Sally Rooney, Dónal Ryan and Richard Chambers among nominees for Irish Book Awards
Ann Ingle, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen and Richard Chambers pictured today at the shortlist announcement for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2021. Pictures: Patrick Bolger
The nominees for the Irish Book Awards have been unveiled and four new categories have been announced, including Bookshop of the Year.
Cork-based authors and bookshops feature in those up for an award, including authors Catherine Ryan Howard, Jamie O’Connell, Eimear Ryan, Brian O'Donovan, Darina Allen, Rachel Allen, Trisha Lewis, and Laura de Barra as well as Carrigaline Bookshop and Kerr's Bookshop.
John Treacy, chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, says books and booksellers “rose to the occasion” to provide relief to readers during the pandemic and this year’s awards will acknowledge that.
“The personal touch which we all value so much was sadly missed. But then something wonderful happened. We discovered that books were saving the sanity of thousands of readers during lockdown," said Treacy.
The nominees include new and established writers across 20 categories, including Novel of the Year, Children’s (Junior and Senior), Cookery, Crime Fiction, and Popular Fiction.
Four new categories have also been added this year: the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category which acknowledge the significant role played by independent bookshops and local bookstores, the ‘Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year’ category which acknowledges an Irish author whose work has contributed significantly to the reader experience and enjoyment of Irish books during 2021, the ‘Dubray Biography of the Year’ and the ‘Bookstation Lifestyle Book of the Year’, a category that covers a range of interesting lifestyle subjects.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Dublin on November 23 and will later be broadcast on RTÉ One on December 8 as an hour-long highlights show, culminating in the reveal of this year's overall winner.
Readers can cast their votes online until 5pm on November 15 for the best books of the year on anpostirishbookawards.ie and all voters will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five €100 National Book Tokens vouchers.
Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney (Faber).
Panenka – Rónán Hession (Bluemoose).
Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan (Faber).
The Echo Camber – John Boyne (Doubleday / Transworld).
The Magician – Colm Tóibín (Viking, Penguin General, Penguin Random House).
White City – Kevin Power (Simon & Schuster).
56 Days – Catherine Ryan Howard (Atlantic Books / Corvus).
All Her Fault – Andrea Mara (Transworld).
April in Spain – John Banville (Faber).
The Dark Room – Sam Blake (Atlantic Books / Corvus).
The Devil’s Advocate – Steve Cavanagh (Orion).
The Killing Kind – Jane Casey (Harper Fiction).
Crossing The Line – Willie Anderson with Brendan Fanning (Reach Sport).
Dark Blue – Shane Carthy (The O’Brien Press).
Devotion – Mickey Harte with Brendan Coffey (HarperCollins Ireland).
Fight or Flight: My Life, My Choices – Keith Earls with Tommy Conlon (Reach Sport).
The Nation Holds Its Breath – George Hamilton (Merrion Press).
Unbroken: A journey of adversity, mental strength and physical fitness – Aidan O’Mahony (Hachette Books Ireland).
A Crooked Tree – Una Mannion (Faber).
Boys Don’t Cry – Fíona Scarlett (Faber).
Dinner Party: A Tragedy – Sarah Gilmartin (Pushkin Press).
Diving for Pearls – Jamie O’Connell (Transworld Ireland).
Holding Her Breath – Eimear Ryan (Sandycove).
Snowflake – Louise Nealon – (Bonnier Books UK).
A State of Emergency – Richard Chambers (HarperCollins Ireland).
Between Two Hells – Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile).
Four Years in the Cauldron – Brian O'Donovan (Sandycove).
Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground – Susan McKay (Blackstaff Press).
The Best Catholics in the World – Derek Scally (Sandycove).
We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958 – Fintan O'Toole (Head of Zeus).
Belonging: A Memoir of Place, Beginnings and One Woman's Search for Truth and Justice for the Tuam Babies – Catherine Corless with Naomi Linehan (Hachette Books Ireland).
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? – Séamas O'Reilly (Little, Brown Book Group).
Gas Man – Colin Black (HarperCollins Ireland).
Boy 11963 : An Irish Industrial School Childhood and an Extraordinary Search for Home - John Cameron with Kathryn Rogers (Hachette Books Ireland).
Openhearted – Ann Ingle (Sandycove).
Rememberings – Sinéad O'Connor (Sandycove).
Everyday Cook – Dónal Skehan (Hodder & Stoughton).
How To Cook – Darina Allen (Octopus Books).
Learn to Cook with Neven – Neven Maguire (Gill Books).
Soup Broth Bread – Rachel Allen (Penguin Random House).
The Daly Dish Rides Again: 100 more masso slimming meals for everyday – Gina Daly & Karol Daly (Gill Books).
Trisha's 21 Day Reset – Trisha Lewis (Gill Books).
About Us – Sinéad Moriarty (Sandycove).
Aisling and the City – Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen (Gill Books).
Freckles – Cecelia Ahern (HarperFiction).
Normal Sheeple – Ross O'Carroll Kelly (Sandycove).
The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal – Emily Hourican (Hachette Books Ireland).
Three Weddings and a Proposal – Sheila O’Flanagan (Headline).
Awaken Your Power Within – Gerry Hussey (Hachette Books Ireland).
Decor Galore – Laura de Barra (Transworld Ireland).
High Hopes: Making Music, Losing My Way, Learning to Live – Steve Garrigan (Hachette Books Ireland).
A Cloud Where the Birds Rise: A book about love and belonging – Michael Harding and Jacob Stack (Hachette Books Ireland).
Mind Full – Dermot Whelan (Gill Books).
Ranger 22: Lessons From The Front – Ray Goggins (Gill Books).
Corpsing: My Body and Other Horror Shows – Sophie White (Tramp Press).
Look! It's a Woman Writer! – Éilís Ní Dhuibhne (Arlen House).
Tea for One – Alice Taylor. With photographs by Emma Byrne (Brandon, an imprint of The O'Brien Press).
The Coastal Atlas of Ireland – Robert Devoy, Val Cummins, Barry Brunt, Darius Bartlett & Sarah Kandrot (Cork University Press).
The Presidents' Letters – An Unexpected History of Ireland – Flor Mac Carthy (New Island).
Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other Irish Words for Nature – Manchán Magan, illustrated by Steve Doogan (Gill Books).
Unsettled - Rosaleen McDonagh (Skein Press).
Aldrin Adams and the Cheese Nightmares – Paul Howard, illustrated by Lee Cosgrove (Penguin).
Lily's Dream - A Lissadell Story – Judi Curtin, illustrated by Rachel Corcoran (The O'Brien Press).
Mr. Spicebag – Freddie Alexander, illustrated by Helen O’Higgins (HarperCollins Ireland).
The Summer I Robbed A Bank – David O’Doherty, illustrated by Chris Judge (Penguin).
The Little Bee Charmer of Henrietta Street – Sarah Webb, illustrated by Rachel Corcoran (The O'Brien Press).
The Shadows of Rookhaven – Pádraig Kenny, illustrated by Edward Bettison (Macmillan Children's Books).
A Hug For You – David King, illustrated by Rhiannon Archard (Sandycove)
Evie's Christmas Wishes – Siobhán Parkinson, illustrated by Shannon Bergin (Little Island Books)
Maybe... – Chris Haughton (Walker Books)
Puffling and the Egg – Erika McGann & Gerry Daly (The O'Brien Press)
There's a Ghost in this House – Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Up on the Mountain – Peter Donnelly (Gill Books)
Baby Teeth – Meg Grehan (Little Island Books)
Not My Problem – Ciara Smyth (Andersen Press)
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating – Adiba Jaigirdar (Hachette Children's Group)
The Legend of Valentine Sorrow – Caroline Busher (Poolbeg)
The New Girl – Sinéad Moriarty (Gill Books)
What Love Looks Like – Jarlath Gregory (The O'Brien Press)
As the Smoke Clears (championed by Joe Duffy) – Zoe Holohan (Gill Books)
Nanny, Ma, and Me (championed by Zainab Boladale) – Jade Jordan, Dominique Jordan and Kathleen Jordan (Hachette Books Ireland)
Nora (championed by Seán Rocks) – Nuala O'Connor (New Island Books)
Openhearted (championed by Ray D'Arcy) - Ann Ingle (Sandycove)
Your One Wild And Precious Life (championed by Doireann Garrihy) – Dr. Maureen Gaffney (Sandycove)
Dónal Ryan
John Boyne
Liz Nugent
Marian Keyes
Maggie O’Farrell
Rónán Hession
Blackthorns – Bernard MacLaverty – from Blank Pages & Other Stories (Jonathan Cape)
Coming In On Time – Stuart Neville – from The Traveller and Other Stories (Bonnier Books UK)
Little Lives – Deirdre Sullivan – from I Want to Know That I Will Be OK (Banshee Press)
The Leaving Place – Jan Carson – from The Black Dreams (Blackstaff Press)
The Wake – Allen Murrin – from Waves of Change (Fresher Publishing)
Worms – Roddy Doyle – from Life Without Children (Jonathan Cape)
Driftwood – Karen J McDonell (The Cormorant Book/Tread Softly Publishing, August 2021)
Glissando – Noel King (Cyphers, April 2021)
Longboat at Portaferry – Siobhán Campbell (New Hibernia Review, July 2021)
Sestina for the Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze – Michael Naghten Shanks (New Irish Writing / Independent, March 2021)
An Cheathrú Rua agus na hOileáin sa Naoú hAois Déag – Áine Ní Chonghaile (CIC)
Inní – Réaltán Ní Leannáin (Éabhlóid)
Madame Lazare – Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin (Barzaz)
Mé Suibhne – Feargal Ó Béarra (Leabhar Breac)
Ré na bhFathach – Colm Ó Ceallacháin (Leabhar Breac)
Bridge Books – Dromore
Bridge Street Books – Wicklow
Carrigaline Bookshop – Carrigaline
Charlie Byrne's Bookshop – Galway
Halfway Up the Stairs – Greystones
Hodges Figgis – Dublin 2
Kenny's Bookshop & Art Gallery – Galway
Kerr's Bookshop – Clonakilty
Little Acorns Bookstore – Derry
Maynooth Bookshop – Maynooth
No Alibis Bookstore – Belfast
Tertulia Bookshop – Westport
The Company of Books – Dublin 6
Woodbine Books – Kilcullen
Woulfe's Bookshop – Listowel
