Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan reviewGilligan’s ‘literary fiction’ debut inventively connects up Ireland’s Jewish narrativesSat Jul 09 2016 - 01:00
The Muse by Jessie Burton review: a touch of second-novel syndromeFlashes of brilliant writing are weighed down by the plot in ‘Miniaturist’ author’s new novelSat Jul 02 2016 - 01:00
The Girls by Emma Cline review: a debut brimming with intelligence and ideasProvocative coming-of-age tale inspired by the Manson murders deserves all the hypeSat Jun 25 2016 - 01:00
World Refugee Day: 10 tales in literatureThe plight of refugees is back at the top of news bulletins but it has been a constant theme in modern literature as these 10 seminal works published since 2000 testifyMon Jun 20 2016 - 14:15
My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal review: brotherly love under threatA moving, understated novel shows sympathy for the mother of all neglectful mothersSat Jun 18 2016 - 01:05
Red Dirt by EM Reapy review: gripping yarn of Irish drifters in OzImpressive debut novel moves from humour to poignancy with easeTue Jun 14 2016 - 08:55
Nothing Tastes as Good by Claire Hennessy review: close to the boneThe pressures felt by young women to fit a mould come through clearly in these storiesSat Jun 04 2016 - 01:00
Wild Quiet by Roisín O’Donnell review: global Irish village voicesA modern, multiracial Ireland forms the backdrop of an ambitious debut collectionSat May 28 2016 - 01:00
The Difference by Justine Delaney Wilson review: Living with differenceAn Irish journalist tackles the subject of Down syndrome in her debut novelSat May 21 2016 - 01:00
Not Working by Lisa Owens review: a gem of a debutQuick-witted and sharp-tongued, lovable and flawed, Claire is a super narrator that readers will easily connect with, a smarter Bridget JonesSat May 14 2016 - 01:00
‘A novel I am prepared to repudiate’: 10 books disowned by famous authorsFrom what John Banville called his ‘absurdly pretentious’ debut novel to Martin Amis’s non-fiction guide to Space Invaders, a fascinating look at writers’ rejection slips to selfThu May 12 2016 - 09:35
‘I guess it would be weird to never argue with a colleague, but no, we haven’t scrapped!’A Q&A with Henrietta McKervey, author of The Heart of Everything, and her editor Ciara ConsidineMon May 09 2016 - 15:00
The Bricks that Built the Houses by Kate Tempest review: a rambling edificeRapper, poet and playwright Kate Tempest’s debut novel is built on shaky foundationsSat May 07 2016 - 01:00
Review: Prodigals by Greg Jackson has drama, drugs and cut-throat dialogueIntellectually charged debut by a very gifted writerSat Apr 30 2016 - 01:00
Shakespeare and me: Irish writers on the Bard's best bitsSome admirers celebrate the playwright’s work on the 400th anniversary of his deathSat Apr 23 2016 - 01:00
The Minor Outsider by Ted McDermott review: absurdly impressiveTed McDermott’s novel focuses on life’s contradictions and absurditiesSat Apr 23 2016 - 01:00
A Q&A with Rob Doyle and his editors Daniel Caffrey and Alexa von Hirschberg‘We had some robust discussions about which stories to include, about their order, and I recall having to ask some rather frank questions about the sexual content of some’Mon Apr 18 2016 - 16:19
Frank O’Connor’s widow Harriet O’Donovan Sheehy dies, aged 92Irish literary news and listings: Lisa McInerney and Adrian McKinty longlisted for top crime novel prizeMon Apr 18 2016 - 15:27
Can creative writing be taught? Irish authors give their answersJohn Boyne, Joseph O’Connor, Gavin Corbett, Henrietta McKervey, Mary Morrissy, Paula McGrath, Paul Perry and Máire T Robinson have their say on the MFAMon Apr 18 2016 - 12:26
New Fiction: The Privileged by Emily Hourican reviewThoughtful commercial fiction with a southside Dublin backdrop of drugs, partying and growing upSat Apr 16 2016 - 01:00
Lisa McInerney and Anne Enright on Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlistListowel Writers’ Week shortlists; Limerick chosen for global HQ; ILFD programme; Stinging Fly event; Blackbird in Meath; Cúirt voices; Cork World Book FestMon Apr 11 2016 - 19:15
The Voyage of the Dolphin by Kevin Smith review: iguanas, an Arctic voyage and 1916A seafaring jaunt buoyed with plenty of humour has an unusual take on historySat Apr 09 2016 - 01:00
Shtum by Jem LesterLester’s ‘Shtum’ explores the realities facing parents and their autistic childSat Apr 09 2016 - 00:57
Brian Bilston: the Poet Laureate of Twitter‘He is to poetry what Banksy is to art’. Brian Bilston is bringing poetry to the masses, taking social media by storm with his topical, witty, thoughtful and accessible poemsWed Apr 06 2016 - 11:38
Borris House Festival; Naomi Klein in Dublin; Éigse festival; What is a Republic?Literary listings: New director at Trinity; poetry in Galway; Brendan Kennelly at 80; poets on tour; Paula Meehan at NLITue Apr 05 2016 - 17:33
Anatomy of a Soldier, by Harry Parker review: Objective witnessesAn insider’s story of a devastating modern war told from the perspective of 45 objectsSat Apr 02 2016 - 01:00
Cúirt; Fish Short Story winners; Gavin Corbett at TCD; Cork World Book FestDublin Shakespeare Society; Kevin Curran reading; All-Ireland Poetry Day; Trinity talk on Derry authors; hunger strike talk at UCDThu Mar 31 2016 - 14:36
New fiction: Joanna Walsh’s short story collectionIn ‘Vertigo’, the writer highlights familiar worlds as they are about to fractureSat Mar 26 2016 - 01:00
Graham Norton launches ‘major new career as a novelist’Literary listings: Colum McCann on EFG shortlist; Irish bookshops make their mark; Sara Baume well received in US; The poets’ revolution and moreMon Mar 21 2016 - 15:28
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad review: weighty mattersThis debut novel is a razor-sharp, mordantly funny look at self-induced starvationSat Mar 19 2016 - 03:00
A Q&A with Lisa McInerney and her editor Mark Richards‘All that was left was to have a leisurely pint with Mark once the business graft was done. We had a very nice lunch too; I appreciate being fed. Start as you mean to go on’Fri Mar 18 2016 - 08:21
Irish neurologist on £30,000 Wellcome Book Prize shortlistMoth art prize; Gutter book launches; Ballymaloe poetry shortlist; poetry at UCC; Banshee II; Franco-Irish Literary Festival; Imram; Gavin Corbett at TrinityMon Mar 14 2016 - 14:40
Children’s Children by Jan Carson review: sharply written and inventiveGenerations hand down the misery in Jan Carson’s surreal debut collectionSat Mar 12 2016 - 01:00
Literary awards’ pros and cons: gold stars and black marksAre literary awards just ‘posh bingo’ or something that writers really care about? How fair are they anyway, and could they actually have a damaging effect?Wed Mar 09 2016 - 12:19
Emma Hannigan wins RoNA; Samuel Beckett festival; Mountains to Sea; Bookseller of YearIreland’s literacy ranking; Bookmarks; Women and the Rising; John Murray’s new Irish debut; and a Northern Ireland women writers anthologyTue Mar 08 2016 - 10:20
Light Box by KJ Orr review: an illuminating debutYou don’t need to be an astronaut to feel out of sorts with the world is the prevailing message of this lovely collection of storiesSat Mar 05 2016 - 01:00
How do Irish literary festivals treat writers?Free speech, yes. Speak for free? No. As British literary festivals come under fire for not paying authors, Sarah Gilmartin finds out the state of play and rates of pay hereWed Mar 02 2016 - 12:28
Bring a Book, Buy A Book; Ennis Book Festival; Mountains to Sea; World Book DayLiterary listings: Sunday Times short story longlist; RONAs shortlist; Rising readings at UCC; Ann O’Loughlin book deal; Waterstones shortlist; Gavin Corbett at TCDMon Feb 29 2016 - 17:10
Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa review: fragmented and fraughtAn on-the-ground reimagining of the protests at the 1999 WTO summit in SeattleSat Feb 27 2016 - 01:00
Scary Old Sex by Arlene Heyman: ageless stories of sex and deathThere are second husbands, second thoughts and second chances in this provocative and moving debut collection from a New York psychiatristSat Feb 20 2016 - 01:00
The Maker of Swans by Paraic O’Donnell review: ambitious and originalA fairytale atmosphere runs through this intriguing Irish debut novel but the endless wordplay is finally wearying, finds Sarah GilmartinSat Feb 13 2016 - 00:45
This Living and Immortal Thing by Austin Duffy review: pensive and starkThis tale of an Irish oncologist in New Yorlk is an honest, no-frills clinical account of illness and deathSat Feb 13 2016 - 00:29
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett review: a whale of a debutMixing historical detail with humour and an engaging romantic subplot, Barrett has written an unusual and entertaining yarnSat Feb 06 2016 - 00:03
The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau review: Mother earth calls it a dayAn Australian writer’s powerful take on climate change and emotional loss creates a buzzSat Jan 30 2016 - 01:00
Love Me Back, by Merritt Tierce: service with a sabre-tooth smileThis debut novel is a sharply written, brutal depiction of a Dallas waitress’s spiral into a world of misogyny, black-out sex and drug-fuelled bingesSat Jan 23 2016 - 01:00
