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Friday 24 March 2023 Dublin: 12°C

# Novel

Last year
2022
# the coroner's daughter
A mystery novel set during 1816 chosen as the 2023 One Dublin One Book
The Coroner’s Daughter is a novel about a nursemaid who conceals her pregnancy and murders her newborn.
# idol
Louise O'Neill: 'Be an influencer? I couldn't think of a job I'd dislike more'
In her sixth novel, the West Cork writer brings us the story of wellness guru and influencer Samantha Miller, whose perfectly curated life is shattered by a friend’s allegation.
All time
# casting
Cast for TV series of Sally Rooney's novel Conversations With Friends announced
The series is hoped to follow in the footsteps of smash hit Normal People, which was aired in 2020.
# Shortlist
One Irish author on shortlist for €100k International Dublin Literary award
Three of the shortlisted novels are in translation.
Voices
Extract: 'Millennials, they call them. Oh, I’m so offended at this, that and the other thing'
Catch up with what Ann Devine is up to in the latest novel from Colm O’Regan.
# sally rooney
Quiz: How well do you know the Normal People book?
Be warned, there are spoilers for the book and TV show in this quiz.
# a thousand moons
Sebastian Barry on his acclaimed new book: 'If I was wise I'd probably have done something else... but I'm not a wise man'
We speak to the Irish author and Laureate for Literature about his new novel, set in 1870s USA.
# heather morris
'I'm honouring her and other women who were abused': Tattooist of Auschwitz author returns with Cilka's story
We spoke to the best-selling New Zealand author during her recent trip to Ireland.
# omgwaca
'I really hope this becomes an annual thing': Aislings queue up at Eason to mark Aisling Day
Book three in the Oh My God What A Complete Aisling series came out today.
# colm o'regan
Meet Ann Devine - the Irish mammy to beat all Irish mammies
We talked live to Colm O’Regan about his debut novel, Ann Devine: Ready For Her Closeup.
# what a complete aisling
'We never expected it': How the OMGWACA authors dealt with becoming a phenomenon
We talked to authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen about the book’s incredible success.
# turned off
Bad Sex Award 2017: Here's the worst example of writing about sex this year
The Bad Sex in Fiction Award goes to an outstandingly bad sex scene description in an otherwise good novel.
# whitby
How a former Riverdance star is turning Dracula into a mysterious stranger
A new play premiering next week ignores the usual Dracula tropes, making the story even more eerie.
# congrats are in order
Two Irish writers have been longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize
Mike McCormack and Sebastian Barry are two of the 13 writers who made the longlist.
# hennessy awards
'Crouched Burial': An award-winning poem before bedtime
A poem from this year’s Hennessy Awards Winner for Emerging Poetry, Una Mannion.
# days without end
'It was such a shock, I no longer feel 61 but 22 again': Barry's delight at scooping major book award
Barry won the Costa Book of the Year award for Days Without End last night.
# solar bones
This author's one-sentence novel is the best Irish book of 2016
It has been a massive year for Mike McCormack, and his publishers Tramp Press.
# Changes
Ronnie O'Sullivan: I could be the new JK Rowling!
The snooker star compared himself to Harry Potter author while promoting his new novel.
# sky warriors
How an erotic sex scene may have ruined this Australian MP's career
Dennis Jensen lost his party’s nomination earlier this month.
# moviewatch
There's a big-screen version of chilling Irish novel inspired by crimes of Josef Fritzl
And it looks like it’s going to be pretty special.
# BGEIBA
Obsession, sex, weight and women - welcome to the world of Only Ever Yours
Louise O’Neill’s debut novel has been getting rave reviews.
# procrastination
The Internet is stopping the next great novel from being written
Lots of writers in a survey said they have used funny animal views to help them get through a creative block…
# it's only words
What does it take to translate a best-seller into another language?
We asked an award-winning author and his translator what it’s like to translate a best-seller from Spanish to English.
# Accomplished
The first Irish memoir written using eye-gaze technology has been published
The author, Simon Fitzmaurice, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2008.
# Congrats
Irish author Eimear McBride wins £30,000 Baileys Prize for her debut novel
She spent more than a decade trying to get it published – and now it’s won one of the biggest prizes in literature.
Voices
Extract: Colm McCann on Dublin, Ulysses and friendship
“The book that I return to, when I return to Ireland, is always Ulysses… Death takes away a lot of things, but it can’t ever take away our stories.”
# Robert Galbraith
JK Rowling 'angry' after her law firm admits leaking her alter ego
The Sunday Times newspaper revealed that the ‘Harry Potter’ author had penned the book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
# having the ride
Alan Shatter: Minister for Sex
The follow up to “Laura”?
Voices
Column: Here's why I decided to make a graphic novel about Jim Larkin
Jim Larkin is an iconic figure in Irish history, yet when I was in school the Lockout only received a minor mention on the history syllabus – we wanted to make him more accessible, says Rory McConville.
# Books
Author Iain Banks has late stage cancer, says he has less than a year to live
The Scottish novelist said that he did not expect to live beyond a year.
# Legend
'The Damned United' author agrees to write Bill Shankly novel
David Peace has chosen the story of Liverpool’s legendary manager for his next project.
# bestselling
Maeve Binchy’s final book tops Amazon’s pre-order list
Binchy’s long-term agent Christine Green said it was a bittersweet day because “we want to celebrate the book but we want her to be here too”.
# Pop quiz
Can you identify these Irish literary quotations?
Go on, give it a go…
# perfect opening line
Is this the worst possible opening sentence to a novel?
A US university has announced the winner of a contest to find the worst-possible opening sentence to a novel. Warning: it’s pretty bad.
# Work Can Wait
VIDEO: Is this what you imagined when you read The Great Gatsby?
The first trailer of Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation is out…
# James Joyce
Joyce copyright lifted from tomorrow
The copyright on the works of James Joyce expires on 1 January 2012 – meaning that for the first time, his published and unpublished writings will be in the public domain.
# Bookworm
David Cameron chooses Irish novel Skippy Dies as his summer read
The British Prime Minister has picked Paul Murray’s book to bring on holidays with him.
# Literature
Youngest ever winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction
Twenty-five-year-old Serbian-American Téa Obreht beat off competition from the favourite, Irish writer Emma Donoghue.