See all Irish-authored, Irish-interest and Irish-published books this September in our searchable data base First Flush
It’s September and if you have that new copy book feeling and are keen to know what titles have arrived for the start of autumn, look no further. Browse First Flush to see what’s fresh in fiction, non-fiction, and books for children and young people—or have a look through our archives which go back to 2021.
You can find your book at your local bookshop and support the work of our fantastic booksellers around the country—who often offer a personal and online service to rival the commercial juggernauts, and in many cases you can order directly from the publisher.
FICTION
There is a great harvest of wonderful fiction this month, and of course unless you have been blissfully offline for the last while you will already know about the new book from Sally Rooney, Intermezzo which, safe to use the cliché, really has been hotly anticipated and is described by Faber as an ‘exquisitely moving story about grief, love and family.’
As far as Irish publishers are concerned, one of the titles many people will be reaching for is a novel based on the life of Charlotte Brontë, the creator of the beloved Jane Eyre, the gothic novel that has seen several screen adaptations and is still the subject of much discussion (notably for its problematic but some might say irresistible Mr Rochester). Charlotte, by Martina Devlin (The Lilliput Press), is narrated by Mary Nicholls (who went on to marry Charlotte’s widower Arthur), and the book tells the story of Brontë’s marriage, her death, and her afterlife as a haunting presence in the lives of those closest to her. A story of passion and obsession, of mutual admiration and friendship, the novel reveals Brontë’s brief but pivotal time in Ireland. Since Devlin can bring history to life like few others, Charlotte promises to be exceptional.
There’s a new novel by Dermot Bolger too this September with the publication of Hide Away (New Island). Hidden behind the walls of Grangegorman Mental Hospital in 1941, different lives collide, all afflicted by the human cost of wars, betrayals and trauma. In this superb evocation of hidden worlds, the master storyteller explores the aftershock within people who participate in violence and the fault-lines in all post-conflict societies only held together by collective amnesia.
These are just three novels out of a great selection—pop over to First Flush and have a look around.
NON-FICTION
Many might find September a bit challenging with new starts or old habits returning and perhaps aren’t sleeping so well, or maybe sleep has always been illusive for you—if that’s the case then Sleep Hacks by Keith Barry (Gill Books) might be the book for you. Barry has spent his career mastering the science of hypnosis and sleep, helping people to overcome destructive sleep patterns while establishing new, beneficial habits.
Nature and wildlife are at the heart of Rathlin, A Wild Life: Island Living, Seabirds and Extraordinary Gifts from Nature by Ruby Free (Blackstaff Press). In 2021, Ruby Free got her dream job working on an RSPB reserve, but this position wasn’t for the faint hearted. Heartfelt, impassioned and full of joy, Rathlin, A Wild Life is a love letter to the island but it’s also a call to action, a reminder of everything we stand to lose if we don’t change.
Celebrating Ireland’s natural beauty too comes Donegal: From Waves to Wilderness, by Kate Slevin (The O’Brien Press). From Malin Head to Killybegs, from Ardara to Arranmore, join the photographer on a journey around one of Ireland’s most spectacular counties.
POETRY
For poetry this month comes an interesting collection, Old Friends by Aifric Mac Aodha, written in Irish and translated by David Wheatley (The Gallery Press). Much of Mac Aodha’s new collection is made of longer poems or sequences whose individual parts possess the force of aphorisms. Drawing on old Irish sayings and idioms her often musical lines (‘Cuireann an chuimhne, cara an chumha . . . ’) are matched by Wheatley’s fluent verses.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
It’s a bumper crop of books for children and young people this month, with 24 new titles coming to your shelves! Stand by for our dedicated feature on new Irish children’s books for September. For now, how about this beautiful volume, I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood (The O’Brien Press), a collection of nursery rhymes to treasure and songs and poems to share, gathered by Sarah Webb with joyful illustrations by Paul Delaney.
To see all new books out this month, or to browse our searchable database, see FIRST FLUSH.
