In The Irish Times tomorrow, John Self explores the attractions of the literary diarist, from the Goncourt brothers to Alan Bennett and Helen Garner. Alice Taylor tells Rosita Boland about her latest work Weathering Storms and her long career; and Roisín O’Donnell, whose debut novel Nesting just won Novel of the Year, talks to Nadine O’Regan. And there is a Q&A with Gráinne O’Brien, whose novel Solo won YA novel of the year.
Reviews are Gemma Tipton on The Art of Status: Looted Treasures and the Global Politics of Restitution by Jelena Subotić, Who Owns Beauty? by Benedicte Savoy, tr Andrew Brown and Leonardo by Stephen Campbell; Rod Stoneman on The Hollywood History of Art by Christopher Frayling; Frank Wynne on the best new translations; Paul Clements on Ireland: Mapping the Island by Joseph Brady and Paul Ferguson; Andrew Lynch on Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep: And Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution by David Stipp; Gladys Ganiel on Soline Humbert’s A Divine Calling: One Woman’s Life-Long Battle for Equality in the Catholic Church; Michael Cronin on Conocimiento: Writing Irish Borderlands by Eamonn Wall; Mei Chin on I Deliver Parcels in Beijing; Maija Makela on Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy; Nadine O’Regan on Rumours of My Demise: A Memoir by Evan Dando; Colm McKenna on Service by John Tottenham; NJ McGarrigle on Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America by Jeff Chang; and Naoise Dolan on Jenny Erpenbeck’s Things That Disappear: Reflections and Memories.
This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Every Christmas Eve by Emma Heatherington, just €5.99, a €6 saving.
The Irish Writers Centre has announced the 12 winners of its International Debut Novel Competition 2025, selected from a large field of aspiring novelists from 37 countries. Each winner will pitch their manuscript directly to top publishers and literary agents – an unparalleled opportunity to bypass the slush pile and present their work to key industry decision-makers.
Originally launched as the Novel Fair in 2011 and reimagined in 2025 as the International Debut Novel Competition to reflect its global ambition, the competition has a proven track record in transforming careers, with many alumni now agented, published and award-winning.
This year’s writers represent a mix of genres – from literary fiction to domestic suspense, experimental crime and vivid coming-of-age narratives.
Mags McLaughlin, CEO of the Irish Writers Centre, said: “Every year, the International Debut Novel Competition reminds us how much unseen talent is out there. This year’s winners represent extraordinary breadth, courage and craft. We are proud to support them as they take this next, career-defining step.”
Bronagh Slevin is from Omagh and based between Ireland and Sicily. Her work explores the legacies of overlooked global events and the intimate ways they shape ordinary lives. A language teacher and musician, she recently completed a literary fiction manuscript set in Ireland and will release her debut album in 2026.
Catherine Godfrey is from Armagh and studying for an MA in Creative Writing. She writes emotionally resonant fiction that examines mental health, trauma and the lasting impact of the Troubles. Her novel A Trouble Shared was written while juggling life with three young children.
Cian Hamilton, born in Zimbabwe and raised in Kinsale, is a writer and film-maker whose award-winning short films have screened widely.
David McGrath has won big short story competitions including the Bryan MacMahon and Brick Lane Bookshop Prizes, and has been widely published and shortlisted. Originally from Baltinglass and now living in East London, he impressed judges with The Donkey Christ, a bold and irreverent work of cult fiction.
Children’s author Eoin McLaughlin, originally from New Ross and now living in Mauritius, is widely acclaimed for his bestselling picture books. Formerly a creative director at Channel 4, he now brings his inventive storytelling to novel-writing.
Judith Pasztor Duffy is a dual Irish-Hungarian citizen. She spent nearly a decade living in Galway before relocating to Abu Dhabi. A former journalist and marketing professional, she writes domestic suspense set in expatriate communities.
German-Romanian writer Karla Hirsch lives in Munich and has been widely published in European and Irish journals. She writes short fiction and poetry, with work appearing in Southword, Stand and The Four Faced Liar.
Luke Brennan is a Kerry writer based in Limerick, with an MA in Writing from NUIG. His work has appeared in Banshee and No Parties, and he continues to develop fiction grounded in contemporary Irish life.
A former criminal barrister, Mary McKeone splits her time between Sligo and Manchester. Her debut novel Hear the Curlew Cry is followed by a second work that has already gained significant recognition in big competitions.
Poet and debut novelist Paul Jeffcutt is from Co Down. With 33 poetry awards to his name and three published collections, his first novel The Cut has already been recognised internationally by the Bath Novel Award and crime-writing luminary Val McDermid.
Limerick writer Sam Windrim is known for his humorous short fiction, poetry collaborations and theatre work. A working-class voice shaped by Ballynanty and Moyross, he lives in Hillcroft Close with his family.
Originally from Castleblayney and now based in North Kerry, Stephanie O’Reilly is a writer and former GP whose fiction confronts addiction, poverty and resilience with warmth and wit.
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Books by Manchán Magan and illustrator Megan Luddy, Roisín O’Donnell, Joseph O’Connor, Gráinne O’Brien, Andrew Porter and Sarah Corbett Lynch are in the running for the accolade of Irish Book of the Year 2025, chosen on the principle of the highest number of votes secured during the shortlist voting process across all categories in the Irish Book Awards.
The six nominated titles are Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) by Manchán Magan, illustrated by Megan Luddy (Gill Books); Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell (Sribner Books); The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill); Solo by Gráinne O’Brien (Little Island Books); Heart on My Sleeve by Andrew Porter (Eriu); and A Time for Truth: My Father Jason and My Search for Justice and Healing – Sarah Corbett Lynch (Hachette Books Ireland).
The judges are Paul Howard, Madeleine Keane, Cyril McGrane, Sinéad McCorry and Sara Keating. The winner will be revealed during a one-hour television special on RTÉ One hosted by Oliver Callan on Thursday, December 11th at 10.15pm.
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Eoin Purcell, a former head of Amazon Publishing Europe and former BBC and CNN media executive Blathnaid Healy have launched an independent non-fiction publishing house, Full Set.
The Dublin-based publisher is actively commissioning for its first list, to be launched next autumn.
“We both strongly believe in the power of great storytelling and will promote authors that embrace nuance, don’t shy away from complexity and, most importantly, help audiences navigate the world we live in,” Purcell told the Bookseller magazine.
“We’re excited about developing new non-fiction authors, experimenting with format and delivering great books for audiences,” Healy said.
They are also launching a weekly newsletter, Reading In, which promises “analysis and insights about the intersection of book publishing and journalism”.
Irish writers Damian Gorman and Dave Duggan and theatre director Patricia Byrne are organising a special event for International Human Rights Day (December 10th). Alongside their own contributions, A Starless Night: Human Rights for Gaza will feature work from Irish Palestinian playwright Hannah Khalil and pieces from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mosab Abu Toha sent specially for the evening. Performers will include Fadl Mustapha, Greta McTague, Maeve Connelly and Victoria Geelan. The event starts at 7pm on Wednesday, December 10th in the Holywell Trust Building, Bishop St, Derry. Admission is by a suggested donation of £8, with all proceeds to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“Why are we doing this in the mouth of Christmas?”, asks Damian Gorman. “Because we feel it’s right to do it at this time. And, more importantly, because friends and colleagues from the region urged us to do it – and urgently!”
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Lucy McDiarmaid launches her new book, Slightly Magical Irish Poetry and the Long 1990s, next Monday, December 8th at 5.30pm in the Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street. Register here.
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This Christmas, An Gúm presents the latest addition to Pauline Devine’s much-loved Mamó series. In Asailín Abú!, Mamó and her little helpers find a new friend – a fragile donkey – while gathering seaweed by the shore. Beautifully illustrated by Fergal O’Connor, Asailín Abú! makes a brilliant gift for Irish-language lovers, young and old.
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Penguin Random House Children’s UK has acquired Clíodhna O’Sullivan’s YA romance trilogy, Her Hidden Fire. Editorial director Linas Alsenas and assistant editor Emma Wood acquired world rights from acting agent Niamh Mulvey. The trilogy is set in an Ireland-inspired world where oppressive patriarchal elites wield magical powers, and a young woman must fight against them to protect the ones she loves. Penguin plans to publish all three books by the end of 2027. The first book will be published next March.
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Terrance Hayes has been appointed as the fifth Seamus Heaney International Visiting Poetry Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast.
The fellowship is part of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) and Queen’s joint 10-year Seamus Heaney Legacy project and is supported by Atlantic Philanthropies. The appointment is worth £20,000 annually and made to a distinguished poet of international repute.
Hayes is an award-winning American poet and educator. He lives in New York City, where he is Distinguished Silver Professor of Creative Writing at New York University.
He is the author of So to Speak, a collection of poems, and Watch Your Language, a collection of visual and lyric essays – twin volumes released by Penguin in 2023 that together explore the evolving dialogue between his poetry and poetics.
He has published six previous books of poems, including American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin, winner of the 2018 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and finalist for both the National Book Award and the T.S. Eliot Prize, and Lighthead, which won the 2010 National Book Award.
His prose work, To Float in the Space Between: A Life and Work in Conversation with the Life and Work of Etheridge Knight, received the Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism. Among his honours are fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as a MacArthur Fellowship.
Professor Nick Laird, the Heaney Professor of Poetry at Queen’s said: “We’re delighted to have Terrance join us as the fifth Seamus Heaney International Visiting Poetry Fellow. For many years Hayes has been one of the most vital poets not just in America but in the English language: his formal innovations are matched by an emotional candour and a linguistic sensibility that make each of his books required reading. We’re honoured he’ll be coming to work with our students.”
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