The Orphans by Annemarie Neary
Joyride to Jupiter by Nuala O’Connor
No 593 The Butterfly Cabinet by Bernie McGill
The Butterfly Cabinet was one of my books for Reading Ireland Month and I am delighted to have Bernie on the blog today answering questions about this beautiful book and her writing in general. The Butterfly Cabinet is based on a true story set in Portstewart, Northern Ireland and it tells the story of…
The Rise of Irish Young Adult Fiction
No 594 The Miracle Shed by Philip MacCann
‘Whatever happened to Philip MacCann?’ is a phrase that crops up if you do even a cursory internet search of this elusive author. I’m not even sure if I am right to include MacCann in Reading Ireland Month as he is possibly not Irish. Some sites say he was born in Belfast, more that he…
No 595 The Reckoning by Jane Casey
Things weren’t great for Maeve Kerrigan at the end of The Burning, the first in the series of crime novels by Jane Casey. Attacked by a serial killer; dealing with the machismo and misogyny of her fellow police officers and starting a perilous relationship with her colleague Rob Langton had left Kerrigan in a fragile…
Illuminate by Kerrie O’Brien – A Review and Giveaway for World Poetry Day
Kerrie O’Brien is being hailed as a key new voice in Irish Poetry. Her collection Illuminate is earning rave reviews from writers such as Sebastian Barry (who compared her to Keats) and Joseph O’Connor and it is easy to see why. Imagine the sun pouring in through a stained glass window – Illuminate captures that…
Read more Illuminate by Kerrie O’Brien – A Review and Giveaway for World Poetry Day
The Re-publication of The Female Line
Women’s writing in Ireland and Northern Ireland has been put firmly back on the agenda lately, not least with the publications and success of The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore, both edited by the inimitable Sinead Gleeson. These anthologies have won awards, brought new readers to women’s literature and shone a spotlight on…
