The Irish novelist and playwright on the positives of ageing, his struggles with depression and a golden age of Irish writingSebastian Barry, 68, is the author of 11 novels and 15 plays. Five of his books have been long- or shortlisted for the Booker prize, and his novels have won numerous awards, including the Costa book of the year (twice) and the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction. He was laureate for Irish fiction from 2018 to 2021. His latest novel, Old God’s Time, is about a retired policeman, Tom Kettle, and his struggles with the legacy of institutional child abuse in Ireland. It has been described as “a tour de force of transcendent power and complexity”. Barry was born in Dublin and lives in a converted rectory in the mountains of County Wicklow, Ireland.Was it good to be back in Ireland with Old God’s Time? Did it feel like coming home?I was in dread of coming home. I had spent two books [Days Without End and A Thousand Moons] in America, quite joyously… a kind of vast holiday. So, yes, it was coming home, but I was a bit… It’s not that I’ve been avoiding the whole strange cosmos of what we have done to children in this country, but I was certainly unable to write this book… until I did. When you get past 60, you do feel a sort of licence finally to write fearlessly about something that essentially is full of fear.Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry is published in paperback by Faber (£9.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-10 18:00:48 UTC ]
This week: inside the golden age of science fiction, plus the epic drama of our atmosphere. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC4 is to broadcast a 60-minute documentary looking back at the highs and lows of 50 years of the Booker Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In her first work of historical fiction, bestselling author Patti Callahan explores the life and love of Joy Davidman, the wife of C.S. Lewis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has snapped up an "exquisite" novel and a short story collection about flawed masculinity from Benjamin Myers six weeks after he scooped the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for his book published by Bluemoose Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Tivnan talks setting, genre and Irish fiction with debut author Sue Rainsford. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Benjamin Myers has won the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction with The Gallows Pole, published by small Yorkshire-based independent press Bluemoose Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2018, publishers are cautiously optimistic in a manga market with steady sales in print and digital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Otto Penzler's newest venture, Penzler Publishers, will publish print editions of classic detective stories from the golden age of of the genre, which ran from the end of World War I through World War II. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jennifer Egan, Benjamin Myers and Paul Lynch are among the authors shortlisted for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There's still much to be learned from books written by the great minds of advertising's golden age, but it's hard to deny that almost any advice printed to the page quickly becomes dated in today's digitally driven world. To illustrate that point, and boost turnout at an upcoming IdeasFirst... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2018-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late writer Helen Dunmore, US novelist Jennifer Egan and 29-year-old writer Natasha Pulley are all vying for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, with entries up 40% from last year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late Helen Dunmore has been awarded the Costa Book of the Year award posthumously for her "life affirming" 10th and final collection, Inside the Wave (Bloodaxe Books), which was written while she was dying from cancer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For a second time in its 46-year life, the Costa Book Award's chief honor is a posthumous award, the jury chair calling Helen Dunmore's 'Inside the Wave' poetry collection 'a modern classic...life affirming and uplifting.' The post Costa Book of the Year Honor Goes to the Late Helen Dunmore... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helen Dunmore's poetry collection, Inside the Wave, wins 2018's Costa Book of the Year prize. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2018-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Only one publisher, And Other Stories, has answered Kamila Shamsie’s challenge to publish only female writers this year. But wider lessons are being learned, as the novelist and other industry insiders explain2018 was meant to be the “year of publishing women”, after the novelist Kamila Shamsie... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now in line for the overall Costa Book of the Year award–to be announced January 30–the five Costa category winners include three titles from HarperCollins UK imprints. The post Costa’s Book Award: Five Category Winners in the UK, One To Win Book of the Year appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dunmore wins poetry category, while Jon McGregor takes best novel prize for Reservoir 13 and Gail Honeyman’s bestselling debut Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine lands first novel awardThe poet Helen Dunmore is in the running to become the second posthumous winner of the Costa book of the year... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite news this week that sales had fallen dramatically, the Welsh Books Council’s chief says that the sector is showing real growthThe head of the Welsh Books Council (WBC) has hailed a “golden age for the Welsh-language novel” despite reports of a dramatic decline in sales.BBC Cymru Fyw... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut author Winnie M Li has been voted the winner of the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize for her novel Dark Chapter (Legend Press), based on the true story of her sexual assault. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker prize judge Colin Thubron has complained this week that star endorsements bully readers into admiring books, but it’s long been standard practiceSetting cats among pigeons has long been an unofficial part of the contract for judges of the Booker prize. Remember Chris Mullin’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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