Tag Archives: Irish writers

ACQUISITION ANNOUNCEMENT

New Island Books Acquires Nuala O’Connor’s Sensational New Novel, SEABORNE, publishing April 2024.

New Island Books (Dublin) is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Nuala O’Connor’s new novel, SEABORNE. Aoife K. Walsh, commissioning editor at New Island, acquired English -language, Ireland, UK and Commonwealth rights from Gráinne Fox at United Talent Agency (New York). SEABORNE will be published by New Island in April 2024.

About:

After the huge success of her 2021 novel, Nora: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce (Irish bestseller, Vogue and New York Times recommended, One Dublin One Book), Nuala O’Connor’s sixth novel is her most ambitious yet. In crisp, shimmering prose, she conjures a completely unexpected portrayal of Anne Bonny, giving us so much more than just the 18th-century, Irish-born pirate of lore. In the hands of one of Ireland’s most brilliant fiction writers, Bonny is a young woman of privilege who is anything but comfortable, hell-bent on a voyage of self-realisation with or without the consent of those around her. Novelty-seeking, contrary, stubborn and bisexual, she is also neurodivergent, brave, and capable of deep and enduring love.

Records show that Anne Bonny spent all of two months actually being a pirate. SEABORNE is the thrilling and sensuous imagining of the loss, frustration and desires that steer this lonely daughter of a plantation owner towards elopement, two marriages, two pregnancies, violence, trial for piracy, and legendary status.

Comments:

Commenting on the acquisition, Nuala O’Connor says, ‘It’s a pleasure to once again publish with New Island – my sixth volume with them – they’ve always been great champions of mine and they take such warm, meticulous care with the books. I know the team will safely steer SEABORNE, my tribute to pirate Anne Bonny, into reader’s hands.’

New Island commissioning editor Aoife K. Walsh said, ‘Everyone at New Island Books is truly delighted to be working with the master storyteller Nuala. Obviously, we were hooked at the first mention of pirates but soon we were utterly captivated by Nuala’s rich, complex and sensual portrayal of the oft-mythologised Anne Bonny. As an independent Irish publisher, it feels right to be publishing this Irish origin story and we can’t wait for today’s readers (wherever they may be) to meet this fiercely independent, queer, neurodivergent, brave and passionate 18th-century pirate.’

NUALA O’CONNOR is a novelist, short story writer and poet, and lives in Co. Galway with her family. She is the author of five previous novels, including Nora (2021) and six short story collections. She has won many prizes for her short fiction including Short Story of the Year at the 2022 Irish Book Awards, the Francis MacManus Award, and the James Joyce Quarterly Fiction Contest. Her work has also been nominated for numerous prizes including the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year and the International Dublin Literary Award.

For further information contact Des Doyle, Marketing and Publicity Manager, des.doyle@newisland.ie

UPCOMING EVENTS – NORA

NORA publishes here in Ireland on the 10th April with New Island Books and I have some events/readings coming up to celebrate the book. We have two launch events planned, one each for Dublin and Galway. More below:

26th March, 8pm GMT: American writer Jillian Cantor and I will be discussing bio-fiction, to celebrate the publication of her novel Half Life about Marie Curie. In association with Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Arizona. More here.

9th April, 7pm: Launch online in Dublin on 9th April in association with MOLI. Interview with Katherine McSharyy of the National Library of Ireland. Register here.

11th April – essay about Nora Barnacle on Sunday Miscellany. 9am to 10am on RTÉ Radio 1.

14th April: UCC Creative Writing Programme online event – 6pm. Free event! Register here.

23rd April: Launch online in Galway on 23rd April in association with the Cúirt Festival. I’m interviewed by Elaine Feeney. Time 5.30pm. Free or optional ticket purchase. Book here.

29th April: I’m taking part in the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, as part of Dublin Book Festival‘s appearance there. Look out for me, Breda Brown, and NORA on the 29th. More here.

Vermont NORA event

My friend, writer and librarian Peter Money, will interview me about NORA on the 12th March (5pm Irish time, midday USA) in association with the Norwich Bookstore, Vermont. More here.

Send an email to virtual2 AT norwichbookstore.com to get the link to join the event, which will be sent as soon as it is available.

BIRDIE – where to buy

Signing copies of birdie in Kennys of Galway

I was awarded a COVID-19 Crisis Response Award for Literature, from the Arts Council of Ireland, to write and compile birdie, a collection of 16 historical and out-of-time flash and micro fictions.

You can buy a digital copy of birdie here at Draft2Digital or a kindle edition here. It costs €5.99 / US$5.99 / £4.99.

Arlen House has produced a limited, hard-copy edition of birdie which can be bought from Kennys, Galway (Kennys now has signed copies!); Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop Galway; Hodges Figgis; The Reading Room in Leitrim; Forever Amber in Meath; Waterstones Cork; Dubrays; and O’Mahonys. Your local shop will order.

Reviewers: please contact Alan Hayes at Arlen House.

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More about birdie:

Love is the central force in birdie, a collection of sixteen historical and out-of-time flash fictions that sing with the voices of women loving and losing and learning. The characters here find strength, despite the sorrows of death and deceit: a ghost-child returns to Massachusetts to comfort her grieving mother; the daughter of a Spanish orange tycoon regrets her mother’s terrible choices; an English maid longs for, but can’t be with, her mistress’s son.

Birdie contains O’Connor’s signature ekphrastic work, drawing on artists as diverse as Matisse, da Vinci, and American painter Edwin Romanzo Elmer. The natural world looms large too: sheep and foxes roam these pages, while seawater washes through them.

Described by the Toronto Star as a writer of ‘magical imagination’ and by the Washington Post as ‘soaring’, O’Connor’s collection of historical flash will delight her readers, old and new.

READ IRISH WOMEN CHALLENGE 2020

Here are my picks for the 2020 #READIRISHWOMENCHALLENGE, organised by bookseller The Bookaneer808. It was a pleasure to take part throughout April, and a real daily diversion from Covid-19 concerns:

Day 1 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020, Book That Made You LOL: *Malarky* by @AnakanaSchofiel: This novel deals with a grieving woman who unhinges before the reader’s eyes; lots of jealousy, grief, sex-as-weapon, & mental health issues. Filled with black Irish humour. Highly rec!

Day 2 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020, Book abt friendship: *The House in Paris* – #ElizabethBowen: Set across one day, the novel looks at the friendship b’ween a girl and boy, and the complex family lives that brought them to the house. Elegant writing, as always, from Bowen.

Day 3 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – New release: *A Quiet Tide* by @ThisMarianneLee: A gorgeous début historical novel about Irish botanist Ellen Hutchins and her determination to pursue her passion and be herself. From @NewIslandBooks.

Day 4 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Set not where you live: *The Light Makers* by @maryodonnell03 – a Dublin-set novel about the fragility of our humanity, it explores the hope & disappointments of Hannah as she negotiates the tricky waters of love, longed-for motherhood, and betrayal.

Day 5 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Book from 70s: *A Pagan Place* by #EdnaOBrien – my fave Edna novel, a 2nd person POV narrated by a sensitive, spiky, observant girl searching for her identity. Melancholic & beautiful.

Day 6 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Book by diaspora: *Frog Music* by @EDonoghueWriter – inventive, exciting, funny and dark, this is a literary thriller set in the world of 1870s American burlesque. Donoghue is one of our best writers, always a thrill to read.

Day 7 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Book about social change: *Dorothy Macardle* by @lloislanel a readable, deeply informative bio, as perfect for general readers as those interested in the forming of the State, Republican politics, early Irish feminism. Highly rec!

Day 8 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Book with a death: *Twelve Thousand Days* by #ÉilísNíDhuibhne: a story of inter-generational marriage, shared intellect & love of folklore, and the failings of our health system. Moving, gorgeously written and dignified.

Day 9 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Book that challenged the way you see the world: *The Portable Virgin* by #AnneEnright. I came to this book as a fledgling fiction writer in the 90s and it showed me what the modern Irish short story could look like: bold, brave and beautiful.

Day 10 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – a play: *By the Bog of Cats* – #MarinaCarr. I saw #HollyHunter play Hester in Carr’s Midlands Medea @WyndhamTheatre . Her eerie cry of ‘Carthage’ stays with me. A dark, haunting play.

Day 11 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book to read aloud: *Room little Darker – short stories* – @junecaldwell. Buoyant, brilliant Dublin prose and mad happenings galore from this ever-funny and clever writer.

Day 12 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book with food/drink: *Ireland’s Green Larder* by @mmhhickey a precise history of Irish food, wise, fresh and comprehensive. Every Irish home should have a copy.

Day 13 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book to give your younger self: *Bullyproof Kids* by @stellaomalley3. Offers not just tools to make kids more resilient against the threat of bullies, but ways for adults to understand bullying, whether it takes place in the playground or the boardroom.

Day 14 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book with a journey: *Elsewhere* by @RositaBoland. Not one but many journeys here, to places and to the self. A wonderful book by a courageous, intelligent, engaging Irish travel writer.

Day 15 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book with plant life on the cover: *The Unforeseen* by #DorothyMacardle. Warm, open & deep, this late 30s-set novel is about genteel Virgilia, who lives in rural Wicklow, & her daughter Nan, & the unasked-for, terrible visions Virgilia has.

Day 16 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – protagonist who inspires strong emotions: *The Longbourn Letters* by @roseservitova. A wonderful, witty imagining of the friendship through letters between pompous Mr Collins and Mr Bennett. Gives #JaneAusten fans a new look at P&P and Mr C.

The TBR pile

Day 17 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – TBR pile: One of these is TBR, the rest are TBF (to be finished) or TBRR (to be re-read). Riches!

Day 18 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – teenage protagonist: *Foster* by #ClaireKeegan. A small masterpiece, the girl’s out-of-placeness, and the goodness of her relatives, are exquisitely done – nice to remind myself of its riches every so often.

Day 19 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – illustrated book: *Parrot Park* by #marymurphy & #jessicaahlberg. Sweet series of stories set near my hometown in Dublin West, I loved reading them to my youngest kids. Ordinary family fun galore: headlice, camping etc.

Day 20 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – a comfort read – *The Watch House* by @berniemcgill. I love beautiful prose & this novel, set on Rathlin Island, is delicately written, the story soars & the sense of place is palpable. A beautiful, transporting story. Deffo one to return to.

Day 21 #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book by an iconic author – *Naming the Stars* by #JenniferJohnston. A classic Johnston novel, exploring how a family narrative is woven around secrets and lies. An intimate, moving story of loss, memory and the human need for truth-telling.

Poetry choices – there are many more awol, of course

Day 22 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – a book of poetry – no way can I pick just one, so here’s a stack, including @sarahmaintains @Writergermills & more.

Day 23 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book featuring a real Irish woman – ‘The Rising of Bella Casey’ by #MaryMorrissy, a beautifully written, moving novel about Bella Casey, sister of dramatist Seán O’Casey, looking at her fall from grace & women’s lack of choice in early 20th C Ireland.

Day 24 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – Literary mag strongly featuring Irish women – @bansheelit is run by three great women/writers: @eimear_ryan #lauracassidy & @chennessybooks. It’s a trove of great fiction, interviews, poetry & essays since 2015. Also pubbing books now!

Day 25 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – book in another time – ‘Fallen’ – @libranwriter A WW1/1916 novel, this is a beautifully written narrative about grief, sister-love, loyalty, & the uneven nature of family. I loved seeing the Rising from the POV of a young woman.

Day 26 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – sci-fi/fantasy book – ‘A Brilliant Void’- from @TrampPress. This anthology features 8 Irish women writers, including the brilliant spec writer @griffski & is a TBR for me, to fill gaps in my reading in this genre. Looking forward to it!

Day 27 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – signed book – *Are You Somebody?* #NualaOFaolain. Great memoir of love, loneliness & writing, I bought it for my Ma in Kennys– also Nuala – O’Faolain signed it ‘To Nuala from Nuala via your Nuala’. One of my fave, warmest author encounters

Day 28 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – LGBTQ+ book – *Stir-Fry*, @EDonoghueWriter. I loved this fresh novel when it came out in ’94. Emma writes often about gay relationships & this story of lust & friendship sees Maria examine her sexuality when she moves in with a gay couple

Day 29 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – a long book – *HellFire* by #MiaGallagher – concise, despite its 658 pages, this raw and rich novel features Lucy, a thief, tomboy, drug-user, fighter and ‘errant girl’. A real tour de force of a novel, moving and gripping.

Day 30 – #ReadIrishWomenChallenge2020 – next read inspired by this challenge – I plan to read *The Land of Spices* by #KateOBrien, plus more of hers. *The Ante-Room* steered me wrong on her, I think, I didn’t enjoy it much. (Tnx @jabberwocky888 for this month’s challenge. Fun!)

INTERVIEW – JAMES JOYCE QUARTERLY

James Joyce

Nuala recently won The James Joyce Quarterly fiction contest, which asked writers to submit their own version of the short story ‘Ulysses’ that Joyce had considered adding to his collection Dubliners. The journal interviews Nuala about her story, and her connection to Joyce, today. (The story is not available online, only in the hard copy journal which can be bought here). See the interview here.