Podcasts about irish fiction

The December Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Elaine Feeney about his book 'How to Build a Boat'. “Elaine Feeney's second novel, set in a small, fictional Irish town on the west coast, tells the story of Jamie, a boy who seeks to connect with his dead mother. ‘Feeney's prose,' The New York Times has written, ‘is both careful and relaxed — detailed in its description of place and character and of the effortful human urge to find order in the natural world.'” — Colm Tóibín Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/uploadedFiles/wwwartscouncilie/Content/Arts_in_Ireland/Literature/Laureate_for_Irish_Fiction/Art%20of%20Reading%20Book%20Club%202024.pdf

The November Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Michael Magee about his book 'Close to Home'. “Michael Magee's first novel deals with the Troubles as both legacy and aftermath. At its centre is Sean who has returned to Belfast. The book has been described by The Guardian as ‘a staggeringly humane and tender evocation of class, violence and the challenge of belonging in a world that seems designed to keep you watching from the sidelines.'” — Colm Tóibín Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

The October Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Caoilinn Hughes about her novel ‘The Alternatives'. “Caoilinn Hughes's novel deals with the lives of four brilliant sisters, lives that have been deeply scarred by the death of their parents. As Hernan Diaz has written, this is ‘a tale about sisterhood, a novel of ideas, a chronicle of our collective follies, a requiem for our agonizing species… in a prose full of gorgeous surprises…glows with intelligence, compassion, and beauty.'” — Colm Tóibín Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

Alice Ryan, writer and grand daughter of the late Mary Lavin and Colm Tóibín, Laureate for Irish Fiction, discusses the legacy of Mary Lavin who today becomes the first female Irish writer to have a public space in Dublin named in her honour.

“Paul Lynch's novel, winner of the 2023 Booker Prize, is set in the near future in a real Dublin in which a totalitarian regime has come to power. ‘If there was ever a crucial book for our current times,' The Guardian has written, ‘it's Paul Lynch's Prophet Song.'” Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

Colm Tóibín, Laureate for Irish Fiction

The August Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Dermot Bolger about his novel 'The Lonely Sea and Sky' “The novel tells the story of the rescue by a small Irish boat of 168 German sailors during World War II. The narrator is Jack Roche, a 14-year-old Wexford lad whose father has been killed at sea. Part historical fiction, part coming-ofage narrative, this is a perceptive and exciting novel about life at sea as a way of dramatizing human relations at their most intense.” — Colm Tóibín Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

“Set in 1994, The Coast Road tells the story of two women— Izzy and Colette. Colette has left her husband and sons for a married man in Dublin. When she returns to her home in County Donegal, her husband, Shaun, a successful businessman, denies her access to her children. ‘The last great book I read,' the actress Gillian Anderson has said. ‘It will no doubt be a bestseller.'" Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

A conversation about Irish fiction writers. Featuring John Boyne, Sally Rooney, Oisín McKenna and Megan Nolan. Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

The June Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Belind McKeon about her novel 'Solace' "In her compelling debut novel, Solace,' Anna Fogarty wrote in The Irish Times in 2011, ‘Belinda McKeon succeeds in subtly reconfiguring and updating the archetypal story of a son's quarrel with his father. In her hands, it becomes a profound and exacting conjuration with the pyscho-social shifts taking place in contemporary Ireland.” Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

The May Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Megan Nolan about her novel 'Ordinary Human Failings'. "Megan Nolan's novel tells the story of the Green family who move from Ireland to London in the early 1990s. 'Where Nolan really excels is in the delineation of complex, sometimes contradictory interior states, the water we all swim in and call "reality",' writes The Financial Times." - Colm Tóibín Megan Nolan was born in 1990 in Waterford, Ireland and is currently based in London. Her essays and reviews have been published by The New York Times, White Review, The Guardian and Frieze amongst others. Her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2021 and was the recipient of a Betty Trask Award, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second novel, Ordinary Human Failings, was published in 2023 and is shortlisted for the inaugural Nero Book Awards, for fiction and longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. Learn more about the Art of Reading Book Club and the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

''His generation's most gifted writer of love's complicated, contradictory power'' (Los Angeles Times), Colm Tóibín is the author of an impressive list of novels, short stories, essays, plays, poetry, and criticism. His novels The Master, The Testament of Mary, and Brooklyn were shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and the last was adapted into a popular BAFTA Award-winning film of the same name. The Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University, Tóibín earned an Irish PEN Award and was named the Laureate for Irish Fiction for 2022–2024 by the Arts Council of Ireland, among scores of other honors. Set 20 years after the events of the international bestseller Brooklyn, Long Island finds the enigmatic émigré protagonist of that book alone in her marriage and facing the travails of middle age and unfulfilled dreams. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU! (recorded 5/13/2024)

Irish novelist Anne Enright is the author of seven novels, including The Gathering, winner of the Booker Prize in 2007. Her 2012 novel The Forgotten Waltz won the Andre Carnegie Medal for Fiction and her novel The Green Road won The Irish Novel of the Year in 2015, the same year that she was appointed as the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Her latest novel The Wren, The Wren has been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024.Anne tells John Wilson how her childhood home in the suburbs of Dublin, and holidays spent at the Pollock Holes in Kilkee inform her writing. She recalls her book-devouring household and first reading Ulysses while on a cycling holiday at the age of 14. The play Top Girls by Caryl Churchill was also a creative influence, particularly in the way Churchill wrote dialogue for women who were at the time, so underrepresented on stage. Anne also cites the influence of the writer Angela Carter, both as a writer of contemporary fiction and as her tutor and mentor at the University of East Anglia. Producer: Edwina PitmanArchive and readings used:Extract from The Gathering, read by Anne Enright Extract from The Wren, The Wren, read by Charlotte Pyke Extract from Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, BBC, 1992

On 3 November at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace Bellaghy, Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín delivered his second annual lecture entitled A Dream on Wings: Poetry and the Underworld. It featured poetry readings by Cathy Belton and musical performance by Martin Hayes. Colm Tóibín's lecture charts poetry written about the underworld and traces a line going from Ovid through to contemporary poets including Seamus Heaney and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. Colm Tóibín is the third Laureate for Irish Fiction and was awarded the honour by the Arts Council in early 2022. The Laureate for Irish Fiction promotes Irish literature nationally and internationally and encourages the public to engage with high quality Irish Fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council. More details about Colm Tóibín's public programme as Laureate can be found here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

Ian McMillan presents a special extended interview with acclaimed Irish novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet Colm Tóibín, who's been described as one of Ireland's finest writers. Colm Tóibín is the author of eleven novels including Brooklyn, which won the 2009 Costa novel award, and The Magician, winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize; as well as two short story collections. Three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize Tóibín was made the Laureate for Irish Fiction for 2022–2024. In 2022, he published his first collection of poems, Vinegar Hill. Producer: Cecile Wright

The former inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, Anne Enright won the 2008 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Gathering, which revolves around the tragic death of a young man inside a large family, told from the perspective of his grieving sister. Enright's new title, The Wren, The Wren, has been called perhaps her best novel yet. *This interview originally aired Feb. 3, 2008. Please note it contains some discussion of suicide.

Bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author, Anne Enright, spoke to me about eagles and moles, the interior engineering of a novel, her love of Irish poetry, and her latest THE WREN, THE WREN. Anne Enright won the Man Booker Prize and the Irish Fiction Award for her novel The Gathering. She has also been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish Book Awards, and was the first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015-2018). Her latest novel The Wren, the Wren, was named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by TIME, The Millions, Literary Hub, and others, and is described as the story of “... three generations of … women who must contend with inheritances―of poetic wonder and of abandonment by a man who is lauded in public and carelessly selfish at home.” The New York Times called it, "... a powerful, thoughtful book by one of the great living writers on the subject of family," and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan said of the book, “The Wren, the Wren is an electrifying romp through language itself―its dizzying possibilities and satisfactions―led by one the most gifted writers working in English today." Anne Enright has also published two books of short stories, her essays on literary themes have appeared in the London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books, and she writes for the books pages of The Irish Times and The Guardian. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Anne Enright and I discussed:  The moment of burnout that changed her career How she used to be a night owl scribe Why you shouldn't over-panic, or over-plan The fallacies of impostor syndrome and inspiration How to create a fictional poet out of thin air Taking a long look at James Joyce across the table And a lot more! Show Notes: Anne Enright - Wikipedia The Wren, the Wren: A Novel by Anne Enright (Amazon) Anne Enright Amazon Author Page Book Review: ‘The Wren, the Wren,' by Anne Enright - The New York Times Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5x15 welcomes Colm Tóibín, novelist, critic, essayist and one of the most highly acclaimed writers of our time. In his new essay collection A Guest at the Feast, Tóibín traverses life in all its complexity, capturing moments that are both melancholy and amusing, rich and strange. Travelling between the streets of Buenos Aires and a deserted Venice, and the works of writers such as John McGahern and Marilynne Robinson, these essays uncover the places where life and fiction overlap. Don't miss the chance to hear this most erudite and important storyteller, live in conversation with award-winning poet and author Seán Hewitt. Praise for Colm Tóibín and A Guest at the Feast 'The clarity of the novelist's descriptive ability shines through essays on topics ranging from his treatment for cancer to the joys of an empty Venice . . . On every subject, Tóibín's writing is what people these days inevitably describe as nuanced, a word that has become a kind of shorthand for expressing a person's rare ability to understand . . . the foibles of others' - Rachel Cooke, Observer, Book of the Day 'I love everything Colm Tóibín has written' - Nicola Sturgeon, New Statesman 'I wanted to read out loud, to fully savour writing that is so careful and so lyrical' - Laura Hackett, Sunday Times Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy in 1955. He is the author of ten novels, including The Magician, winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize; The Master, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Brooklyn, winner of the Costa Book Award; The Testament of Mary; and Nora Webster, as well as two story collections and several books of criticism. He is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and has been named as the Laureate for Irish Fiction for 2022–2024 by the Arts Council of Ireland. Three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Tóibín lives in Dublin and New York. Seán Hewitt is the author of the memoir All Down Darkness Wide, winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (2022), and the poetry collection Tongues of Fire, winner of the Laurel Prize (2021). He lives in Dublin, where he teaches at Trinity College. With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Anne Enright is the multi award winning Irish author of seven novels, collections of short stories, a non-fiction work about the birth of her two children, and she was the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. The Gathering, won the Booker Prize in 2007 - about a woman trying to make sense of her brother's suicide as the large, dysfunctional family gather for his funeral. Anne Enright's latest book also shines a strong light on family relationships. In The Wren,The Wren, a famous Irish poet leaves his wife and two daughters - that abandonment rippling through the life of one of his daughters, and in turn, her daughter. The book has won high praise - fellow Irish writer Sally Rooney, author of Normal People, calls it "magnificent", while The Times calls Enright "one of our greatest living novelists". She speaks with Kathryn Ryan from her home in Dublin.

Following on from the success of her 2020 novel Actress, Anne Enright is back with her latest book The Wren, The Wren. It's a multi-generational story, exploring family trauma and the love between mother and daughter, told through three members of the same family: Nell, Carmel and Phil. In this episode, Enright speaks to Róisín Ingle about the inspiration behind the story, her foray into poetry and the novel's omission from this year's Booker long list. They also reflect on Enright's time as the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, her childhood growing up the youngest of five and her “stormy” teenage years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this interview Mary M. McGlynn, Professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, discusses her new book Broken Irelands: Literary Form in Post-Crash Irish Fiction (Syracuse University Press, 2022). While the national narrative coming out of Ireland since the 2008 economic crisis has been relentlessly sanguine, fiction has offered a more nuanced perspective from both well-established and emerging authors. In Broken Irelands, McGlynn examines Irish fiction of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence. Noting that these traits have the effect of diminishing human agency, blurring questions of responsibility, and emphasizing emotion over rationality, McGlynn argues that they reflect and respond to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity. Rather than focusing on overt discussions of the crash and recession, McGlynn explores how the dominance of an economic worldview, including a pervasive climate of financialized discourse, shapes the way stories are told. In the writing of such authors as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, and Lisa McInerney, McGlynn unpacks the ways that formal departures from realism through grammatical asymmetries like unconventional verb tenses, novel syntactic choices, and reliance on sentence fragments align with a cultural moment shaped by feelings of impotence and rhetorics of personal responsibility. Colleen English is a scholar of Irish and Romantic literature based at Loyola University Chicago. She co-convenes the Irish Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library. On Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this interview Mary M. McGlynn, Professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, discusses her new book Broken Irelands: Literary Form in Post-Crash Irish Fiction (Syracuse University Press, 2022). While the national narrative coming out of Ireland since the 2008 economic crisis has been relentlessly sanguine, fiction has offered a more nuanced perspective from both well-established and emerging authors. In Broken Irelands, McGlynn examines Irish fiction of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence. Noting that these traits have the effect of diminishing human agency, blurring questions of responsibility, and emphasizing emotion over rationality, McGlynn argues that they reflect and respond to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity. Rather than focusing on overt discussions of the crash and recession, McGlynn explores how the dominance of an economic worldview, including a pervasive climate of financialized discourse, shapes the way stories are told. In the writing of such authors as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, and Lisa McInerney, McGlynn unpacks the ways that formal departures from realism through grammatical asymmetries like unconventional verb tenses, novel syntactic choices, and reliance on sentence fragments align with a cultural moment shaped by feelings of impotence and rhetorics of personal responsibility. Colleen English is a scholar of Irish and Romantic literature based at Loyola University Chicago. She co-convenes the Irish Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library. On Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

In this interview Mary M. McGlynn, Professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, discusses her new book Broken Irelands: Literary Form in Post-Crash Irish Fiction (Syracuse University Press, 2022). While the national narrative coming out of Ireland since the 2008 economic crisis has been relentlessly sanguine, fiction has offered a more nuanced perspective from both well-established and emerging authors. In Broken Irelands, McGlynn examines Irish fiction of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence. Noting that these traits have the effect of diminishing human agency, blurring questions of responsibility, and emphasizing emotion over rationality, McGlynn argues that they reflect and respond to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity. Rather than focusing on overt discussions of the crash and recession, McGlynn explores how the dominance of an economic worldview, including a pervasive climate of financialized discourse, shapes the way stories are told. In the writing of such authors as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, and Lisa McInerney, McGlynn unpacks the ways that formal departures from realism through grammatical asymmetries like unconventional verb tenses, novel syntactic choices, and reliance on sentence fragments align with a cultural moment shaped by feelings of impotence and rhetorics of personal responsibility. Colleen English is a scholar of Irish and Romantic literature based at Loyola University Chicago. She co-convenes the Irish Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library. On Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview Mary M. McGlynn, Professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, discusses her new book Broken Irelands: Literary Form in Post-Crash Irish Fiction (Syracuse University Press, 2022). While the national narrative coming out of Ireland since the 2008 economic crisis has been relentlessly sanguine, fiction has offered a more nuanced perspective from both well-established and emerging authors. In Broken Irelands, McGlynn examines Irish fiction of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence. Noting that these traits have the effect of diminishing human agency, blurring questions of responsibility, and emphasizing emotion over rationality, McGlynn argues that they reflect and respond to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity. Rather than focusing on overt discussions of the crash and recession, McGlynn explores how the dominance of an economic worldview, including a pervasive climate of financialized discourse, shapes the way stories are told. In the writing of such authors as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, and Lisa McInerney, McGlynn unpacks the ways that formal departures from realism through grammatical asymmetries like unconventional verb tenses, novel syntactic choices, and reliance on sentence fragments align with a cultural moment shaped by feelings of impotence and rhetorics of personal responsibility. Colleen English is a scholar of Irish and Romantic literature based at Loyola University Chicago. She co-convenes the Irish Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library. On Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

In this interview Mary M. McGlynn, Professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, discusses her new book Broken Irelands: Literary Form in Post-Crash Irish Fiction (Syracuse University Press, 2022). While the national narrative coming out of Ireland since the 2008 economic crisis has been relentlessly sanguine, fiction has offered a more nuanced perspective from both well-established and emerging authors. In Broken Irelands, McGlynn examines Irish fiction of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence. Noting that these traits have the effect of diminishing human agency, blurring questions of responsibility, and emphasizing emotion over rationality, McGlynn argues that they reflect and respond to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity. Rather than focusing on overt discussions of the crash and recession, McGlynn explores how the dominance of an economic worldview, including a pervasive climate of financialized discourse, shapes the way stories are told. In the writing of such authors as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, and Lisa McInerney, McGlynn unpacks the ways that formal departures from realism through grammatical asymmetries like unconventional verb tenses, novel syntactic choices, and reliance on sentence fragments align with a cultural moment shaped by feelings of impotence and rhetorics of personal responsibility. Colleen English is a scholar of Irish and Romantic literature based at Loyola University Chicago. She co-convenes the Irish Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library. On Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

The March Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Philip Ó Ceallaigh about his book 'Trouble'. “Philip Ó Ceallaigh is a brilliant, uncompromising and ambitious writer who has long been resident in Bucharest. Of his collection of stories ‘Trouble', the Los Angeles Review of Books wrote: ‘Ó Ceallaigh writes with such immediacy, such confessional intensity, that when the narrator leans in close and says, “Look — there lies trouble,” it is impossible to look away.” - Colm Tóibín Philip Ó Ceallaigh has published over fifty short stories, most of them gathered in his three collections. The most recent is Trouble, from the Stinging Fly Press. He has been described by John Banville as “a master” of the short story form and named by Rob Doyle as his “favourite living writer of short stories”. His work has appeared in Granta, The Los Angeles Review of Books and The Irish Times and has been translated into over a dozen languages. He was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for his first book, Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse. He is also an essayist and critic with a particular interest in Jewish-European history, and his translation of Mihail Sebastian's interwar novel For Two Thousand Years was published by Penguin Classics. He lives in Bucharest, Romania. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

The February Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Louise Kennedy about her book 'Trespasses'. The unforgettable protagonist of Louise Kennedy's ‘Trespasses' is 24-year-old Cushla Lavery, a Catholic schoolteacher living in 1975 in a small town outside Belfast. The novel narrates the story of her love affair with an older, married, Protestant barrister with the same wit and eye for detail as are on display in her book of stories ‘The End of the World is a Cul de Sac.' - Colm Tóibín Louise Kennedy grew up in Holywood, Co. Down. Her short story collection, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac (Bloomsbury 2021) won the John McGahern Prize. Her debut novel, Trespasses (Bloomsbury 2022) won Eason's Novel of the Year at An Post Irish Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Before she started writing, she spent nearly thirty years working as a chef. She lives in Sligo. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

The January Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Eimear McBride about her book A Girl is a Half-formed Thing. In describing his idea for the Art of Reading Book Club series Colm Tóibín said: “Our experience of reading became more intense and more essential during the lockdown. Although reading is mainly done in silence and when alone, it includes a sense of community, an idea of sharing. Readers want to talk about the books they like, to think about the internal workings of a novel or a story, and exchange ideas on books, all to enrich the experience of reading. Reading, as much as writing, is an art. It requires a creative response to the text. No books matters unless someone is reading it. The purpose of the Art of Reading Book Club is to deepen the idea of a community of readers and to recognize the vitality and excitement in the act of reading and thinking about books.” Eimear McBride is the author of three novels: ‘Strange Hotel', ‘The Lesser Bohemians' and ‘A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'. She held the inaugural Creative Fellowship at the Beckett Research Centre, University of Reading which resulted in the performance work ‘Mouthpieces' - later broadcast by RTE Radio. Her first full length non-fiction work ‘Something Out of Place: Women & Disgust' was published in 2021, while her first foray into film writing and direction ‘A Very Short Film About Longing,' produced by DMC and BBC Film, has recently been completed. She is the recipient of the Women's Prize for Fiction, Goldsmiths Prize, James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, Desmond Eliot Prize and the Kerry Prize. She grew up in the west of Ireland and now lives in London. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

The December Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Bernard MacLaverty about his book, Blank Pages and Other Stories. The Laureate says “MacLaverty offers a masterclass in how to create character, how to build scenes by accretion of detail, how to work with implication and suggestion, how to write indirectly and manages to create more energy and more expression by working in muted colours and plain textures.” Bernard MacLaverty was born in Belfast (14.9.42) and lived there until 1975 when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children. He has been a Medical Laboratory Technician, a mature student, a teacher of English and occasionally a Writer-in-Residence (Universities of Aberdeen, Augsburg, Liverpool John Moore's and Iowa State). After living for a time in Edinburgh and the Isle of Islay he now lives in Glasgow. He is a member of Aosdána. He has published five novels and six collections of short stories most of which are gathered into Collected Stories (2013). He has written versions of his fiction for other media – radio plays, television plays, screenplays, libretti. Blank Pages, published in August 2021, is his sixth collection of short stories. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín delivered his first annual lecture on 6th November 2022 in Town Hall Theatre Galway. For those unable to join us at the event, we are delighted to be able to share a recording of this extraordinary evening.

And novelist and laureate for Irish Fiction, Colm Tóibín discussed the album that inspired him.. Blue by Joni Mitchell.

Laureate for Irish Fiction, Colm Tóibín spoke to Matt about his latest book 'A Guest at the Feast', which is a collection of essays about his own life. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The October Art of Reading book club features Colm in conversation with writer Martina Devlin about her book Edith. The Laureate says “Edith is an engrossing and sensitive portrait of the writer Edith Somerville during the War of Independence when her writing partner Violet Ross is dead and her own career as a writer not flourishing. It is a portrait of a sensitive, solitary figure in a time of turmoil, of a woman striking out as an artist in a time when there were many barriers”. Martina Devlin has written 11 books, including the novels About Sisterland and The House Where It Happened, and the short story collection Truth & Dare. Her latest book Edith: A Novel – about the writer Edith Somerville – will be published by the Lilliput Press in May. Prizes include the Royal Society of Literature's V.S. Pritchett Prize and a Hennessy Literary Award. She writes a weekly current affairs column for the Irish Independent and has been named National Newspapers of Ireland commentator of the year. Martina is the first holder of a PhD in literary practice from Trinity College Dublin, where she is currently an adjunct lecturer in Irish literature. She presents the City of Books podcast, sponsored by the Arts Council and supported by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and the Museum of Literature Ireland. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

The September Art of Reading book club features Colm in conversation with writer Una Mannion about The Ante-Room by Kate O'Brien. The Laureate says “This novel is written with great intensity, being set over a time period of three days in which the focus is on the entire life of a single family, all the secrets and treacheries coming into the open. Time and character are dealt with in this book with sharp insight, masterful precision.” Kate O'Brien was born in 1897 in Limerick. A graduate of UCD, she was an internationally acclaimed fiction writer. In her early career she worked as a journalist and found initial literary success as a playwright. She also wrote short fiction, literary essay, literary criticism and travel writing. Her first novel, Without My Cloak (1931), won the Hawthornden and the James Tait Black Memorial prizes. She wrote nine novels in total, including Mary Lavelle (1936) and The Land of Spices (1941), both of which were banned in Ireland. Her novels were very popular and widely read in her time, both in Ireland and abroad and her most successful novel, That Lady (1946), was made into a Hollywood film. She died in 1974. Una Mannion is a writer and teacher living in County Sligo. In 2021, her debut novel, A Crooked Tree, was published by Faber in the UK and Ireland, and Harper Books in the USA. It won the Kate O'Brien Prize and was shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards in the Newcomer of the Year category. She is programme chair of Writing + Literature at Atlantic Technological University and edits The Cormorant, a broadsheet of poetry and prose. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/

The August Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with Professor Frank Shovlin about The Barracks by John McGahern. “This bleak, unrelenting novel portrays a woman in the Irish midlands who has married a policeman and become a surrogate mother to his children in the time after his first wife's death. Elizabeth, too, is facing her own death. Her character is drawn with great sympathy. The most intimate moments are handled with piercing sensitivity and truthfulness.” Colm Tóibín John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934 and raised in Leitrim and Roscommon. A graduate of UCD, he worked as a primary school teacher and held various academic posts at universities in Britain, Ireland and America. He is the author of six novels and four collections of short stories. His novels included The Barracks (1963); The Dark (1965); The Leavetaking (1975), The Pornographer (1980), Amongst Women (1990) and That They May Face the Rising Sun (2001). He published his much acclaimed Memoir in 2005. His short story collections were Nightlines (1970); and High Ground (1985) which were published as The Collected Stories (1992). He also wrote plays for radio, television and theatre. He received many awards, including the Æ Award (1962); the Macaulay Fellowship (1964); Chevalier d'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1989); The Irish Times/Aer Lingus Literary Award (1990); the GPA Award (1992); and the Prix Étranger Ecureuil (1994). He was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1990 for Amongst Women. His work has been translated into many languages. On his death in 2006, he was acclaimed as ‘the most important Irish novelist since Samuel Beckett' by The Guardian. Frank Shovlin was born and raised in the West of Ireland, and was educated at University College Galway and at the University of Oxford. He has taught at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Irish Studies since 2000 and is the author of several books, articles and chapters on various aspects of Irish literature since 1900. His most recent book was an edited volume of John McGahern's letters, released by Faber to critical acclaim in 2021. He is currently writing McGahern's authorized biography under contract at Faber. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

The July Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Naoise Dolan about her novel Exciting Times. “This novel is a tour-de-force work about exile and the world of expats in Hong Kong. Seeking accommodation, looking for love, teaching English as a foreign language, dealing with foreigners, being Irish, calling home, are all dramatized with wit and emotional accuracy and a refusal to settle for easy narrative solutions.” Colm Tóibín, Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

The June Art of Reading book club features Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín in conversation with writer Sinéad Gleeson and writer and granddaughter of Mary Lavin, Alice Ryan, to discuss Lavin's short story, In the Middle of the Fields, from the collection of the same name. Read more about the Laureate for Irish Fiction programme here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction-2022-2024/

In this special Bloomsday conversation with Carolina P. Amador-Moreno, Nuala O'Connor discusses the research for her novel Nora (2021); her rewritings of Joyce's letters; her search for Nora Barnacle's voice; the difficulty of finding a balance between the flavour and authenticity of a language and just too many convoluted constructions; the beauty of Irish prose and how it is perceived in the US; and the language of her childhood and how she co-opts it in her fiction as a way to honour that language and her parents. Nuala O'Connor also reads a short excerpt from her novel Nora and introduces us to her new project about a historic maverick woman from Cork. 

Colm Tóibín, Author

Here Goes Nothing is the last in what Steve Toltz calls his trilogy of fear which began with A Fraction of the Whole. This latest book is narrated by a ghost who discovers there is an afterlife hierarchy and he is at the bottom. Also, Irish writer Audrey Magee on her second novel The Colony which is colonisation in microcosm and Toni Jordan's sixth novel, Dinner with the Schnabels, billed as a family dramedy.

Here Goes Nothing is the last in what Steve Toltz calls his trilogy of fear which began with A Fraction of the Whole. This latest book is narrated by a ghost who discovers there is an afterlife hierarchy and he is at the bottom. Also, Irish writer Audrey Magee on her second novel The Colony which is colonisation in microcosm and Toni Jordan's sixth novel, Dinner with the Schnabels, billed as a family dramedy.

This is an ingeniously told story, narrated by an actual book, a novel by the Austrian writer Joseph Roth, offering an account of its picaresque travels to America and back to Europe, while in the background we learn of the life of Joseph Roth himself and the dark times he lived in.” Colm Tóibín, Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024

Colm Tóibín, author and the new laureate for Irish fiction joined Sean on the show today...

Welcome to The Art of Reading, a monthly book club hosted by Colm Tóibín, the Laureate for Irish Fiction, and shared on the last Thursday of every month. The first Art of Reading book club features Colm in conversation with Claire Keegan about her latest work ‘Small Things Like These'. Each month our Laureate will discuss a novel by an Irish writer, highlighting outstanding Irish writing and celebrating the reader and book clubs. The selected titles will include new work by contemporary Irish writers as well as novels from the past that the Laureate wishes to bring to a new generation of readers. To see the list of Colm's selected books for 2022 and to read ahead, download the Art of Reading book club pamphlet from the webpage here: https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Literature/Laureate-for-Irish-Fiction/The-Art-of-Reading-Book-Club/ Readers, book lovers and book clubs everywhere are invited to join in the Art of Reading with the Laureate, to read these outstanding books and to engage in reading in a deep and focused way.

We celebrate 100 years since the publication of Joyce's Ulysses with Nuala O'Connor ('Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce'), Mary Costello ('The River Capture'), John Patrick McHugh ('Reading Ulysses'), Colm Tóibín (Laureate for Irish Fiction), Terence Killeen ('Ulysses Unbound') and Catherine Flynn ( 'The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses')

Kicking off the New Year right, by interviewing one of my favourite living writers.  John Connolly is the author of the bestselling Charlie Parker series, a 19 book odyssey that takes us from the Maine coast to the darkest corners of the USA (and elsewhere), in the process, transmuting hardboiled detective noir into cosmic horror.After two decades of reading about Parker, you can be sure I have plenty to ask John – about writing American horror as an Irishman, Maine's hostile spaces, the thrilling allure of literary violence, and whether he has an end in sight.But John is also here to talk about a whole other beast. Shadow Voices: 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction is his mammoth attempt to map the contours of his native literature, and expose the snobbery that has suppressed it. We talk a lot about how genre works (and doesn't work), and how Irish fiction is at the very bedrock of this horror thing we all love.I'm a fanboy this week, no point denying it. I just did my best not to embarrass myself – especially as we were both enjoying a festive drink!Enjoy!!Shadow Voices: 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction was published October 2021 by Hodder and Stoughton. Other books mentioned in this episode include:Every Dead Thing (1999), by John Connolly – the first Charlie Parker book.Dark Matter (2010), by Michelle PaverAll the White Spaces (2022), by Ally WilkesThe Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories (2020), by Sinéad GleesonAmerican Gods (2001), by Neil GaimanThe Godwulf Manuscript (1973), by Robert B. Parker (first appearance of Spenser)Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPodCome talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/talkingscaredpod)

This week I bring you a ghost story, as befitting the season. Though it's a little more lurid than Charles Dickens would have liked.The guest is A.J. West;   the book is The Spirit Engineer. It's one of my very favourites of 2021. Set in Belfast between the sinking of the Titanic and the outbreak of war, it's a tale of science and the supernatural. Of William Crawford, a man who wants proof of the beyond, and will risk everything to grasp it. It's actually based on real people and events, which I didn't know, and still find incredible.A.J and I talk about spiritualism and deceit, about the links between sex and seances, and about the rare appearance of a truly unlikeable male protagonist. We disagree a little, AJ thinks William's he's an antihero, I think he's an asshole, but that doesn't change the fact that he is the standout character of the year for me.I hope you get chance to pour a drink, pull up a chair, and read this book over Christmas. Enjoy  You can read more about the story behind The Spirit Engineer on A.J's website, ajwestauthor.comSupport Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPodCome talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/talkingscaredpod)

Sebastian Barry gives his final lecture as Laureate for Irish Fiction. Introduction by Arts Council Chair, Kevin Rafter.

We kick off the episode by discussing the Irish language and some real Irish fiction. We discuss the legendary Irish writer Máirtín Ó Cadhain and his most famous novel, "Cré na Cille" or "The Graveyard Clay" as it's known in English. The focus of the episode, though, is on the ten best Samurai novels. We also talk a bit about classic samurai movies, some Japanese history, the Japanese language, and the most famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi.  Caleb ends the episode by going on an epic rant against ads. Specifically, a certain insurance company that constantly ruins his YouTube video binges.  You can check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com You can follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like us on Facebook @drunkenpenwriting

Sebastian Barry

New & Notable Books brings you book recommendations from Rhode Island Librarians. Listen to new reviews every week, and find something wonderful to read. The Best of Modern Irish Fiction with Mary Anne • Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic by Colum McCann • The Sea and Snow by John Banville • The Gathering and Actress by Anne Enright • Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and Love by Roddy Doyle • Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and Grown Ups by Marian Keyes • Room and The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue • Light a Penny Candle and A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy • The Devil I Know by Claire Kilroy • In the Woods and The Trespasser by Tana French --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rhodyradio/message

Ruth Barton and Donald Clarke review films, Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of the FBI-backed treachery within the Black Panthers in the late 60s, Jenn Gannon reviews the Flight Attendant on Sky One, Paul McVeigh, Emma Donoghue and Neil Hegarty have come together as editor and contributors to Queer Love: An Anthology of Irish Fiction.

On 9 September at the Gate Theatre Dublin, Laureate for Irish Fiction Sebastian Barry delivered his first annual lecture entitled The Lives of the Saints. Speaking about the lecture, Sebastian Barry said, “In forty years of writing and living, inevitably and often by mere accident, a writer encounters other writers. This lecture is an account of some of the singular individuals met in this way over the years, many no longer with us, but who hold strong places in memory, and constitute a kind of private reference for how to endure as a writer and indeed how to write.” Sebastian Barry is the second Laureate for Irish Fiction and was awarded the honour by the Arts Council in early 2018. The Laureate for Irish Fiction promotes Irish literature nationally and internationally and encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction has been developed by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and is supported by University College Dublin (UCD) and New York University (NYU).

In late 1994 Donal McCann undertook to play the lead in The Steward of Christendom. The second Laureate lecture, called Still Life, with Donal is Sebastian Barry's account of the extraordinary experience of working with such a unique, challenging and veritably nuclear actor and human being. Barry's first Laureate for Irish Fiction Lecture The Lives of Saints was delivered in Dublin in autumn 2018. It reflected on the people and writers who supported him along his writing journey, including his aunt Annie, Val Mulkerns, Benedict Kiely, Michael Hartnett, Leland Bardwell, Tom Murphy and Harold Pinter. Sebastian Barry is the second Laureate for Irish Fiction and was awarded the honour by the Arts Council in early 2018. The Laureate for Irish Fiction promotes Irish literature nationally and internationally and encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction has been developed by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and is supported by University College Dublin (UCD) and New York University (NYU).

Anne Enright delivered her first US lecture as Laureate for Irish Fiction at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House as part of the Laureate programme in April 2016. Speaking prior to the lecture, Enright said, “When I flew to New York in February 2000 I thought my life could not get better: I was pregnant, I was bringing the proofs for my first New Yorker story in my bag, and I met Seamus Heaney on the plane. The next day I went to the offices of the magazine and paused in the ladies room to remember Maeve Brennan, and to consider the rumour that she lived for a while in the washroom of the old offices on West 43rd St. I have always been interested in what drives a writer mad. It was natural for me to think about Brennan while I was living in the city this year. I wanted to put her on the streets of New York, to write about place - but of course I wrote about madness instead. What is the difference between imagination and psychosis? And what made it impossible for Maeve Brennan, an Irish woman abroad, to be herself?” Anne Enright was the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction promotes Irish literature nationally and internationally and encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction has been developed by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and is supported by University College Dublin (UCD) and New York University (NYU).

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University. Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin, where he works and lives. He is one of Ireland's most successful and prolific writers. His first three novels, the Barrystown Trilogy - The Commitments (1987), The Snapper (1990), and The Van (1991), narrate the adventures of the Rabbitte family, residents of a poor housing estate in north Dublin. He won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1993 for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (1996) is the tragic story of Paula Spencer. Doyle revisits Spencer's life in his 2006 novel Paula Spencer. A Star Called Henry written in 1999 is set during the civil war in Ireland and Rory & Ita (2002) tells the story of his parents' lives. His most recent books include The Dead Republic (2010); Two Pints (2012); The Guts (2013); Two More Pints (2014); Dead Man Talking (2015); and Smile (2017). Doyle is also the author of two plays, a short story collection and many children's books.

Award-winning short story author Danielle McLaughlin is Sebastian Barry's guest this week on What the Hell/Heaven Are We Doing? This video series features the Laureate for Irish Fiction in conversation with a selection of fellow writers as they probe the mysteries of the writing craft and ask: What is writing? What is its purpose beyond pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? In this conversation Danielle and Sebastian discuss obsession, anxiety, the lost knowledge of the Irish language, and more.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Gavin Corbett was born in Co. Galway and grew up in Dublin, where he studied History at Trinity College. He has written three novels: Innocence (2003); This is the Way (2013), which won the 2013 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year award and was shortlisted for the Encore Prize, and most recently Green Glowing Skull (2015), ‘in which heads explode, people return from the dead, fish talk, pantomime cows are severed in two, and in which the reader will encounter page after page of unforgettable prose', according to The Guardian. He has been Arts Council writer-in-residence at both Trinity College Dublin and UCD, and currently teaches on the Creative Writing programme at UCD. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

Welcome back to What the Hell/Heaven Are We Doing?, the series where the Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, asks big questions of fellow writers about the nature of their shared craft. What is the purpose of writing? Find out what author Tom Kilroy thinks in this episode. Thomas Kilroy was born in Callan, Co Kilkenny in 1934. He served as play editor at the Abbey in 1977 and was appointed Director of Field Day Theatre Company in 1988. Kilroy was Professor of English at UCG and has published a number of academic essays and studies. In 1989, he resigned his professorship, to concentrate fully on writing. His many awards include the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Heinemann Award for Literature, the AIB Literary Prize and an Irish PEN Award. Thomas Kilroy is a member of the Royal Society of Literature, the Irish Academy of Letters and Aosdána. He was honoured with a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the ESB/Irish Times Theatre Awards in 2004. He lives in County Mayo. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking big questions about the nature of writing itself. What is its purpose? What should we make of its mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. He is one of Ireland's most acclaimed and prolific writers. He has worked as a journalist, critic, essayist, academic and novelist. He established his journalism credentials in the 1980s as editor of the groundbreaking Magill magazine. He is the author of eight novels, several essay and short story collections, poetry, multiple non-fiction works, and plays. Tóibín published his first novel, The South, in 1990, before following it up with The Heather Blazing (1992), The Story of the Night (1996), and The Blackwater Lightship (1999). His fifth novel, The Master (2004), a fictional account of elements of Henry James, was nominated for a Man Booker Prize and won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He won the Costa Award in 2009 for his novel Brooklyn, which was later adapted into a successful film. His book, The Testament of Mary (2012) was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His most recent novel, House of Names (2017) retells the Greek tragedy of the house of Atreus. Tóibín has been visiting professor at Stanford Unversity, the University of Texas, and Princeton University. He is a member of Aosdána. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Claire-Louise Bennett grew up in Wiltshire and went on to study Literature and Drama at the University of Roehampton in London, before settling in Galway. She has had her essays and short fiction published in a number of publications including The Irish Times, The White Review, The Penny Dreadful and Gorse. In 2013, she was awarded the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize. With Pond, she presents her first collection of short stories. She has also received bursaries from the Irish Arts Council and Galway City Council. Her debut book, Pond, a collection of short stories, was published by The Stinging Fly (Ireland) and Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK) in 2015, and was published by Riverhead (US) in 2016. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing? What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? In the latest conversation, he speaks with Louise O'Neill. Louise O'Neill was born in West Cork, where she lives and works. Her first novel, Only Ever Yours, was published in 2014 is a satire about society's obsession with how women look and behave. It won several awards including the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2014. Her second novel, Asking For it (2015) is a heart-breaking account of a rape and its aftermath in a close-knit Irish community. It was voted Book of the Year at the Irish Books Awards 2015 and spent 52 weeks in the Irish top 10 bestseller list. O' Neill's first novel for adults, Almost Love, was published in March 2018. The Surface Breaks, her feminist re-imagining of The Little Mermaid, followed in May 2018.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Yan Ge was born in Sichuan in the People's Republic of China, and currently lives in Dublin. She is the author of thirteen books, including six novels. She has received numerous awards, including the Maodun Literature Prize (Best Young Writer). She was named by People's Literature magazine as one of twenty future literature masters in China. Her work has been translated into English, French and German, among other languages. The English translation of her latest novel The Chilli Bean Paste Clan was published in 2018 (Balestier Press) and won a PEN Translates award. Another novel, The Strange Beasts of China, is coming out in 2020 (Tilted Axis Press). She was on the judging panel of the International Dublin Literary Award 2019 The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Liz Nugent was born in Dublin, where she lives and works. Before becoming a full-time writer she worked in Irish film, theatre and television. In 2006, her first short story for adults, Alice, was shortlisted for the Francis McManus Short Story Prize. Her three novels - Unravelling Oliver, Lying in Wait and Skin Deep have each been Number One bestsellers in Ireland and have won four Irish Book Awards. Her work has been translated into seven languages. Skin Deep has also been long listed for the International Dublin Literature Prize 2020. Liz has been awarded numerous bursaries and residencies including the Ireland Funds Monaco bursary and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking big questions about the nature of writing itself. Kevin is a multiple award-winning writer whose most recent book, Night Boat to Tangier, was published in 2019. Here, he sits down with Sebastian via video chat to puzzle out some of the deeper questions about the art of writing, including the influence of early family life on one's writing, lyricism in prose, and how and why a writer should have a good self-care routine.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Sara Baume was born in Yorkshire. She won the 2014 Davy Byrne's Short Story Award, and in 2015, the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award, the Rooney Prize for Literature and an Irish Book Award for Best Newcomer. Her debut novel, Spill Simmer Falter Wither was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the Warwick Prize for Writing, the Desmond Elliott Prize for New Fiction and the International Dublin Literary Award. It was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Kate O'Brien Award. Her short fiction and criticism have been published in anthologies, newspapers and journals such as the Irish Times, the Guardian, Stinging Fly and Granta magazine. In autumn 2015, she was a participant in the International Writing Program run by the University of Iowa and received a Literary Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She lives in West Cork. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Claire Kilroy was born in Dublin, where she lives and works. She has written four novels, All Summer, Tenderwire, All Names Have Been Changed and The Devil I Know, which was described by The Guardian as “a satiric danse macabre of brio and linguistic virtuosity,” and by the New York Times as “savagely comic... and great fun.” Claire has been shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year three times, and was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2004. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

In this series, the Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry sits down with some of his favourite writers to ask: What the Hell/Heaven Are We Doing? His on-going conversation about the mysteries of writing and the intricacies of the craft continues this week with award-winning Irish novelist Eimear McBride. In this conversation, Eimear and Sebastian discuss the limits of language, what "home" feels like, misogyny, chaos and much more. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Rob Doyle was born in Dublin. His widely acclaimed first novel, Here Are the Young Men, was published in 2014. It was chosen as a book of the year by the Irish Times, Independent, Sunday Times and Sunday Business Post. His second book This is the Ritual was published in January 2016 and was a book of the year in the New Statesman, Sunday Times and Irish Times. His fiction, essays, and criticism have been published in many newspapers and journals. He is editor of the Dalkey Archive's anthology, The Other Irish Tradition and editor and co-author of In This Skull Hotel Where I Never Sleep. Rob currently lives in Berlin. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Paul Lynch was born in Limerick and grew up in Co Donegal. His debut novel Red Sky in Morning was published to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic in 2013. He has since published two novels The Black Snow in 2014 and Grace in 2017. He has won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and the French booksellers' prize Prix Libr'à Nous for Best Foreign Novel. Paul lives and works in Dublin. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Mia Gallagher was born in Dublin, where she lives and works. Her debut novel, HellFire, received the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Literature Award in 2007, while her award-winning short fiction has been widely published and anthologised. Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland is her second novel and Shift is her first short-story collection. Mia has received several Literature Bursaries from the Arts Council of Ireland and has enjoyed the role of writer-in-residence in many different environments, both at home and abroad. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of brief conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. Melatu Uche Okorie was born in Nigeria and moved to Ireland in 2006. It was during her eight and a half years living in the direct provision system that she began to write. This Hostel Life is her first book and she's had works published in numerous anthologies. In 2009, she won the Metro Éireann Writing Award for her story Gathering Thoughts. Melatu is currently studying for a PhD in Education at Trinity College, Dublin. She lives in North Dublin. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry's compelling series, What the Hell/Heaven Are We Doing? continues this week with a discussion about the nature of writing and the intricacies of the craft with prize-winning author Nicole Flattery. Sebastian and Nicole discuss topics as wide-ranging as inclusivity in the publishing industry, Irish storytelling vs. Irish silence, and learning how to understand oneself through the act of writing.

The Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry, hosts a series of conversations with fellow writers asking what is writing. What is its purpose and mystery beyond the pragmatic notions of academia and journalism? This series will form part of a visual archive highlighting the golden age of writing in Ireland. John Boyne was born in Dublin where he lives and works. He has published eleven novels for adults, five for young readers and a collection of short stories. Perhaps best known for his 2006 multi-award-winning book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which was a New York Times no.1 Bestseller, John has been a judge on many Irish and International literary award panels. He has won three Irish Book Awards and a number of international literary awards including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. He was inducted into the Hennessy Literary ‘Hall of Fame' in 2012. The Laureate for Irish Fiction is an initiative of the Arts Council in partnership with University College Dublin and New York University.

Laureate for Irish Fiction

Caoilinn Hughes' deep dive into the 2008 Irish financial crisis and Jock Serong's investigation of a 19th century shipwreck.

Caoilinn Hughes' deep dive into the 2008 Irish financial crisis and Jock Serong's investigation of a 19th century shipwreck.

Anne Enright's novel about the theatre, authors on writing the difficult second novel and Tommy Wieringa's obsession with small villages.

Rachel and Simon speak with the author Anne Enright. Anne has written two collections of stories, one book of non-fiction and six novels. “The Gathering”, which was published in 2007, won the Booker Prize; Anne has also received the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. In 2015 she was appointed the first Laureate for Irish Fiction and in 2018 she received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature. We spoke to Anne about creative writing programmes, her loathing of routine and writing “Actress” during the emergence of the #MeToo movement. penguin.co.uk/authors/1009089/anne-enright.html penguin.co.uk/books/1069718/the-gathering/9780099501633.html penguin.co.uk/books/1118568/actress/9781787332065.html You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Katy Lee. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

Anne Enright was born in Dublin, where she now lives and works. She has written two collections of stories, published together as Yesterday's Weather, one book of non-fiction, Making Babies, and six novels, including The Gathering, which won the 2007 Man Booker Prize, The Forgotten Waltz, The Green Road, and Actress. In 2015 she was appointed as the first Laureate for Irish Fiction, and in 2018 she received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill welcomes celebrated Irish Novelist Anne Enright to the show. Anne has published three volumes of stories, one book of nonfiction, and several novels. In 2015, she was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Her novel The Gathering won the Man Booker Prize, and The Forgotten Waltz won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her latest novel is Actress. This show was prerecorded. Enjoy!

This week, we've been meeting the writer, director and stars of the acclaimed On Blueberry Hill, which is finally coming to the West End after three years in Ireland and the USA for a limited run at London's Trafalgar Studios until May 2nd.On Blueberry Hill is Sebastian Barry's first new play in 10 years. He is one of Ireland's greatest living writers and the current Laureate of Irish Fiction. Born in Dublin in 1955 his novels and plays have won, among other awards, the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, the Costa Book of the Year award, the Irish Book Awards Best Novel, the Independent Booksellers Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He also had two consecutive novels, A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008), shortlisted for the MAN Booker Prize.Thomas met up with Sebastian, Director Jim Culleton, and stars Niall Buggy and David Ganly (alongside fan of the play Gemma Arterton) at a press evening to find out more.Ticket details:Performances: Monday – Saturday at 7:30pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pmTicket prices: From £15To book tickets please visit: onblueberryhill.co.ukWelcome to Up The Arts, a weekly podcast for those proud to be be involved in theatre, music, art and literature in the LGBTQ+ world! Every Thursday, we meet incredible people from the arts world and explore their creativity and inspiration, as well as providing a peek at upcoming events in which pride and the arts world collide!Find us on Twitter: @uptheartsshowAnd check out our website for news, reviews, what's on and more: www.uptheartspodcast.com

Anne Enright won the Booker Prize for her fourth novel, The Gathering, in 2007, and was appointed the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction in 2015. She has written seven novels, two collections of short stories and a book of essays about motherhood and her work has been widely translated. Born in Dublin in 1962, Anne is the youngest of five children. She was a voracious reader from an early age, finishing every children's book at her local library. When she was 16, she won a scholarship to study at a school in Canada, and then returned to Ireland for a degree in English and Philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin. After taking an MA in Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, with teaching from Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury, she worked for six years as a TV producer for the Irish broadcaster RTE. When her TV work left her feeling burned out, she began her writing career in earnest. Her book of short stories, The Portable Virgin, won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1991, and she published her first novel, The Wig My Father Wore, in 1995. Her latest novel, The Actress, is published in February 2020. She is also now a Professor at University College Dublin and teaches creative writing. She met her theatre director husband, Martin Murphy, at university and they have two children. DISC ONE: Brahms Intermezzos: Op. 117, No.1 by Glenn Gould DISC TWO: Jersey Girl by Tom Waits DISC THREE: A Case Of You by Joni Mitchell DISC FOUR: Then You’ll Remember Me by Dé Danann DISC FIVE: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash DISC SIX: Hiawatha by Laurie Anderson DISC SEVEN: Tower of Song by Leonard Cohen DISC EIGHT: Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, composed by Mozart, conducted by Karl Böhm, performed by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Walter Berry, Christa Ludwig and Philharmonia Orchestra. BOOK CHOICE: 'In Search of Lost Time’ by Marcel Proust LUXURY ITEM: High thread-count cotton sheets CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, composed by Mozart Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Cathy Drysdale

In Sebastian Barry's inaugural speech as Laureate for Irish Fiction earlier this year, he stated that Ireland was in a 'golden age of prose'. As Northern Irish writer Anna Burns scooped the Man Booker Prize for her novel Milkman last month, Front Row hears voices from the No Alibis bookstore in Belfast. We speak to former Irish Laureate and Booker Prize winner Anne Enright; Professor of Irish History and Literature, Roy Foster; award-winning, Belfast-born writer Lucy Caldwell; and writer, editor and journalist Sinead Gleeson. They discuss the renaissance in Irish writing, its roots in Irish storytelling and love of language, and how the border - now at the heart of the Brexit debate - is being written about by a new generation of writers, north and south.And Front Row exclusively announces the winner of this year's Hepworth Sculpture Prize, hearing live from the victor and from the Chief Curator of The Hepworth Wakefield, Andrew Bonacina. This year's shortlist includes Mona Hatoum, Michael Dean, Phillip Lai, Magali Reus, and Cerith Wyn Evans.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Sarah Johnson

Margaret Kelleher is Professor and Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College Dublin. Her books include The Feminization of Famine (published by Duke UP and Cork UP, 1997), The Cambridge History of Irish Literature (2006), co-edited with Philip O'Leary, and Ireland and Quebec: Interdisciplinary Essays on History, Culture and Society (Four Courts Press, 2016), co-edited with Michael Kenneally. She has recently completed a monograph entitled Language, Life and Death: Myles Joyce, James Joyce and the Maamtrasna Murders and was guest editor, with Nicholas Wolf, of Éire-Ireland's special issue on "Ireland and the Contemporary" (Spring/Summer 2017). She has developed a number of digital humanities projects, including the Electronic Version of the Loeber Guide to Irish Fiction and the Digital Platform for Contemporary Irish Writing (http://www.contemporaryirishwriting.ie/)

17 May 2017 | Presented as part of the WORD Christchurch Autumn Season in association with Auckland Writers Festival We were delighted to close the Autumn Season with one of the most electrifying novelists writing in English today. Anne Enright, who won the Booker Prize in 2007 for The Gathering, writes about Irish families with great lyricism and black humour. In 2015 she became the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, a three-year appointment. Her latest novel, The Green Road (longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker), set in a small town on Ireland’s Atlantic coast and spanning 30 years, is a tale of family and fracture, compassion and selfishness – a shattering exploration of the gaps in the human heart and how we strive to fill them. Anne Enright appeared in conversation with Morrin Rout.

See http://www.president.ie/en/diary/details/president-attends-a-reception-to-announce-the-second-laureate-for-irish-fic

Why does this small, rocky island have such outsize influence on world literature? Who is following in the footsteps of James Joyce, Frank O'Connor, and Edna O'Brien? Meet three members of an exciting new generation of Irish fiction writers: the author of a short story collection about small-town Irish life, a novelist whose latest work is a satirical take on the Irish banking crisis, and a novelist who explores the mysteries of narrative itself in an unconventional mystery novel.

Rolf Loeber's paper from 2011 - 'Before and after the Guide to Irish Fiction' from 'The new scientists in Ireland - a tribute to the Loebers, in recognition of their extraordinary contribution to the study of Ireland's material, cultural and literary heritages.

Rolf Loeber's paper 'Before and after the Guide to Irish Fiction' from 'The new scientists in Ireland - a tribute to the Loebers, in recognition of their extraordinary contribution to the study of Ireland's material, cultural and literary heritages.