Irish Book Awards
Encyclopedia
The Irish Book Awards is an annual Irish literary award
given to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. First awarded in 2006, they grew out of the Hughes & Hughes bookstore's Irish Novel of the Year Prize which was inaugurated in 2000. Since 2007 the Awards have been an independent not-for-profit company funded by sponsorship. The primary sponsor is currently Bord Gáis
. There are currently nine categories, seven of which are judged by the Irish Literary Academy, two by a public vote. There is also a lifetime achievement award.
Literary award
A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...
given to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. First awarded in 2006, they grew out of the Hughes & Hughes bookstore's Irish Novel of the Year Prize which was inaugurated in 2000. Since 2007 the Awards have been an independent not-for-profit company funded by sponsorship. The primary sponsor is currently Bord Gáis
Bord Gáis
Bord Gáis Éireann , normally branded as Bord Gáis, is the main supplier and distributor of pipeline natural gas in the Republic of Ireland. The company has built an extensive network across Ireland. The company supplies gas to domestic and industrial customers on a fully regulated basis...
. There are currently nine categories, seven of which are judged by the Irish Literary Academy, two by a public vote. There is also a lifetime achievement award.
Current awards
- Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year
- The Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- The SpecsaversSpecsaversSpecsavers Optical Group Ltd is the biggest optical retailer in the UK and Ireland. It is also the biggest of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses, with Specsavers having a 39% share of the market...
Irish Children's Book of the Year - junior and senior categories - Sunday Independent Best Irish Newcomer of the Year
- The International Education Services Best Irish-Published Book of the Year
- The Irish Sports Book of the Year
- The John Murray ShowJohn Murray (broadcaster)John Murray is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. He currently presents The John Murray Show on RTÉ Radio 1, "focus[ing] on lifestyle and entertainment items", filling the slot from 09:00 to 10:00 previously occupied by Ryan Tubridy, who moved to RTÉ 2fm....
Listeners' Choice Award (voted for by the public) - The Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year (voted for by the public)
- Ireland AMIreland AMIreland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
Crime Fiction Book of the Year - Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in Irish Literature aka Lifetime Achievement in Literary Ireland Award
- Bord Gáis Energy Irish Bookshop of the Year Award (introduced 2011)
Irish Novel (Hughes & Hughes Award)
Inaugurated in 2000 by Hughes & Hughes, it ran until 2005 when it merged with the Irish Book Awards and became the Irish Novel category.- 2000:
- 2001:
- 2002:
- 2003: That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahernJohn McGahernJohn McGahern was one of the most important Irish authors of the latter half of the twentieth century. Before his death in 2006 he was hailed as "the greatest living Irish novelist" by The Observer.-Life:...
- 2004: Dancer by Colum McCannColum McCannColum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He is a Professor of Contemporary Literature at European Graduate School and Professor of Fiction at CUNY Hunter College's Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing with fellow novelists Peter Carey, twice winner of the Man Booker Prize,...
- 2005: Havoc in its Third Year by Ronan BennettRonan BennettRonan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family headed by William H. and Geraldine Bennett at 420 Merville Garden Village in the Whitehouse area of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its development in the late-1940s, Merville has...
2006
- Irish Novel: The SeaThe Sea (novel)- Plot summary:The story is told by Max Morden, a self-aware, retired art historian attempting to reconcile himself to the deaths of those whom he loved as a child and as an adult....
by John BanvilleJohn BanvilleJohn Banville is an Irish novelist and screenwriter.Banville's breakthrough novel The Book of Evidence was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Guinness Peat Aviation award. His eighteenth novel, The Sea, won the Man Booker Prize in 2005. He was awarded the Franz Kafka Prize in 2011... - Irish Non-Fiction Book: In the Dark Room by Brian Dillon
- Irish Children's Book: The New Policeman by Kate ThompsonKate Thompson (author)Kate Thompson is an award-winning writer for children and adults. Born in Halifax, Yorkshire, she has lived in Ireland, where many of her books are set, since 1981. She is the youngest child of the social historians and peace activists E. P. Thompson and Dorothy Towers...
2007
- Irish Novel: Winterwood by Patrick McCabe
- Irish Non-Fiction Book: Connemara: Listening to the Wind by Tim Robinson
- Irish Children's Book - junior: The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver JeffersOliver JeffersOliver Jeffers is an artist, illustrator and writer from Belfast Northern Ireland and now lives and works in Brooklyn. He graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001.-Life and work:...
- Irish Children's Book - senior: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John BoyneJohn BoyneJohn Boyne is an Irish novelist.- Biography :He was educated at Terenure College, before heading to trinity college, dublin, and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he won the Curtis Brown prize. But it was during his time at Trinity that he began to get published...
- Best Irish Newcomer: The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon
- Irish-Published Book: Lifelines: New and Collected ed. by Niall McMonagle
- Irish Sports Book: Back from the Brink by Paul McGrathPaul McGrath (footballer)Paul McGrath is a retired Irish footballer, who played as a defender. McGrath is widely recognised as one of the greatest players to have ever come out of Ireland....
- Listener's Choice: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John BoyneJohn BoyneJohn Boyne is an Irish novelist.- Biography :He was educated at Terenure College, before heading to trinity college, dublin, and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he won the Curtis Brown prize. But it was during his time at Trinity that he began to get published...
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: Should Have Got Off at Sydney Parade by Ross O'Carroll-KellyRoss O'Carroll-KellyRoss O'Carroll-Kelly is a fictional wealthy "D4" rugby union player created by journalist Paul Howard.The character first appeared in a January 1998 column in the Sunday Tribune newspaper and later transferred to The Irish Times...
2008
- Irish Novel: The GatheringThe Gathering (Enright novel)The Gathering is the fourth novel by Irish author Anne Enright. It won the 2007 Man Booker Prize, eventually chosen unanimously by the jury after having largely been considered an outsider to win the prize...
by Anne EnrightAnne EnrightAnne Enright is a Booker Prize-winning Irish author. She has published essays, short stories, a non-fiction book and four novels. Before her novel The Gathering won the 2007 Man Booker Prize, Enright had a low profile in Ireland and the United Kingdom, although her books were favourably reviewed... - Irish Non-Fiction Book: Judging Dev by Diarmaid FerriterDiarmaid FerriterDiarmaid Ferriter is an Irish author, historian, and university lecturer. He has authored several books on the subject of Irish history. Diarmaid attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dublin.-Career:...
- Irish Children's Book - junior: The Story of Ireland by Brendan O'BrienBrendan O'Brien (Irish journalist)Brendan O'Brien is a senior Irish journalist on RTÉ One's Prime Time current affairs programme.In 1983, O'Brien won a Jacob's Award for his reporting on the RTÉ current affairs programme, Today Tonight....
- Irish Children's Book - senior: Wilderness by Roddy DoyleRoddy DoyleRoddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....
- Best Irish Newcomer: With My Lazy Eye by Julia Kelly
- Irish-Published Book: Judging Dev by Diarmaid FerriterDiarmaid FerriterDiarmaid Ferriter is an Irish author, historian, and university lecturer. He has authored several books on the subject of Irish history. Diarmaid attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dublin.-Career:...
- Irish Sports Book: Trevor Brennan: Heart and Soul by Trevor BrennanTrevor BrennanTrevor Brennan is a former rugby union player for Barnhall, Bective Rangers, St Marys College RFC, Leinster Rugby, Stade Toulousain and Ireland; being capped 13 times. He played either in the second row or as a flanker.Trevor captained St Mary's College RFC to their only AIB League title in 2000...
with Gerry Thornley - Listener's Choice: Judging Dev by Diarmaid Ferriter
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: Take A Look at Me Now by Anita Notaro
- Lifetime Achievement: William TrevorWilliam TrevorWilliam Trevor, KBE is an Irish author and playwright. He is considered one of the elder statesman of the Irish literary world and widely regarded as the greatest contemporary writer of short stories in the English language....
2009
- Irish Novel: The Secret ScriptureThe Secret ScriptureThe Secret Scripture is a 2008 novel written by Irish playwright Sebastian Barry.-Plot summary:The main character is a one-hundred year old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to...
by Sebastian BarrySebastian BarrySebastian Barry is an Irish playwright, novelist, and poet. He has been shortlisted twice for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and has won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year.... - Irish Non-Fiction Book: Stepping Stones by Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
and Dennis O'DriscollDennis O'DriscollDennis O’Driscoll is an Irish poet, essayist, critic, and editor born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. Although not widely recognized in the United States, he is considered one of the best European poets of his time. In all, he has written eight books of poetry, two chapbooks, and a... - Irish Children's Book - junior: Before You Sleep by Benji Bennett
- Irish Children's Book - senior: Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire by Derek LandyDerek LandyDerek Landy is an Irish author and screenwriter, famous for the Skulduggery Pleasant series of children's books.thumb|Derek Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011...
- Best Irish Newcomer: Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O'BrienRonan O'BrienRonan O'Brien is an Irish author, winner of the 2009 Irish Book Awards "Newcomer of the Year" for his first novel Confessions of a Fallen Angel....
- Irish-Published Book: The Parish by Alice Taylor
- Irish Sports Book: Ronan O'Gara, My Autobiography by Ronan O'GaraRonan O'GaraRonan John Ross O'Gara is an Irish rugby union player, playing at fly-half for both Munster and Ireland. He is the all time highest point scorer for both Munster and Ireland. In addition to his prolific point-scoring, he has captained Munster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions...
- Listener's Choice: The Secret ScriptureThe Secret ScriptureThe Secret Scripture is a 2008 novel written by Irish playwright Sebastian Barry.-Plot summary:The main character is a one-hundred year old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to...
by Sebastian BarrySebastian BarrySebastian Barry is an Irish playwright, novelist, and poet. He has been shortlisted twice for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and has won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year.... - Irish Popular Fiction Book: This Charming ManThis Charming Man"This Charming Man" is a song by the English band The Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade...
by Marian KeyesMarian KeyesMarian Keyes is an Irish Book Awards-winner Irish novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for her work in women's literature. She has sold over more 22 million copies worldwide and been translated into 32 languages... - Irish Crime Fiction Award: Blood Runs Cold by Alex BarclayAlex BarclayEve "Alex" Barclay is an Irish crime writer.Barclay studied journalism at university and worked for a period in fashion and beauty journalism as a copywriter in the RTÉ Guide. In 2003, she left the fashion industry to write Darkhouse, the first of two novels featuring NYPD detective Joe Lucchesi...
- Lifetime Achievement: Edna O'BrienEdna O'BrienEdna O'Brien is an Irish novelist and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men and to society as a whole.-Life and career:...
2010
Sources.- Irish Novel: RoomRoom (novel)Room is a 2010 novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue. The story is told from the perspective of a five-year-boy, Jack, who is being held captive in a small room along with his mother...
by Emma DonoghueEmma DonoghueEmma Donoghue is an Irish-born playwright, literary historian and novelist now living in Canada. Her 2010 novel Room was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and an international bestseller. Donoghue's 1995 novel Hood won the Stonewall Book Award and Slammerkin won the Ferro-Grumley Award for... - Irish Non-Fiction Book: A Coward If I Return, a Hero If I Fall by Neil Richardson
- Irish Children's Book - junior: On the Road with Mavis and Marge by Niamh Sharkey
- Irish Children's Book - senior: Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal CoilSkulduggery Pleasant: Mortal CoilSkulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil is the fifth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, released on the 1st of September 2010. After some discussion, the final title was confirmed to be "Mortal Coil"...
by Derek LandyDerek LandyDerek Landy is an Irish author and screenwriter, famous for the Skulduggery Pleasant series of children's books.thumb|Derek Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011... - Best Irish Newcomer: JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a PresidentJFK in IrelandJFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President is the title of the first book written by Irish broadcaster Ryan Tubridy. Released in 2010, it is a profile of President of the United States John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Ireland....
by Ryan TubridyRyan TubridyRyan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"... - Irish-Published Book: Good Mood Food by Donal Skehan
- Irish Sports Book: A Football Man: My Autobiography by John GilesJohnny GilesMichael John "Johnny" Giles is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s...
- Listener's Choice: Come What May: The Autobiography by Donal Óg CusackDónal Óg CusackDonal Óg Cusack is a well-known Irish hurler and Ireland's first openly gay elite sportsman. He plays hurling at club level with Cloyne and has been a member of the Cork senior inter-county team since 1999....
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: The Oh My God DelusionThe Oh My God DelusionThe Oh My God Delusion is a 2010 novel by Irish journalist and author Paul Howard, and the tenth in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series.-Title:The title refers to Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion and to the expression "Oh my God"....
by Ross O'Carroll-KellyRoss O'Carroll-KellyRoss O'Carroll-Kelly is a fictional wealthy "D4" rugby union player created by journalist Paul Howard.The character first appeared in a January 1998 column in the Sunday Tribune newspaper and later transferred to The Irish Times... - Irish Crime Fiction Award: Dark Times in the City by Gene KerriganGene KerriganGene Kerrigan is an Irish journalist and novelist who grew up in Cabra in Dublin. His works include political commentary on Ireland since the 1970s in such publications as Magill magazine and the Sunday Independent newspaper. He has also written about Ireland for International Socialism magazine...
- Lifetime Achievement: Maeve BinchyMaeve BinchyMaeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin, she worked as a teacher then a journalist at The Irish Times and later became a writer of novels and short stories.Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between...
2011
Sources.- Irish Novel: MistakenMistaken (novel)Mistaken is a novel by the Irish novelist and filmmaker Neil Jordan published in 2011....
by Neil JordanNeil JordanNeil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :... - Irish Non-Fiction Book: Easy Meals by Rachel AllenRachel AllenRachel Allen is an Irish celebrity chef, known most widely for her work on television and as a writer.-Career as chef:...
- Irish Children's Book - junior: The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge
- Irish Children's Book - senior: The Real Rebecca by Anna Carey
- Best Irish Newcomer: Solace by Belinda McKeon
- Irish-Published Book: Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom by Tim Robinson
- Irish Sports Book: Inside the Peloton by Nicolas Roche
- Listeners' Choice: How to be a Woman by Caitlin MoranCaitlin MoranCaitlin Moran is a British broadcaster, TV critic and columnist at The Times, where she writes three columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, a TV review column, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch"...
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: All For You by Sheila O'FlanaganSheila O'FlanaganSheila O'Flanagan is a Dublin born fiction writer and journalist who currently writes for The Irish Times.-Biography:She was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her career started in financial services at the Central Bank of Ireland, and was in time promoted to Chief Dealer, trading things like foreign...
- Irish Crime Fiction Award: Bloodland by Alan GlynnAlan GlynnAlan Glynn is an Irish writer born in 1960 in Dublin.Glynn was born in 1960 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin. He has written four novels: The Dark Fields , 2001; Winterland, 2009; Bloodland, 2011; and Stoff , 2006...
- Irish Bookshop of the Year: Crannóg Bookshop, Cavan Town
- Lifetime Achievement: Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
External links
- Irish Book Awards website with links to nominations and previous winners