FROM INTERVIEWS WITH alleged murderers to biographies to memoirs, there’s a lot of really interesting non-fiction due out in 2023.

Here are some of the highlights, month by month.

January

• Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson

Headline 

1990s mega-celebrity Pamela Anderson writes her own story, from how she was discovered as a teenager and became a Playboy covergirl, to creating her own career and dealing with the glare of the media.

February 

• A Woman in Defence: A Soldier’s Story of the Enemy Within the Irish Army by Karina Molloy

Hachette Ireland

Former soldier Karina Molloy gained many firsts during her 31-year career in the Irish Defence Forces – like being the first female to get promoted to Senior Non-
Commissioned Officer (NCO) rank. But despite her pioneering career, she has faced many setbacks, including sexual harassment, assault and routine bullying. She tells her story of determination and resilience in this book.  

• The Power of Connection: Change your relationships, transform your life by Dr Harry Barry

Orion Spring

Dr Harry Barry draws on his decades of experience as a doctor to show how we can improve our emotional connections and transform our mental wellbeing. It looks at 
how to improve our skills of emotional connection and help people feel less lonely, and experience deeper friendships and personal relationships.

• Running feet, sharp noses: Essays on the animal world 

Paper Visual Art

From a singular independent publisher, this book is a collection of essays on the animal world, and how animals “affect our sense of self, our memories, our actions”. Includes contributions by Latifa Akay, Sara Baume, John Berger, June Caldwell, Niamh Campbell, Vona Groarke, Edward Hoagland, Sabrina Mandanici, Darragh McCausland, Tim MacGabhann, Honor Moore, Eileen Myles, Stephen Sexton, Jessica Traynor, Erica Van Horn, and Suzanne Walsh.

March 

• Wild Embrace: Connecting with the Wonder of Ireland’s Natural World by Anja Murray

Hachette Books 

It’s a tough time, especially given the climate change issues that abound. In this book, ecologist, broadcaster and nature enthusiast Anja Murray offers a gentle and effective antidote to eco-overwhelm, by focusing on the unseen wonders of Ireland’s natural world. 

• No Better Boy: Listening to Paddy Canny by Helen O’Shea

Lilliput Press

This book tells the story of legendary East Clare fiddler Paddy Canny, as well as taking in rural life in mid-twentieth-century Ireland.

• Perils & Prospects of a United Ireland by Padraig O’Malley

Lilliput Press

Padraig O’Malley is an Irish international peacemaker, author, and professor. In this book he looks at questions around the future of Northern Irish politics, including the idea of reunification. It includes interviews from 97 political players, academics, political influencers, a cross-section of the political grandees who negotiated the B/GFA and faith leaders between February 2020 and June 2021. 

April

• Glow by Georgie Crawford

Hachette Books 

Georgie Crawford received the news in 2017 that she had cancer, which led to major changes in her life an career. In this book the podcaster tells her story and and looks at how we can connect to a deeper sense of wellbeing and happiness. 

May

• Perfectly Imperfect by Ellen Keane

Gill Books

Paralympic champion and Dancing With the Stars finalist Ellen Keane writes about life with a limb difference and how she went form a shy young girl to a strong, confident woman.

• Every Choice Matters: Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook by Frances Haugen

Hodder & Stoughton

Frances Haugen was the Facebook whistleblower, who released files gathered in her time working for the company. She went on to testify before US Congress and do countless interviews. This book covers her route to making this decision and how she made the life and career choices she did.

• A Life in Medicine: From Aesculapius to Beckett by Eoin O’Brien

Lilliput Press

Eoin O’Brien is renowned cardiologist and clinical scientist who writes here about his life in medicine and literature. He writes about his training in medicine in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin and in its teaching hospitals, as well as how interest in literature led him to become friends with people including Nevill Johnson, Samuel Beckett, Con Leventhal, Edith Fourneir, Brian O’Doherty and Niall Sheridan.  

• Wild Waters by Richard Nairn

Gill Books

Nairn has previously written about Wild Woods and Wild Shores, and in this book turns his eye to the Ireland’s rivers and lakes. The ecologist and writer mixes nature writing, history and personal experience as he explores this side of the country.

June 

• Is Ireland Neutral – Conor Gallagher

Gill Books

Conor Gallagher, the crime correspondent at the Irish Times, examines neutrality in Ireland and the practical and ethical implications of choosing a ‘side ‘. Set to be a hugely topical publication.

• I Will Be Good: A Dublin Memoir by Peig McManus

Hachette Books Ireland

Peig McManus writes about her 1940s Dublin childhood, living in tenements, under the shadow of the Second World War. The book looks at how her community’s way of life was shattered when the slums were cleared to make way for a new life for the people of the inner city. Peig went on to become one of Ireland’s foremost campaigners for educational reform. 

July

• A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell 

Granta

O’Connell’s latest will be the first full length book to be published on Malcolm Mcarthur’s life and crimes. He was involved in the 1982 ‘GUBU’ murders after he decided rob a bank when he ran out of money – but in the process of securing a gun and a car he killed two people. His eventual arrest in the apartment of Ireland’s Attorney General nearly brought down the government. Mark O’Connell set out to unravel the story, and tracked down Macarthur, interviewing him about what happened – only to have to face his own set of questions about what he was doing. 

October

•  Black and Irish: Celebrating Black Irish Legends, Trailblazers and Everyday Heroes

Little Island Books

Published to mark Ireland’s Black History Month in October 2023, this book from the Black and Irish team will cover historic and current figures from the worlds of the arts, sport, business, politics and social activism, as well as celebrating lesser known figures making a difference in Irish communities today.