Six Mayo authors have made the shortlist for the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards.
Sally Rooney, Faith Hogan, Colin Barrett, Una Leavy, Brigid O’Hora and Patrick J Mahoney all made the shortlist for the prestigious awards.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Convention Centre, Dublin on Wednesday, November 27.
Meanwhile, a one-hour television special, hosted by Oliver Callan, will be broadcast on RTÉ One on December 19 giving viewers an exclusive insight into the six books and the authors competing for the accolade of ‘An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year 2024’, culminating in the reveal of this year’s overall winner.
Sally Rooney’s latest novel ‘Intermezzo’ is nominated for Eason Novel of the Year alongside ‘Wild Houses’ by Colin Barrett.
Faith Hoga is nominated for Ireland AM’s Popular Fiction Book of the Year with ‘The Bookshop Ladies’ while Una Leavy is nominated in the Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year category for ‘Over the Red-Brick Chimney’ and Brigid O’Hora appears in the Bookselling Ireland Food & Drink Book of the Year category for ‘The Home Sommelier: Your down-to-earth guide to choosing good wine’.
Patrick J Mahoney is in the mix for TheJournal.ie’s Best Irish-Published Book of the Year with American-born, Cormac K H O’Malley, for their work on ‘The Enchanted Bay: Tales and Legends from Ernie O’Malley’s Irish Folklore Collection’.
The shortlist for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024 features a diverse and exciting mix of exceptional writing from new and established writers across 20 categories.
Larry Mac Hale, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, commented: “The shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards is, once again, remarkable, showcasing the immense talent of Irish writers and the strength of our literary community.
“The An Post Irish Book Awards is a key event in the literary calendar, and it is wonderful to see the growing enthusiasm for this initiative. I would like to wish all the nominees the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating the winners on the twenty-seventh of November,” he added.
Now in its nineteenth year, the An Post Irish Book Awards celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible.
Each year, the An Post Irish Book Awards bring together a vast community passionate about books – readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians, to recognise the very best of new and established Irish writing talent.
To tie in with the announcement of the An Post Irish Book Awards shortlist, the public are now being asked to have their say for the best books of the year on the An Post Irish Book Awards website.
PJ Brigdale, Head of Brand at An Post, said: “Each shortlisted book reflects the rich storytelling tradition we cherish, and we’re proud to honour the authors, publishers, booksellers and readers who make these awards so special.
“As a brand, we are especially proud to support and foster a love of reading across Ireland, helping to ensure that it remains a vital part of our culture and communities for generations to come,” he concluded.
Voters may now cast their votes until voting closes on November 14 at 5pm, and all voters will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five €100 National Book Tokens vouchers.
