As a bookseller, I try to be aware of all the new books coming out; as a reader, it is a huge delight to see how many of them are by brilliant Irish writers, both debut and veteran. To celebrate Irish Book Week, these are some of my favourites this year – there is a mixture of fiction, memoir and young adult titles as that is what I mostly read. Hope you find some books here to whet your appetite …
Category: Teen & Young Adult
The idea for this book came about during the debate around Ireland’s gay marriage referendum. I was sitting in the pub with my friend Colin, who was decrying the state …
While I was writing my novel, my long suffering agent Harriet was subject to many anguished emails and phone calls about how long I was taking to finish. I would …
When I was a kid, there was a henna plant outside my grandmother’s apartment. It was one of my favourite things in the world, because every once in a while, …
In October ’93 I was spending a few days in Dingle after the madness of the Children’s Book Festival and I took one of the dolphin boats out to see …
Literary journals have thrived in Ireland and have repeatedly succeeded in their goals of finding, supporting, and showcasing new writing. These journals have published works by writers who go on …
I find it absolutely thrilling to pick up a book that’s full of twists and turns even the most experienced of readers will find hard to predict. It takes true …
I’ve always appreciated the fact that while I can read a book in a couple of days, it might have taken the author years of hard work and dedication to …
Dystopia is a big theme in a lot of teen and young adult books. Apocalyptic disasters, zombie takeovers, new world orders, inverted social hierarchies; you name it, you’ll find it …
When I was in secondary school, I had an excellent English teacher who was passionate about teaching poetry. We worked from an admittedly intimidating book, four-hundred pages of works from …
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