Vicky Phelan, winner of the RTÉ Radio 1 Listeners’ Choice Award for Overcoming Patrick Bolger Patrick Bolger

VICKY PHELAN AND Andrea Corr were among the winning authors at last night’s Irish Book Awards, with Joe Duffy and Freya McClements winning the TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year.

This year’s An Post Irish Book Awards ceremony took placed at the Convention Centre in Dublin. 

A host of Ireland’s leading writers, publishers, booksellers and media personalities were in attendance. 

Acclaimed Irish author and journalist Colm Tóibín received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the central position he has occupied in the cultural life of Ireland for over three decades, with works including Brooklyn, The Master and The Testament of Mary.

Below is the full list of winners for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2019:

RTÉ Radio 1 Listeners’ Choice Award

• Overcoming – Vicky Phelan with Naomi Linehan (Hachette Books) – Championed by Ray D’Arcy

Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year

• Recovering – Richie Sadlier with Dion Fanning (Gill Books)

Avoca Cookbook of the Year

• Cornucopia: The Green Cookbook – Tony Keogh, Aoife Carrigy, the Chefs of Cornucopia, Deirdre and Dairine McCafferty (Gill Books)

Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year

• Cruel Acts – Jane Casey (HarperFiction)

Bookselling Ireland Non-Fiction Book of the Year

• Constellations – Sinéad Gleeson (Picador)

TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year

• Children of the Troubles – Joe Duffy and Freya McClements (Hachette Books Ireland)

Love Leabhar Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year

• Tairngreacht – Proinsias Mac a’Bhaird (LeabhairComhar)

Dept51@Eason Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year

• Other Words for Smoke – Sarah Maria Griffin (Titan Books)

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Senior

• Shooting for the Stars – My Journey to Become Ireland’s First Astronaut – Norah Patten, illustrated by Jennifer Farley (The O’Brien Press)

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Junior

• 123 Ireland! – Aoife Dooley (Little Island Books)

Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year

• When All is Said – Anne Griffin (Hodder & Stoughton)

National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year

• Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (Gill Books)

Listowel Writers’ Week Irish Poem of the Year

• Salt Rain – Audrey Molloy (Mslexia, September 2019)

Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Award

• Parrot – Nicole Flattery (The Stinging Fly, Issue 39, Volume 2, Winter 2018-19)

Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year

• Barefoot Pilgrimage – Andrea Corr (HarperNonFiction)

Eason Novel of the Year

• Shadowplay – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)

Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, winners of the National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year for Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling Patrick Bolger Patrick Bolger

Commenting on this year’s winners, chairperson of An Post Irish Book Awards, Maria Dickinson, said: “Every year the competition seems to get fiercer, and the bar raised even higher – and this year is no exception, as the quality of the award winners demonstrates. 

“Many of our winning authors reflect on contemporary or historical issues within Irish society, while other amuse, inspire and enthral through fantastic storytelling. Both the winning authors and all our shortlisted titles are a terrific testament to the strength and vitality of Irish writing – and long may this continue.” 

This year, over 115,000 votes were cast by the public to select the winners in each category. Readers are now being asked to vote for their overall An Post Irish Book of the Year here. 

The winners will be announced in January. 

Previous winners include Emilie Pine for Notes to Self, John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil, Mike Murphy and John Borgonovo for Atlas of the Irish Revolution, Mike McCormack for Solar Bones, Louise O’Neill for Asking For It, Mary Costello for Academy St, Donal Ryan for The Spinning Heart, Michael Harding for Staring at Lakes, and Belinda McKeon for Solace.

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