Loose Leaves/Sadbh: If the scenario at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster during the presentation of the 2004 Man Booker Prize was all formality, there was plenty of frivolity and fun on offer elsewhere in London last Tuesday night - at the party publishers Picador threw for the two authors they had in the contest, Alan Hollinghurst, who scooped the £50,000 prize, and Irish writer Colm Tóibín.
Of the six writers on the shortlist, Tóibín is known to have been in the judges' final mix, along with the bookies' favourite, David Mitchell. That didn't stop the rafters being raised at the Picador bash in the ultra-cool club, Soho House, with its balcony opening out on to the street and lashings of champagne flowing into the early hours. The Irish contingent included historian Roy Foster, literary publicist Cormac Kinsella, writer Anne Enright and Paul McGuinness. A big screen relayed proceedings from the award ceremony, during which, to the amusement of the Irish, British media commentators insisted on referring to Tóibín as "Toy-bin".
Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty has been dubbed the first gay novel to win the Booker in its 36-year history, prompting newspaper headlines such as "Gay novel wins Man Booker Prize" and "Gay novel beats off favourite to take Booker". More than £100,000 was bet on the event at William Hill and Ladbroke's with Mitchell's Cloud Atlas streaking ahead as the favourite in the run-up to the event. But being the favourite can dangerous in something as unpredictable as the Booker, and it fell out differently on the night. Still, prizes aren't everything and given the critical acclaim won by Tóibín's contending book, The Master, which centres on the life of the American writer Henry James, his readers will now be eagerly anticipating what he'll come up with next.
UL gets Kate O'Brien papers
The University of Limerick has scored something of a coup with the acquisition of papers relating to the life and work of the Limerick writer Kate O'Brien (1897-1974, left). The collection, which has been donated by O'Brien's godson, Austin Hall, includes correspondence with family and friends. Ken Bergin, special collections librarian at UL, says that some of the most interesting items relate to O'Brien's last novel, Constancy, which was incomplete when she died. The papers, he says, would provide scholars with a fascinating insight into the life and work of this important writer. Not only were two of her works banned by the Censorship of Publications Board in Ireland, her travelogue, Farewell Spain (1937), written in response to the Spanish civil war, was banned in Franco's Spain. The author was not allowed to enter the country until 1957, when the Irish ambassador to Spain intervened.
Leading poets vie for prize
In what is a strong year for Irish poetry, books by Eavan Boland, Paul Durcan, Eamon Grennan, Michael Longley, Dorothy Molloy, John Montague, Matthew Sweeney and Leontia Flynn will no doubt be among those contending for The Irish Times/ Poetry Now Award 2005. The prize, worth €5,000, aims to recognise and reward new work by Irish poets. The deadline for entry looms on December 1st. The shortlist will be announced on February 1st next year and the award presented during the Poetry Now Festival in Dún Laoghaire next spring. The prize, for which publishers enter their authors' books, is for the best single volume of poetry (in the English language) published in 2004. Details from 01-2054873 or e-mail arts@dlrcoco.ie
Calling new writers
The closing date for participating in Firewords - New Writing Initiative for Galway in 2004/5 is Monday next so if you're interested in getting guidance about writing for radio, stage and screen get your application in fast. It's organised by Galway's writer-in-residence Ursula Rani Sarma in association with Galway County Council, Galway City Council, the Arts Council and Galway Library Service. Samples of work (2,000 words max) and a covering letter (500 words max) should be received by Ursula Rani Sarma, County Arts Office, Galway County Council, Prospect Hill, Galway, by 5 p.m. on Monday.