Awards

Winner – Irish Short Story of the Year

I was genuinely delighted to win Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards for my story This Small Giddy Life about two daughters and their wandering, wonderful mother who gets dementia. My own mother is living with this curious condition, so it is a close-to-my-heart story. You can read the story in the New Island anthology, A Little Unsteadily Into Light, available here.

Thanks so much to An Post (awards sponsors) and writing.ie (short story award sponsors), especially Vanessa O’Loughlin. Thanks to New Island books and editor Jan Carson, for commissioning the story. We had a lovely night of celebration last night at the Convention Centre in Dublin. See my insta for (not many more) pics here.

Shortlisting – Short Story of the Year

Shortlisted! My dementia story *This Small Giddy Life* from the New Island Books anthology A Little Unsteadily Into Light is up for the writing.ie Story of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2022. We had a lovely shortlisters’ event at the GPO last night. This story is meaningful to me as I took elements of my mother’s dementia to fictionalise. She’s still with us, and doing well, TG.

Voting is open now, see all shortlistees below: Vote here.

Thanks to editors Jan Carson & Jane Lugea and all at New Island & Vanessa of Writing.ie. This is my fifth Book Awards shortlisting, maybe this year I’ll take something home other than memories of a great, chat-filled, glammy night. The big event is the 23rd November and I can’t wait!

Neil Paul of Tertulia Books, Mayo, and Nuala
The 2002 Story of the Year shortlist

SHORT STORY OF THE YR – LONGLIST

One of my short stories – can’t say which for now – has been longlisted in the An Post Irish Book Awards Short Story of the Year category, run by writing.ie, which is lovely.

Shortlist will be announced 20th October. So crossing fingers!

Here are the longlisted writers:

Roisín O’Donnell
Eamon McGuinness
Wendy Erskine
Nuala O’Connor
Tim MacGabhann
Sheila Armstrong
Danielle McLaughlin
David Butler
Neil Tully
Colin Barrett
Twist Phelan
Rebecca Miller

Bloomsweek events 2022

I have a raft of events for Bloomsweek. I’d love to see some of ye out and about across the week in Dublin:

June 11th, 2.30pm – speaking at opening of Ulysses Imagined exhib, Graphic Studio Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin. More here.

June 11th, 6.20pm IFI – premiere of BBC Arena documentary, James Joyce’s Ulysses. I’m part of discussion after the screening. More here.

June 12th, 7.30pm – I’ll be online at The Glue Factory with Rónán Hession talking about One Dublin One Book and James Joyce. To join us via Zoom, DM @DavidCollard1 on Twitter with your name and email address.

June 13th, 6pm – chairing a panel about Ulysses at Hodges Figgis, for the new Cambridge ed. of Ulysses with Fintan O’Toole, Frank McNally, and Catherine Flynn. More here.

June 15th, 6pm – NORA event at Alliance Francaise: More here.

BLOOMSDAY:

June 16th – reading/discussion at TCD Ulysses 100 Symposium with Mary Morrissy about Nora Barnacle. See here.

June 16th – interviewing David Collard in Hodges Figgis at the launch of his book Multiple Joyce. More here.

DALKEY BOOK FESTIVAL:

June 18th – Dalkey Literary Award reading event. NORA is shortlisted for Novel of the Year. See here.

June 19th – Dalkey Book Festival event on NORA. 3.30pm. Book here.

NORA – TWO SHORTLISTINGS

While I’ve been busy with One Dublin One Book, NORA has been shortlisted for two awards which, obviously, is thrilling.

Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year at Listowel and Irish Novel of the Year at the Dalkey Literary Awards. How is that for fancy? Delighted!!

I’ll be taking part at events at both festivals in June.

NORA SHORTLISTED IRISH BOOK AWARDS

I’m delighted that Seán Rocks and the Arena crew have nominated NORA in the RTÉ Audience Choice Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards. As a big Arena fan, this is such an honour. I’m also honoured that NORA is the only novel on the shortlist.

You can vote here.