Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is Waterstones Irish Book of the Year

In The Irish Times tomorrow, there is an interview with award-winning children’s author Martin Waddell, who next week will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Irish Book Awards.
Reviews are Anthony Roche on Nicholas Grene’s Irish Theatre in the Twenty-First Century; Neil Hegarty on Ulster 1912-22: change, controversy and conflict, co-edited by Brian Walker and Alan Parkinson; Declan O’Driscoll on The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami; Claire Hennessy on the best new YA fiction; Siobhán Long on Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin: A Life in Music; Donald Clarke on Box Office Poison by Tim Robey; and Adrian Frazier on Derek Mahon: A Retrospective, edited by Nicholas Grene and Tom Walker.
This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Think Twice by Harlan Coben, just €5.99, a €6 saving.
Waterstones has announced Long Island by Colm Tóibín, the follow-up to Brooklyn, as its Irish Book of the Year.
Tóibín is the current Laureate for Irish Fiction and the author of 10 previous novels, three of which were nominated for the Booker Prize, two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction.
The author said: “I worked slowly and tentatively on ‘Long Island’. I followed my instinct but I was never sure. So it makes a big difference now that this novel ‘Long Island’ is Waterstone’s Irish Book of the Year. It cheers me up and makes me feel that maybe I did something right.”
Lily Keohane, Waterstones Irish commercial manager, said: “We’ve been spoiled for choice after yet another outstanding year of Irish writing, with new novels by Sally Rooney, Kevin Barry and Booker longlisted Colin Barrett’s debut to name only a few. But the true standout of the year has to be Colm Tóibín’s masterpiece, Long Island. This deceptively quiet novel full of longing, reconnection, and the joy of love rediscovered is the work of a writer at the height of his considerable powers. For many this is a return to already beloved characters and for others it’s an opportunity to discover one of Ireland’s finest writers for the first time.”
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Question 7 by Richard Flanagan has won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024. The winner was announced by chair of judges, Isabel Hilton, at a ceremony in London.
Flanagan becomes the first author to win both the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, an achievement that affirms him as one of the most significant and acclaimed writers in the English language.
Beginning at a love hotel by Japan’s Inland Sea and ending by a river in Tasmania, Question 7 is about the choices we make about love and the chain reaction that follows. Exploring the value of life, Flanagan tackles far-ranging seemingly disparate personal and historical topics, from H.G. Wells’ affair with Rebecca West, to the atomic bomb and his own near-death experience, expertly documenting life’s chain reaction: from past to present to future.
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Tyrone translator Ellen Corbett has made history as the first Irish person to win the Stephen Spender Prize for poetry translation. Corbett’s translation of Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha’s Irish-language poem, Scrúdú (Exam), took the top honour in the Open Category, a significant achievement marking the first Irish-language win since 2012.
The prize, awarded by the Stephen Spender Trust, is the leading global prize for poetry translation, and for the second year, is now open to entrants worldwide. Judged by British-Bahraini poet Taher Adel, poet and academic Jennifer Wong, and poet Keith Jarrett, the prize offers entrants the opportunity to translate poetry from any language into English. This year, Corbett’s translation stood out among the 1,000 entries from more than 100 languages, with several of her translations making it to the final stages of the judging process.
Reflecting on her win, Corbett shared, “It is a huge honour to have won first place for Laoighseach’s poem. I’m absolutely thrilled and hope this will inspire greater interest in Irish-language poetry, especially in emerging poets.” Corbett, a PhD researcher at Ulster University, has dedicated much of her academic work to modern Irish-language poetry and translation studies, and aims to encourage young translators across Ireland to consider creative translation as a career path.
Ní Choistealbha, an Irish-language poet from Co Donegal now living and working in Galway, expressed delight in seeing her work in English for the first time. “Obviously it’s a massive privilege to have one’s work translated at all, it’s also very interesting to have your work translated back into your own native language. Irish is my second language and I primarily write through Irish, but English is my first language. It’s almost like a revelation. The poem has a second life that in some ways resonates even more with your own life.”
Both poet and translator look forward to future collaboration, with more translations already in the pipeline. For Corbett, “the Stephen Spender Prize has made me realise that I could have a future as a literary translator alongside my research. It feels as though there are so many opportunities out there for me now, I can’t wait to see where they take me!”
The winning translation can be read on the Stephen Spender Trust’s website ( First Prize – Open Category (2024) – Stephen Spender Trust ) and will be published in print in Modern Poetry in Translation magazine.
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The 37th annual MS Readathon, running from November 1st to December 15th, encourages children and adults to dive into the joy of reading while raising vital funds for MS Ireland. Launched in 1988 by Roald Dahl, the event has grown into a much-loved initiative, supporting more than 10,000 people living with multiple sclerosis in Ireland.
This year’s campaign highlights the benefits of reading, with an MS Ireland survey revealing that 75 per cent of parents noticed enhanced creativity and imagination in children who read regularly. Participants are invited to read as many books as possible, with fundraising made easier through personalised QR codes and online platforms.
Funds raised help MS Ireland provide crucial services such as physiotherapy, peer support, and respite care. To join, visit msreadathon.ie.
According to author Eoin Colfer: “Reading sparks curiosity and imagination, offering worlds that stay with us forever.”
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The launch of (S)worn State(s) – a new poetry book by the inaugural winners of the Markievicz Award: Annemarie Ní Churreáin, Kimberly Campanello and Dimitra Xidous, will take place on December 16th at MOLI, Museum of Literature Dublin. Tickets here. This collaborative book is published by world-renowned letterpress The Salvage Press.
(S)worn State(s) draws upon social history, myth, and visionary poetics to remember, challenge, and reimagine ‘worn’ narratives of women’s experiences in the context of shifting historical and cultural landscapes in Ireland in the Irish Decade of Centenaries and beyond.
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The Limerick Writers’ Centre launches Head First, From a Height, the debut novel by Cork-based author Freyja Hellebust, winner of the 2024 Gerald Griffin Competition for First Original Adult Fiction, on Wednesday, November 27th at 7pm at Prim’s Bookshop in Kinsale, with writer Niamh Prior performing the official launch. “We are thrilled to recognise Freyja Hellebust’s exceptional talent,” says Dominic Taylor of the Limerick Writers’ Centre. “Her novel showcases the vibrant state of original fiction writing in Ireland today.”
Hellebust’s literary journey began at age 14 when she won a short story competition at Listowel Writers’ Week. Her talent continued to flourish through her teenage years, garnering multiple accolades including recognition in the Trinity College Book of Kells competition. In 2023, she was awarded the UCC Eoin Murray Memorial Scholarship for creative writing.
The Gerald Griffin Competition, named after the renowned Limerick writer (1803-1840), celebrates emerging talent in Irish literature. Griffin’s own masterpiece, The Collegians, achieved international recognition and inspired numerous adaptations across various media.
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The Dublin Literary Award will celebrate 30 years in 2025. Dublin City Council this week announced the members of the judging panel, for this, the world’s largest prize for a single novel published in English.
The international panel of judges features Gerbrand Bakker, Dutch author and winner of the Dublin Literary Award (formerly IMPAC Prize) in 2010; Martina Devlin, award-winning Irish author and newspaper columnist; Fiona Sze-Lorrain, writer, poet, translator, musician and editor based in Paris; Prof Leonard Cassuto, professor of American literature at Fordham University, freelance literary journalist, columnist, editor and author; and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, poet and editor based in Dublin.
The non-voting chairperson is Prof Chris Morash, the Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin who has led the judging process since 2019.
Uniquely, the award receives its nominations from public libraries around the world and recognises both writers and translators. In 2024, there were 70 books on the 2024 longlist nominated from 80 libraries in 35 countries. This judging panel will choose both the shortlist and ultimate winner of the award.
The longlist will be announced on January 14th and the 30th winner of this internationally renowned award will be announced next May as part of International Literature Festival Dublin.
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The Bridport Prize international writing competition has announced a new £500 Never Too Late Award to unlock the hidden talent of older writers.
Writers in later life often struggle to be seen despite a wealth of experience, creativity and stories to tell. This award is for the highest placed writer in the competition aged 60+ across poetry, short story, novel or flash fiction. The deadline is May 31st, 2025.
Championed by bestselling author Kit de Waal (64) and London Literary Agent, AM Heath (in business for over a century), this award aims to recognise success over 60 and a ‘never give up’ resilience that is the mainstay of writers.
‘What a privilege to be associated with this award!’ says Kit de Waal. ‘My first novel was published when I was 56, something I never imagined possible. There again, at 56 I was just getting my second wind (or possibly my third …) and even now at 64 I consider myself mid-career with a lot more to do and say.  Thanks to The Bridport Prize and the Never Too Late Award, we can recognise the unique voice and hard work of older writers who are just getting started.  Hoorah for us!’
Now in her mid 60s, Kit is a highly acclaimed writer of novel, memoir and TV drama. Her bestselling novel, My Name Is Leon is on the English literature GCSE school curriculum while her latest novel The Best Of Everything is published next April.
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Rory Brennan, the former director of Poetry Ireland and a lecturer at DCU, died last Sunday in Blackrock Hospice. He is survived by his wife Fionnuala and daughters Orla and Fiona.