The shortlist for the 20th annual An Post Irish Book Awards has been unveiled, featuring a diverse mix of new and established writers across 19 categories.
The coveted Novel of the Year prize features veterans John Banville and Hugo Hamilton; Joseph O’Connor for the second in his series of novels set in occupied Rome during the second World War; Elaine Feeney for her third work of fiction; and four debut novelists: John Patrick McHugh, Roisín O’Donnell, Wendy Erskine and Garrett Carr.
Fintan Drury, Jacqueline Connolly with Kathryn Rogers, Matt Cooper, Adam Maguire, John Gibbons and Gavan Reilly compete for Nonfiction Book of the Year, with subjects as varied as Israel’s onslaught on Gaza; the murder by Alan Hawe of his wife Clodagh and their three sons; a history of Dunnes Stores; the climate crisis; the children of the bailout; and behind the scenes at Leinster House.
Larry Mac Hale, chairperson of the awards, said: “The shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards once again highlights the extraordinary breadth and depth of talent among Irish writers. It’s inspiring to see such creativity and passion reflected across every category, with deserving recognition for authors, publishers, illustrators and booksellers alike. The awards remain the cornerstone of Ireland’s literary calendar, and we look forward to celebrating this year’s winners.”
RM Block
The public are now being invited to cast their votes on the awards website. Voters may cast their votes from 8pm on Wednesday evening until voting closes at 6pm on Sunday, November 16th.
The shortlist for the Short Story and Poetry categories was selected from the monthly winners by Ciaran Carty, editor of New Irish Writing since 1988, and associate editor Dermot Bolger. The overall winners of both categories will be chosen by novelist and screenwriter Eoin McNamee and critically acclaimed poet Enda Wyley. Along with the trophy, the winners will receive a scholarship at the Irish Writers Centre to help develop their writing careers, featuring mentoring, courses and membership to the centre.
Other categories include Novel of the Year, Best Irish-Published, Children’s (Junior and Senior), History, Newcomer, Lifestyle, Crime Fiction, Biography, Popular Fiction, Non-Fiction, Sports, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language.
[ Donal Ryan wins An Post Irish Novel of the Year Award for Heart, Be at PeaceOpens in new window ]
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Convention Centre, Dublin on Thursday, November 27th, highlights of which, hosted by Oliver Callan, will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Thursday, December 11th, when the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year winner will also be revealed.
Irish Book Awards 2025 shortlists
Novel of the Year
- Conversation with the Sea – Hugo Hamilton (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Fun and Games – John Patrick McHugh (Fourth Estate)
- Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way – Elaine Feeney (Harvill)
- Nesting – Roisín O’Donnell (Scribner)
- The Benefactors – Wendy Erskine (Sceptre)
- The Boy from the Sea – Garrett Carr (Picador)
- The Ghosts of Rome – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill)
- Venetian Vespers – John Banville (Faber)
Best Irish-Published Book of the Year
- An Irish Word a Day – Hector Ó hEochagáin (Gill Books)
- For and Against a United Ireland – Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride (Royal Irish Academy)
- Midwinter: A Journey Through a Season – Michael Harding, illustrated by Enagh Farrell (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) – Manchán Magan, illustrated by Megan Luddy (Gill Books)
- Sunday Miscellany: A Selection 2023-2025 – Edited by Sarah Binchy (New Island Books)
- The GAA Covered – John Kelly (Gill Books)
History Book of the Year
- Burn Them Out!: A history of Fascism and the Far Right in Ireland – Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc (Apollo)
- Charlie vs Garret: The rivalry that shaped modern Ireland – Eoin O’Malley (Eriu)
- Great Irish Wives – Nicola Pierce (The O’Brien Press)
- Ireland: Mapping the Island – Joseph Brady and Paul Ferguson (Birlinn)
- The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History – Donal Fallon (New Island Books)
- Wrong Women – Caroline West (Eriu)
Biography of the Year
- A Time for Truth: My Father Jason and My Search for Justice and Healing – Sarah Corbett Lynch (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Miriam: Life, Work, Everything – Miriam O’Callaghan (Sandycove)
- She Died Young: A Life in Fragments – Brenda Fricker (Apollo)
- Speaking My Mind – Leo Varadkar (Sandycove)
- Still – A Memoir – Julia Kelly (New Island Books)
- The Bass Player: Surviving the Miami Showband Massacre – Stephen Travers with Yvonne Watterson (New Island Books)
Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Catastrophe: Nakba II – Fintan Drury (Merrion Press)
- Deadly Silence: A Sister’s Battle to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of Clodagh and Her Sons by Alan Hawe – Jacqueline Connolly with Kathryn Rogers (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Dynasty: Scandals, Triumph, Turmoil and Succession at the heart of Dunnes Stores – Matt Cooper (Eriu)
- The Bailout Babies – Adam Maguire (Gill Books)
- The Lie of the Land: A Game Plan for Ireland in Climate Crisis – John Gibbons (Sandycove)
- The Secret Life of Leinster House – Gavan Reilly (Gill Books)
Lifestyle Book of the Year
- Donal’s Real Time Recipes – Donal Skehan (Yellow Kite)
- Good Together: Delicious Recipes for the Moments that Matter – Una Leonard (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Make & Freeze - Lo– Robbie (Michael Joseph)
- Sophie’s Swaps – Sophie Morris (Gill Books)
- The Walking Effect – Karl Henry (Gill Books)
- Light Up – Miriam Hussey (Gill Books)
Sports Book of the Year
- Cloud Nine: My Life in Rugby – Conor Murray with Tommy Conlon (Reach Sport)
- Heart on My Sleeve – Andrew Porter (Eriu)
- Ó Sé – Marc Ó Sé with Adrian Russell (Gill Books)
- The Changing Game: The Past, Present and Future of Football – Martin O’Neill, with Joey D’Urso (Headline)
- The Only Way I Know: The Autobiography – Andy Farrell (Sandycove)
- The Race – David Gillick with Cathal Dennehy (Gill Books)
The Last Word Listeners’ Choice Award
- A Time for Truth: My Father Jason and My Search for Justice and Healing – Sarah Corbett Lynch (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Intensive Care: True Stories of Healing, Heartache and Hope from Inside Irish Children’s Medicine – Dr Suzanne Crowe (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Nesting – Roisín O’Donnell (Scribner)
- Old Parish: Notes on Hurling – Ciarán Murphy (Sandycove)
- The Gaeilge Guide: Spark Your Connection to the Irish Language and Legacy – Mollie Guidera (Hachette Books Ireland)
- The Ghosts of Rome – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill)
Author of the Year
- Colm Tóibín
- Donal Ryan
- Elaine Feeney
- John Boyne
- Roisín O’Donnell
- Sarah Maria Griffin
Newcomer of the Year
- Every One Still Here – Liadan Ní Chuinn (The Stinging Fly)
- Show Me Where It Hurts – Claire Gleeson (Sceptre)
- Frogs for Watchdogs – Seán Farrell (New Island Books)
- Oddbody – Rose Keating (Canongate)
- Sugartown – Caragh Maxwell (Oneworld)
- The Compound – Aisling Rawle (The Borough Press)
- The Wardrobe Department – Elaine Garvey (Canongate)
- Thirst Trap – Gráinne O’Hare (Picador)
Crime Fiction Book of the Year
- Burn After Reading – Catherine Ryan Howard (Bantam)
- Fair Play – Louise Hegarty (Picador)
- It Should Have Been You – Andrea Mara (Bantam)
- The Killing Sense – Sam Blake (Corvus)
- The Secret Room – Jane Casey (Hemlock)
- The Stolen Child – Carmel Harrington (Headline)
- The Stranger Inside – Amanda Cassidy (Canelo)
- Two Kinds of Stranger – Steve Cavanagh (Headline)
Popular Fiction Book of the Year in association with Ireland AM
- Before Dorothy – Hazel Gaynor (Harper Fiction)
- City Girls Forever – Patricia Scanlan (Simon & Schuster)
- Moving On – Roisin Meaney (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Our Song – Anna Carey (Hachette Books Ireland)
- Paper Heart – Cecelia Ahern (Harper Fiction)
- Releasing 10 – Chloe Walsh (Piatkus)
- Such a Good Couple – Sophie White (Hachette Books Ireland)
- The In-Laws – Sinéad Moriarty (Sandycove)
Children’s Book of the Year – Junior
- An Fia sa Choill – Sadhbh Devlin illustrated by Anastasia Melynkova (Futa Fata)
- Badger Books – Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press)
- Don’t Trust Fish! – Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (Anderson Press)
- Ellora McGee, Trainee Banshee – Sinéad O’Hart, illustrated by Úna Woods (Gill Books)
- Letters to a Monster – Patricia Forde, illustrated by Sarah Warburton (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Once I Was a Tree – Eoin McLaughlin, illustrated by Guilherme Karsten (Nosy Crow)
- Penguin TV – Niamh Sharkey and Owen Churcher (Gill Books)
- Run Home, Little Fox – Tom McCaughren and Erika McGann, illustrated by Shannon Bergin (The O’Brien Press)
Children’s Book of the Year – Senior
- Animalopedia – Kathi and John Burke (Gill Books)
- Tales of Darkisle Book One: Conn of the Dead – Dave Rudden, illustrated by Ali Al Amine (Gill Books)
- Granny National – Rachael Blackmore with Rachel Pierce (Sandycove)
- Milly McCarthy and the Haunted House HullaBOOloo! – Leona Forde illustrated by Karen Harte (Gill Books)
- Nina Peanut Epic World Tour Era – Sarah Bowie (Scholastic)
- The Doomsday Club – Kevin Moran (The O’Brien Press)
Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year, in honour of John Treacy
- Any Way You Slice It – Méabh McDonnell (The O’Brien Press)
- Matched Up – Jenny Ireland (Penguin)
- My Name is Jodie Jones – Emma Shevah (David Fickling Books)
- Solo – Gráinne O’Brien (Little Island Books)
- Shipshock – Caroline O’Donoghue (Walker Books)
- The Rebel and the Rose – Catherine Doyle (Simon & Schuster)
Gradam Love Leabhar Gaeilge Leabhar Ficsin Gaeilge na Bliana
- An Bhlaosc sa mBois – Micheál Ó Conghaile (Cló Iar-Chonnacht)
- Bódléar – Darach Ó Scolaí (Leabhar Breac)
- Fiche – Colm Ó Ceallacháin (Leabhar Breac)
- Scéalta Nollag – Alan Titley, maisithe ag Firas Aldakkak (LeabhairCOMHAR)
New Irish Writing Best Short Story
- Carnations – Lorraine Courtney
- Glass Splinters – Kieran Marsh
- Breathing Lessons – Sylvia Caldwell
- That Little Tent of Blue – Mary Shovelin
- All the Birch Trees Were Waving – Pádhraic Quinn
- A Constriction – Eamon McGuinness
New Irish Writing Best Poetry
- ‘There’s never a crowd at the poetry section’ – Vincent Barton
- ‘The Tragedy of It’ – Kevin O’Farrell
- ‘The Crows’ and ‘The Leaf’ – Paul McMahon
- ‘Minimum Wage’, ‘South-Eastern Wind’ and ‘Midnight Oil’ – Joanne McCarthy
- ‘Rowan’s furniture. Dublin 1965’ and ‘Carousel’ – Nollaig Rowan
- ‘I Remember Stealing’ and ‘The Visitor’ – Bronagh Mallon
Bookshop of the Year
- Antonia’s Bookstore, Trim, Co Meath
- Chapters Bookstore, Dublin 1
- Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Co Galway
- The Company of Books, Ranelagh, Dublin 6
- Liber Bookshop, Sligo Town
- The Maynooth Bookshop, Co Kildare
