Kevin Barry wins Edge Hill Prize; Megan Nolan and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe on Dylan Thomas Prize longlist

Reviews in The Irish Times this Saturday are Raymond Snoddy on The BBC: A People’s History by David Hendy; Helen Cullen on Love Marriage by Monica Ali; Lucy Sweeney Byrne on Send Nudes by Saba Sams; Richard Pine on Creative Impulses, Cultural Accents: Brian Boydell’s music, advocacy, painting and legacy; Rachel Andrews on Laurie Penny’s Sexual Revolution, Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback; Ruth McKee on Why Women Read Fiction by Helen Taylor; Ian Duhig on No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy by Mark Hodkinson; Tanvi Roberts on Out of The Sun: Essays at the Crossroads of Race by Esi Edugyan; Paul Clements on local history; Sarah Gilmartin on The Colony by Audrey Magee; and Declan Burke on the best new crime fiction.

Boys Don’t Cry by Fiona Scarlett is this weekend’s Irish Times offer at Eason’s. You can buy it with the paper for €4.99, a saving of €5.

Kevin Barry has won the Edge Hill Prize for the second time, the first writer to do so in the award’s 15-year history.

The Irish writer, who also won the £10,000 prize in 2013, commended his competitors as “brilliant” and described the prize as playing a “critical role in advancing and promoting the short story form”.

Out of the Sun – Essays at the Crossroads of Race: A stunning collection

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Joyces embodied ‘open-minded, tolerant, curious cosmopolitanism’

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Wahala by Nikki May: A refreshing story of female friendship

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“It feels like an especially unlikely turn of luck to win the prize a second time,” he said. “There were brilliant story writers on both the short list and long list so I’m very grateful to the judges.”

Kevin, who lives in Co Sligo, won the award for That Old Country Music (Canongate), the latest in a long list of accolades including the International Dublin Literary Award, The Goldsmiths Prize and The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Prize.

“I think the short story is a sacred form,” he added. “There’s nothing more intense for the reader than to be in the hands of a great story and there’s nothing more difficult for a writer to get right.”

Prize organiser Billy Cowan, senior lecturer in creative writing, said Kevin’s second win “attests to the quality of Barry’s sublime work. What we love about his writing is that he makes it seem so easy; the lyrical ebb and flow of his sentences are deceptively simple, but beautiful.”

Newcomer Alice Ash said she was “honoured, elated and completely shocked” to have won the £1,000 Reader’s Choice Award, chosen by staff and students at Edge Hill University, for Paradise Block (Serpent’s Tail/Profile).

“Having published Paradise Block into the depths of the pandemic, I haven’t had a huge amount of engagement with readers and I sometimes felt like maybe I’d dreamt the whole thing. Hearing that I’d won the prize made the whole experience come alive for me - it has been incredibly fulfilling and I’m so grateful to the readers for selecting my book.

“As the Edge Hill Prize was the most prestigious short story prize I’d ever heard of, I wanted to nervously throw my hat in and I’m so glad I did because this has been a very happy and nourishing experience for me.”

Billy commended Alice’s “dark, compelling imagination”. “This is a writer to look out for and I’m sure her next work will be very special indeed.”

The third winner was Kashyap Raja, a creative writing masters student at Edge Hill who won the MA Prize for Epiphany.

“The news is still sinking in,” he said. “When my name was announced I couldn’t believe it. I have never won a prize for my writing before, so this is special for me.

Kashyap, from London, said his performances at storytelling nights encouraged him to “look into my life and find those little memories which made me the person I am today; these little stories make me relive those moments and help me grow as a writer.”

Debut novelist Megan Nolan and poet Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe have been longlisted for one of the world’s largest literary prizes for young writers, the £20,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.

Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, who was born in India but now lives in Ireland, was longlisted for her first poetry collection Auguries of a Minor God (Faber & Faber), which follows two different journeys, the first of love and the wounds it makes and the second following a family of refugees who have fled to the West from conflict in an unspecified Middle Eastern country. Dolan has been longlisted for her acclaimed novel, Acts of Desperation, about a young woman’s struggle to survive a toxic relationship.

Also longlisted are: A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam; What Noise Against the Cane by Desiree Bailey; Keeping the House by Tice Cin; The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris; No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood; Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W Moniz; Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley; Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson; Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi ; and Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor.

Raven Leilani won the prize last year for Luster.

The shortlist will be announced on March 31st and the winner on May 12th.

A major new collection of books, documents and artefacts given to the University of Reading will provide unique new insights on the relationship between James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. The generous gift of the Solange and Stephen James Joyce Collection will further illuminate the relationship between Joyce and Beckett. Reading’s existing Samuel Beckett Collection is already among the largest Beckett archives in the world.

Among the unique assortment of Joyce’s personal items donated by his grandson, Stephen James Joyce, and his wife, Solange, are letters and telegrams providing new insight into the relationship between the two writers. These include a telegram sent by Beckett to Joyce on his 49th birthday, February 2nd, 1931.

The birthday telegram, sent by Beckett in Dublin to Joyce in Paris, reads: ‘Teems of times and happy returns. Beckett’, and suggests a close and friendly relationship between Beckett and his mentor.

Among the highlights of the new collection are a large number of letters to Joyce, including from Beckett and other writers, including HG Wells. There are also around a hundred letters from Joyce’s great supporter Harriet Shaw Weaver, plus correspondence from his friend, Paul Leon.

Personal items include his pens, rings, his wife Nora’s necklace, a manuscript of his poetry collection ‘Chamber Music’, a copy of the poem Ecce Puer handwritten by Joyce to mark the birth of Stephen Joyce, and an undated letter from Joyce expressing his love for Nora, saying how much he misses her.

The Library Association of Ireland hosted a booked-out online seminar last week to discuss the ebooks crisis. In recent years the price of ebooks has soared by up to 400 per cent while publishers have also applied increasingly onerous terms and conditions, it said. Concern about this led to the establishment of the #ebookSOS campaign in the UK. Campaign founder Yohanna Anderson told the seminar: “It is clear that libraries in Ireland are facing the same problems we have in the UK – scandalous increases in the costs of eBooks, restrictive licensing terms, and a lack of availability all create a crisis for the sector and reduce the ability of libraries to meet their users’ needs. Urgent action needs to be taken by competition regulators to investigate this situation and ensure the eBook market for libraries is fair.”

LAI president Cathal McCauley said: “While the importance and benefits of ebooks are acknowledged it is clear that there is a systemic problem with the way ebooks are provided. We need to work with librarians, policy makers and other stakeholders to ensure a more equitable and sustainable approach to ebooks”.

In July Dublin is due to host the International Federation of Library Associations World Information and Library Congress which will see more than 1,000 librarians come to Ireland to discuss this and other library and information related issues.

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To mark the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, three of Ireland’s most innovative arts organisations, ANU, Landmark Productions and MoLI, have joined together for the first time to launch a nationwide odyssey of artistic experiments. Eighteen cross-disciplinary artists have been commissioned to respond to the 18 episodes of the book, reframing Joyce’s iconic text as a modern-day geographical and episodic artwork. These creative responses will present a contemporary reading of Ireland today, ranging from free to ticketed events of varying run length, duration and audience capacity, on and offline.

Ulysses 2.2 will begin with Episode 1, an installation at MoLI featuring cutting-edge eye-tracking technology curated by Anne Enright (15- 27 February) and end with Episode 18, a first-time collaboration between Irish National Opera and ANU.

Participating artists include, in addition to director Louise Lowe and visual artist Owen Boss of ANU, writers Anne Enright, Fintan O’Toole, Marina Carr and Emilie Pine; poets Paula Meehan, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Molly Twomey and Harry Clifton; choreographers David Bolger of CoisCéim and Emma Martin of United Fall; children’s theatre practitioners Branar; architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects; composer Evangelia Rigaki; food artists The Domestic Godless; musicians Fehdah, Matthew Nolan, Adrian Crowley and God Knows; curator Iarlaith Ni Fheorais; and writer and activist Sinéad Burke. ulysses22.ie

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Poetry Ireland has appointed Liz Kelly as its new director. Chair Prof Ciarán Benson said: “We are delighted Liz Kelly will be taking over the reins at Poetry Ireland. Liz is an exceptional programmer with extensive experience in strategic planning and a proven track record in initiating successful and innovative programmes and projects across the island of Ireland. As a recognised and respected cultural leader, Liz is very well placed to continue to build our networks and partnerships nationally and internationally.

“She is passionate and committed and is perfectly placed to lead the work of Poetry Ireland in connecting people and poetry, and with the next period of ambitious development of the Poetry Centre at 11 Parnell Square, with partners The Irish Heritage Trust and the Irish Landmark Trust.”

Liz Kelly’s appointment sees her take on the position held by Niamh O’Donnell, who will step down in March to join the Irish Theatre Institute as its Director. Kelly said: “It is an honour to be appointed Director at this incredibly exciting time for Poetry Ireland. I look forward to working with the team to position poetry in all its richness and diversity, at the heart of our renewal, and as a focal point for reconnection at home and abroad.

“The breadth of work Poetry Ireland does - from live events to professional development for poets, from education to publications, and much more - all help to make poetry more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds and to champion and support Irish poetry and poets at home and abroad.”

Dublin City University has welcomed Poetry Ireland to its new temporary home in the Cregan Library on the St Patrick’s campus in Drumcondra. The relocation allows Poetry Ireland to continue its work, dedicated to poetry and poets, while refurbishment and development takes place at its historical headquarters at 11 Parnell Square East. This move also represents a new partnership between DCU and Poetry Ireland with both organisations planning poetry initiatives as well as hosting launches and live events on campus in the coming years, for loyal audiences of poetry and spoken word lovers as well as the DCU university community.

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Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington has joined forces with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle to write her autobiography to be published by Penguin Sandycove this autumn.

Harrington said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to write my autobiography as it gives me a chance to tell my story in my way. I was sure that if I was going to do a book, there was only one person I wanted to do it with. Working with Roddy has been an incredible experience and I have really enjoyed the process of revisiting the key moments of my past and remembering the twists and turns of my life. There have been some very emotional and challenging times that have helped build resilience and character and has helped shape me into the person I am today. My hope is that readers will enjoy it too.”

Doyle said: “When myself and Kellie decided to write her story together, I told her it would be an adventure. I was right – it is an adventure. Kellie uses her words like she uses her fists – brilliantly. She’s funny, sharp, honest, a born storyteller. It’s a joy working with her.”

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Hodder has announce the publication on May 12th of Nothing Left Unsaid, the debut novel from award-winning Scottish comedian Janey Godley.

Set in Glasgow between 2019 and 1976, the novel opens with a woman summoning her family to hospital as she reaches the end of a battle with cancer. She sends her eldest daughter to read her diary, determined to share a secret that she’s been holding on to for 40 years, and revealing the story of five women determined to survive against the odds. In a poignant case of fiction mirroring reality, Janey has been sharing news of her own cancer diagnosis and treatment over recent months.

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Irish Women’s Speeches: Voices that Rocked the System, edited by Sonja Tiernan, provides an inspiring account of Irish women whose words continue to shake people out of apathy and enthuse new generations. St Brigid’s Day is being marked by a conversation with women featured in this book: Monica McWilliams, Emeritus Professor at Ulster University, signatory to the Good Friday Agreement and former Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; Nora Owen, chair of Oversight Group on Women, Peace and Security in Dept. of Foreign Affairs and former minister of justice; Saffa Musleh, executive coach and TEDX speaker. It will be chaired by Olivia O’Leary, journalist, broadcaster and presenter of RTÉ Radio 1’s The Poetry Programme.

Join the live stream from the Royal Irish Academy at 4pm on Thursday, February 3rd here.

Welbeck Publishing Group has acquired two books by journalist and musician Siobhan MacGowan, sister of Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of The Pogues.

Welbeck Publishing Group bought UK & Commonwealth rights to The Trial of Lotta Rae and one other from Sara O’Keeffe at Aevitas Creative Management. These will be lead titles for Welbeck, with book one publishing in May.

The Trial of Lotta Rae is a sweeping historical novel set against the tumultuous suffragette movement, exploring just how much – and how little – has changed for women in the last century. Perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding, this is a powerful and finely drawn portrait of courage and resilience.

Publisher Rosa Schierenberg said: “Lotta Rae is a timeless protagonist, as essential and empowering to her peers as she will be to today’s readers. At once lyrical and propulsive, there is no doubt that Siobhan has inherited the MacGowan writing gene! We are thrilled to be bringing her stories to life.”

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In late 2019, the manuscript of A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa landed on Tomás Kenny’s desk at Kenny’s Bookshop in Galway. He read it and decided it was very special. In order to promote and champion the title, Kennys produced, in partnership with the publishers Tramp Press, a signed limited edition in an exclusive dustwrapper. It received a very enthusiastic response, which prompted Kenny’s to pursue further limited editions.

“ Every now and then,” Sarah Kenny said, “we find a title that has a special quality, a new voice perhaps or a new style of writing that resonates with us and that we feel deserves an extra push. With additional or exclusive features like illustrations, or a unique dustjacket, limited editions have proven to be popular with collectors and customer alike.

“Our earliest special editions were in fine bindings, usually quarter or half leather -– titles like Hardiman’s History of Galway or Nineteen Acres by John Healy. In recent years, Deirdre Sullivan’s I Want to Know That I Will be Okay and Colm Tóibín’s The Magician were released in exclusive Kenny limited editions. Forthcoming specials include Tóibín’s first collection of poetry, Vinegar Hill, in March and the new novel by Sara Baume, Seven Steeples, in April.”