lives in Galway. Her work includes the novel Belios (Lilliput Press) and the collections Revenge, Red Riding Hood’s Dilemma, Somewhere In Minnesota, and Clemency Browne Dreams of Gin (Arlen House). Her latest short story collection is Three Houses in Rome, published by Doire Press. See episode.
