In one of the biggest surveys of its kind, we asked more than 60 Irish writers, critics, academics, festival curators and booksellers to pick and then rank their favourite Irish fiction of the century so far. The result is a stellar list of the 100 finest Irish works of fiction of the past 25 years. Róisín Lanigan tells Niamh Donnelly about her brilliant debut novel, I Want To Go Home But I’m Already There. Ali Watkins writes about how her great-grandfather inspired her to research the history of IRA gun-running in Irish America in her book The Next One is for You. And there is a Q&A with Paul McVeigh about his new short story collection, I Hear You.
Reviews are Breandán Mac Suibhne on Rot: a History of the Irish Famine by Padraic X Scanlan; Naoise Dolan on Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy; Kevin Rafter on Count Me Out by Bob Quinn; Claire Hennessy on the best new YA fiction; Mei Chin on The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country by Rosie Schaap; Tadhg Hoey on Forgotten: Searching for Palestine’s Hidden Places and Lost Memorials by Raja Shehadeh and Penny Johnson; John Walshe on A Time for Truth by Sarah Corbett-Lynch; NJ McGarrigle on Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall by Christophe Lebold; John Boyne on A Room Above the Shop by Anthony Shapland; Henrietta McKervey on Twenty-Twenty Vision by Mary Morrissy; Julia Kelly on A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay; and Brian Hanley on The Next One is for You by Ali Watkins.
This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara, just €5.99, a €6 saving.
Belfast writer Kelly McCaughrain has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing for Little Bang, a “warm and wise” YA romance exploring teen pregnancy and a young woman’s right to choose her own future, which was praised by the judges for “exploring all sides of an emotive topic” and “sensitively opening up perspectives around the choices people make”.
Kelly’s debut, Flying Tips for Flightless Birds, won an unprecedented hat-trick of Children’s Books Ireland awards, as well as the Northern Ireland Book Award.
Glasgow-Irish writer Brian Conaghan has also been shortlisted, for Treacle Town.
Books empowering young people by exploring complex emotions such as grief, low mood, anger and shame with empathy and hope are celebrated across both shortlists.
Masculinity and what it is to be a young man today has emerged as an important theme on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist, with many writers reflecting the marginalised perspectives of boys and teenagers from disenfranchised communities, in settings as varied as a foster home, an ex-industrial town and a South London estate.
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist features a bold range of artistic styles, from traditional Chinese paper-cutting to earthy watercolours, from simple pencil drawings to colourful collage, conveying story to readers in a way that words alone cannot.
Lauren Child is shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration 25 years after winning in 2000 for her first Charlie and Lola book.
The winners are announced on June 19th. They will each receive a specially commissioned golden medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.
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Bridge Books in Dromore, Co Down, has been chosen as the Island of Ireland winner in the British Book Awards 2025 Independent Bookshop of the Year. Established in 1995, in the 30 years since its opening, the shop has evolved to become a community hub, with successful book clubs and author talks forming their regular programme. The winner of Independent Bookshop of the Year will be revealed during The British Book Awards ceremony at Grosvenor House London on May 12th.
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The Franco-Irish Literary Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, marking a quarter-century of literary and cultural exchange between France and Ireland. Organised by the French Embassy in Ireland and Alliance Française Dublin, the festival will take place on March 28th-29th at Dublin Castle Hall and Alliance Française Dublin, featuring a rich programme of talks, interviews, readings, screenings and performances, all free of charge.
The festival is part of the Month of La Francophonie, presented by the embassy members of the International Organisation of la Francophonie represented in Ireland in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs and many Irish cultural partners, throughout the month of March.
Since its inception in 2000, the Franco-Irish Literary Festival has grown into a key event in Dublin’s literary calendar. Recognised as an important space for fostering intercultural dialogue and multilingualism, the festival brings together renowned writers, poets, translators, and scholars from Ireland, France, and the wider Francophone world. Over the years the Festival welcomed more than 480 authors writing in French, English and Irish, including two Nobel Prize winners, Seamus Heaney and J.M.G. Le Clézio.
Among the key highlights are the Choix Goncourt Ireland award ceremony on March 28th; roundtable discussions on family, memory, poetry, friendship, and literature in the digital age; special performances, including a cabaret by Camille O’Sullivan; a screening of Clouded Reveries, an intimate documentary on writer Doireann Ní Ghríofa; and public readings where authors will present the first pages of their latest books
Guests include Claire Keegan, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Micheál Ó Conghaile, Alan Titley, Jan Carson, Claire Kilroy, Léonor de Récondo, Azouz Begag, Véronique Ovaldé, Camille Laurens, Maram al-Masri, Éric Fottorino, Catherine Morency, Peter Sirr, Theo Dorgan, and Hugo Hamilton.
francoirishliteraryfestival.com
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Scholars, literary enthusiasts and music lovers will gather in Dublin for the annual George Moore Association Conference, which will take place on Friday, March 21st, at TU Dublin’s Aungier Street campus. This year’s event, themed George Moore Back in Dublin Again, will celebrate the legacy of the celebrated Irish writer, art critic and cultural commentator. It is a free-entry event open to the public.
The conference will feature discussions, music, and theatre, highlighting Moore’s influence on literature, history and the arts. A particular highlight will be a rehearsed reading of The Tinker and the Fairy, a play by Douglas Hyde first performed in George Moore’s Ely Place garden in 1902, with incidental music composed by Michele Esposito. This special performance is made possible through the collaboration of TU Dublin Conservatoire Drama students Úna Florent and Kyle Andrew Laing.
Speakers from Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and the United States will discuss Moore’s literary connections, cultural impact and historical significance. Guests include Dr Daniel Mulhall, Prof. Adrian Frazier, Dr Brendan Fleming, Dr Eamon Maher, and Dr Brian Murphy. The conference will also feature a musical recital performed by UCD Ad Astra Scholar Kevin O’Loughlin, bringing to life the music that inspired Moore, including works by Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Elgar, and Holst.
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Dublin, written in our hearts, the One Dublin One Book choice for 2025, is a special anthology commissioned by Dublin City Council, featuring some of the best writing from the past 20 years, by Dubliners and about Dublin.
Edited by Declan Meade and published by Stinging Fly Press, it follows on from Snowflake by Louise Nealon in 2024.
For 20 years now, One Dublin One Book has aimed to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a chosen book, connected with the capital city, during the month of April.
Launching the book in Dublin’s City Hall, the City Council and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature also announced the programme of events for this year’s One Dublin One Book festival. Download the PDF of events here.
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This year’s Belfast Book Festival will take place on June 5th-12th at The Crescent Arts Centre with a full programme announcement next month. After a sold-out preview event which saw Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody discuss his new novel with author and Book Festival patron, Lucy Caldwell, it’s clear the appetite for the written word in Belfast is in demand.
This is the 15th edition of the festival and audiences are promised poetry, contemporary fiction, crime writing, the art of journalism, words on film, a memorable exhibition as well as commemorative events to honour Michael Longley and Edna O’Brien. Previous years have seen Kevin Barry, Colm Tóibín, Cecelia Ahern, Fergal Keane, Kevin Barry, Margaret Drabble, Jacqueline Wilson, Lucy Caldwell, AC Grayling and Paul Lynch take part in programming.
The festival also runs the annual Mairtín Crawford Awards for writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. Submissions are open with a deadline of 9 April and all winners will be announced at this year’s festival. For now, book lovers should keep their eyes on the Crescent Arts Centre social media channels for further announcements and their timely reminder to get it booked. More info: belfastbookfestival.com
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A new trilogy of stories entitled Flighty Creatures have been recorded for podcast. Each episode tells the story of a different woman in one of the three different institutions of Dublin’s institutional quarter in Grangegorman. They were commissioned by the public history project, Grangegorman Histories, and written by Wexford-based writer Sylvia Cullen. Further information on the podcast series can be found here.
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MoLI and PwC have announced a new partnership, which will see PwC sponsor MoLI’s monthly First Fridays series. One of MoLI’s most popular programmes, First Fridays features late opening (6pm to 9pm) on the first Friday of every month, with free admission and a kaleidoscopic range of events across the museum each evening.
