Caoilinn Hughes, whose debut novel Orchid & the Wasp, has been well received, has followed up with a remarkable achievement in not only winning this year’s Moth Short Story Prize but also coming third, earning her a total of €4,000. The author Kevin Barry, who judged the work anonymously, chose two of Hughes’ stories as his prizewinners.

Coming up in the books pages of The Irish Times this Saturday, Peter Gahan contrasts the Pope’s recent visit to Ireland with one by George Bernard Shaw a century before. Ian Thomson, author of Dante’s Divine Comedy, discusses the classic text and its influence on a number of Irish writers.

Our reviews include Diarmaid Ferriter on Leo: A Very Modern Taoiseach by Philip Ryan and Niall O’Connor; Anna Carey on Transcription by Kate Atkinson; Paul Clements on In My Mind’s Eye by Jan Morris; Richard Aldous on Roller-Coaster: Europe 1957-2017 by Ian Kershaw; John Boyne on Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks; Sinéad Gleeson on Certain American States by Catherine Lacey; Sarah Gilmartin on Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine; Helen Cullen on Becoming Belle by Nuala O’Connor; Raymond Snoddy on Breaking News by Alan Rusbridger; Michael Cronin on Found in Translation by Frank Wynne; Declan Hughes on the best new crime fiction; and Julie Parsons on The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré.

If you buy The Irish Times in Easons this Saturday, you can also buy Mythos by Stephen Fry for €4.99, a €7 saving on the usual price.