In The Irish Times tomorrow, more than 30 writers and critics select their books of the year. There is a Q&A with Jeff Kinney about his career and latest book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper. And another with Caroline Grace-Cassidy, author of A Merry Little Irish Christmas.
Reviews are Karlin Lillington on Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today (and other lessons from history about living through an information crisis) by Naomi Alderman; Sinéad Mac Aodha on An Irish Christmas & Winter Papers 11; Brian Cliff and Elizabeth Mannion on the best new crime fiction; Roe McDermott on Pornocracy by Jo Bartosch and Robert Jessel; Colm McKenna on The Dinner Party by Viola van de Sant; Helen Cullen on James Joyce’s Legacies in Contemporary Irish Women’s Writing by Annalisa Mastronardi; Huw Nesbitt on Thrilled to Death by Lynne Tillman; Gavin Cummiskey on World Cup Fever: a footballing journey in nine tournaments by Simon Kuper; Lyndsy Spence on The Houses of Guinness: The Lives, Homes and Fortunes of the Great Brewing Dynasty by Adrian Tinniswood; Noreen Doody on After Oscar: the Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland; Donald Clarke on We Did Ok, Kid by Anthony Hopkins; Andrew Lynch on Daring to be Free by Sudhir Hazareesingh; John Walshe on The Big Payback: The Case for Reparations for Slavery and How They Would Work by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder; AND Mei Chin on The Anthony Bourdain Reader.
Tomorrow’s Irish Times Eason offer is Every Christmas Eve by Emma Heatherington, just €5.99, a €6 saving.
The Limerick Literary Festival in honour of Kate O’Brien has announced that the prize fund for The Kate O’Brien Award, presented to the best debut novel or short story collection by an Irish woman writer, has been increased from €2,000 to €5,000.
The prize has been sponsored by Bill and Denise Whelan since 2019 and they have now offered this very generous increase. The winner will be announced at the end of a special event featuring the four shortlisted writers on Sunday, March 1st, 2026, the last day of the three-day festival.
Sara Baume, who won the Award in 2016, said: “The Kate Ó’ Brien Award came at a vital time in my career and gave me confidence to keep writing in whatever form I felt guided to write, unconstrained by convention, just as she did.”
2019 winner Sue Rainsford said: “This award is singular in Ireland’s literary landscape. It maintains the vital legacy of Kate O’Brien while looking toward the future, supporting women writers at the onset of their career.”
Last year’s winner Orlaine McDonald said: “The Kate O’Brien Award celebrates and elevates woman voices in literature, what could be more important than that?”
Submissions for the award close at the end of November.
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The inaugural Dublin Small Press Fair takes place on Friday November 28 and Saturday 29th in Pearse Street Library. The fair celebrates small-scale publishing in Ireland and welcomes small presses from abroad, featuring small publishers, writers, bookmakers, literary magazines, and zinesters.
The Fair will open for a preview from 5-9 p.m on Friday November 28th, starting with a panel on ‘Independent Publishing Now,’ featuring Will Dady from Renard, Eimear Ryan from Banshee, and Brendan Mac Evilly from Holy Show, chaired by poet and publisher Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe.
On Saturday 29th, the fair will feature over thirty vendors, pop-up readings from literary journals curated by Leabharlann Beag, exhibitions, and more. The fair closes with an event from Skein Press with support from Poetry Ireland: ‘Young Blood: Class x Masculinity in Contemporary Poetry,’ featuring Charles Lang, Rafael Mendes, and Matthew Rice, chaired by Eoin McNamee.
See dublinsmallpressfair.com for more information.
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Irish Food History: A Companion, co-edited by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Dorothy Cashman, was awarded the Best of the Best Award for Ireland at The Gourmand Food Awards in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, representing the best food book published in Ireland in the last 30 years. Beautifully designed by Brenda Dermody, this landmark collection of 28 chapters tells the story of food and drink in Ireland from the Ice Age to the present day, available both in hard copy from the Royal Irish Academy and open access by EUT+ Academic Press.
Previous accolades include the An Post Book Award in 2024, the Food History & Heritage Award at the Irish Food Writing Awards 2025, and the prestigious Best Culinary History Book in the world for 2024 at the Gourmand Book Awards in Lisbon in June 2025. Mac Con Iomaire runs the MA Gastronomy and Food Studies course in TU Dublin.
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Melissa Chevin, has been shortlisted for Sales Professional of the Year at the 2025 FutureBook Awards.
Organised by The Bookseller, the FutureBook Awards celebrate innovation, leadership, and excellence in publishing.
“It is a profound honour to be shortlisted,” Chevin said. “This recognition reflects the collective work of authors, colleagues, and partners who make our mission possible. At The Irish Pages Press, we are committed to amplifying voices and ideas that challenge, illuminate, and endure – and it is heartening to see that commitment acknowledged.”
Publisher Chris Agee said: “For a small, independent press like ours, this recognition is a testament to the courage, vision, and principled publishing that defines our mission: championing stories and voices that might otherwise remain unheard.”
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A unique evening of Irish and Italian culture takes place on December 10th in the Italian Cultural Institute, 11 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin 2 presented by the Casa della Cultura Irlandese/Áras Éigse Éireann.
Joseph O’Connor will read from his latest book Ghosts of Rome, followed by a conversation with Irish Times journalist Frank McNally. There will be an address from Italian ambassador Nicola Faganello and an introduction from the director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Michela Magrì.
NCAD graduate artist Eve Parnell will explain the ideas behind the founding of an Irish Cultural Centre in Italy.
The entertainment will include a fabulous selection of Irish and Italian music from Verdi, John Field and more, played live by award winning classical guitarist Gaetano Inguanta and pianist Katerina Speranskaya. Caomhán Mac an Iomaire singing sean-nós.
La Casa della Cultura Irlandese/ Áras Éigse Éireann is a voluntary initiative founded by Irish artists.
Event details here.
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Rugby international Andrew Porter will read from and speak about his award-winning memoir, Heart on My Sleeve, in two branches of Eason next month: Dún Laoghaire on December 7th and in Blanchardstown on December 13th, both at 2pm.
Heart on My Sleeve delves into Porter’s remarkable journey, offering an intimate and insightful look at his challenges and triumphs, both on and off the pitch. These events are free to attend and offer an opportunity for fans to meet Porter and get their copy personally signed.
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Irish Times journalist Patrick Freyne’s debut novel, Experts in a Dying Field, is to be published by Sandycove on June 11th, 2026, after Brendan Barrington acquired UK, Ireland & Commonwealth rights from his agent Lucy Luck at C+W.
Experts in a Dying Field tells the story of the Heathens, who thought of themselves as ‘the 1,000th best band of all time’. Then their tour van crashed, and one of their members died. Twenty years later, the surviving members have been brought unexpectedly together in Dublin, and the lid is lifted on mysteries from their shared past.
Barrington said: “Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion. Fans of Patrick’s journalism and essays know what a gifted writer he is, but they will be knocked out to see what he has done in this extraordinarily vibrant, original and satisfying first novel."
Fre”ne said: “It’s a privilege to have a novel published and to be edited by Brendan. I’m looking forward to readers’ discovering the world of the Heathens.”
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Footnote Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, and Counterpoints Arts, have announced the first Footnote x Counterpoints Prize for Fiction.
It celebrates writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds telling stories centred around themes of displacement, courage and belonging. This is the second time that Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts have partnered to run the Prize and the first time that it will focus on fiction.
The prize is worth £15,000 to the winner and includes a £7,500 cash prize as well as a publication agreement with Footnote Press with an advance of a further £7,500. It will be judged by the acclaimed writer Dina Nayeri, Waterstones’ Head of Books Bea Carvalho, Footnote Press Commissioning Editor Serena Arthur, and Director and Co-Founder of Counterpoints Arts Almir Koldzic.
The winner of the first Footnote x Counterpoints Prize – which was for non-fiction, rather than fiction – was Sabrin Hasbun, whose winning book Crossing: A love story between Italy and Palestine was published by Footnote Press in May. A beautiful and compelling family memoir, Crossing tells the love story between Sabrin’s Palestinian father and Italian mother, and the life of her half-Italian, half-Palestinian family from the 1960s to 2020. Described as ‘a tale of love and resistance ... [that] vividly conveys what it is like to live under constant occupation’ (the Observer), Crossing was widely praised by authors including Elif Shafak and Philippe Sands.
Anyone from a refugee or migrant background, agented or unagented, is eligible to submit an entry for the prize if they are a resident of the United Kingdom or Ireland. Full terms and conditions can be found on the Bonnier Books UK website.
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Stillorgan-based author Amelia Doyle has been announced as a finalist in the romance category of the Canadian Book Club Awards 2025 for her novel, Two Weeks in Toronto. Her husband is Irish-Canadian and the couple moved to Dublin in 2013.
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Applications for the Irish Writers Centre’s National Mentoring Programme 2026 open on Monday, December 1st.
Now in its ninth year, the programme is an island-wide initiative that pairs emerging writers from all communities with some of Ireland’s most respected authors. It has a proven track record of identifying and nurturing exceptional talent, with past mentees including Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Fíona Scarlett, Will Keohane and Victoria Kennefick.
Mags McLaughlin, CEO of the Irish Writers Centre, added: “We are tremendously proud of the difference the National Mentoring Programme has made to the writing careers of participants. Those who have taken part have grown in confidence, found sounding boards for their ideas, and honed their craft under expert guidance. We are excited to see this year’s applications and to help foster meaningful creative partnerships between mentees and mentors.”
The centre has also launched Episode Five of Dublin: One City, Many Stories, the Irish Writers Centre’s six-part video series celebrating Dublin’s 15th anniversary as a Unesco City of Literature.
Episode Five – One Dublin, One Book brings together some of Ireland’s most respected contemporary writers – Christine Dwyer Hickey, Andrew Hughes, Nuala O’Connor, Peter Sirr and Mike McCormack – in rich, thoughtful conversations about Dublin’s enduring presence in Irish literature. The episode is filmed in the evocative settings of The Reading Room, Dublin city Library & Archive and the Hugh Lane Gallery, and explores the city’s role as inspiration, archive, muse and character.
The episode is available to view here: Video link
