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My Life in Books: 'Nothing nicer than a wander in a bookshop'
My Life in Books: 'Nothing nicer than a wander in a bookshop'
Retired garda Dearbhla Mescal, mother of famous actor Paul, has just released her new collection of poems and reflections

Sat, 07 Mar, 2026

Leo Callanan: Reading can be fun, I promise
Leo Callanan: Reading can be fun, I promise
Reading for pleasure is something young men tend to lose as they move into adulthood

Thu, 05 Mar, 2026

Two Irish authors among those longlisted for Women's Prize Fiction award
Two Irish authors among those longlisted for Women's Prize Fiction award
The Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing, announced the longlist ahead of International Women’s Day, which includes Irish authors Wendy Erskine and Kit de Waal

Wed, 04 Mar, 2026

10 new books for March: Liz Nugent, Asako Yuzuki, and an Irish romantasy
10 new books for March: Liz Nugent, Asako Yuzuki, and an Irish romantasy
Plus a deeply candid memoir from Liza Minnelli

Tue, 03 Mar, 2026

using a laptop in a cafe
Karl Whitney: ‘With writing, just begin: You don’t always have to know where it’s going’
Where to begin can be difficult for a writing project. Like a song, the opening line of a work can make a real impact

Fri, 27 Feb, 2026

Book cart full of childrens' books in public school library
Colm O'Regan: Libraries are a tonic in these mad times
Yes, the book you want is there, but you’ll have to wait until the other person brings it back. When is that? When they’ve finished with it. It’s good to be told you have to share, as a grown-up

Fri, 27 Feb, 2026

HD Comics: New shop opens in Market Parade for Cork's comic book lovers 
HD Comics: New shop opens in Market Parade for Cork's comic book lovers 
Alan Hurley has opened the first dedicated comic shop in the city since Comic Vault shut in 2023

Tue, 24 Feb, 2026

My Life in Books: I need to finish my next book so I can keep on writing
My Life in Books: I need to finish my next book so I can keep on writing
Author Rob Doyle was inspired to become a writer after reading Geoff Dyer's 'Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It'

Sat, 21 Feb, 2026

Filming begins for Channel 4 adaptation of Cork novel The Rachel Incident
Filming begins for Channel 4 adaptation of Cork novel The Rachel Incident
The eight-part series has Máiréad Tyers, Sarah Green and Daniel Ing among the cast

Tue, 17 Feb, 2026

Sally Rooney attends a photocall during the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August, 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Sally Rooney among authors longlisted for €100k Dublin Literary Award
It is the world's most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English

Tue, 17 Feb, 2026

My Life in Books: Reading ‘Adrian Mole’ made me want to be a writer
My Life in Books: Reading ‘Adrian Mole’ made me want to be a writer
Lynda Marron says she wants to read about flawed characters being put through the wringer of real life, then to see them coming out the other side with something learned and a bit of hope

Sat, 14 Feb, 2026

Summer I Turned Pretty producers to adapt Cork author’s Boys of Tommen books for TV show
Summer I Turned Pretty producers to adapt Cork author’s Boys of Tommen books for TV show
Series one will be based on the first two novels in Chloe Walsh’s series, Binding 13 and Keeping 13

Wed, 11 Feb, 2026

10 new books for February: Gisele Pelicot, Edel Coffey, and more...
10 new books for February: Gisele Pelicot, Edel Coffey, and more...
French sexual assault victim Gisele Pelicot has written a book about her experiences 

Tue, 03 Feb, 2026

Listowel Writers' Week looks to turn the page on funding controversy
Listowel Writers' Week looks to turn the page on funding controversy
A revived festival, major Arts Council funding and unanswered questions have sparked deep divisions within Kerry’s close-knit literary community

Tue, 03 Feb, 2026

Neil Gaiman
Author Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’
Nine women have come forward to accuse the 65-year-old English author of sexual misconduct

Mon, 02 Feb, 2026

Heavy snowfall in Glasgow
Diaries, like personal growth, are forever a work in progress
Documenting the great and small moments in your every day life serves many purposes, even — perhaps especially — when it’s not for publication, writes Karl Whitney

Sat, 31 Jan, 2026

My Life in Books:  ‘I've yet to see a film that does justice to the book’
My Life in Books:  ‘I've yet to see a film that does justice to the book’
Poet, novelist, screenwriter, translator and broadcaster Theo Dorgan 

Sat, 31 Jan, 2026

94th Annual Academy Awards - Show
Upcoming non-fiction that may have an impact this year
From Liza Minnelli’s anticipated first release to insights into artistry and troubled upbringings, these are the non-fiction releases worth keeping an eye on, writes Marjorie Brennan

Fri, 23 Jan, 2026

Terry Prone: Should we burn books after finding out the author is a fraud?
S Terry Prone: Should we burn books after finding out the author is a fraud?
t’s a tough time to be a publisher... and a reader

Mon, 19 Jan, 2026

 Fiction to watch out for this year from an array of fan favourites
 Fiction to watch out for this year from an array of fan favourites
With a plethora of eagerly anticipated titles to come from local literary stars and and global publishing heavyweights, 2026 looks set to be an exciting year for readers, writes Marjorie Brennan

Fri, 16 Jan, 2026

Discarded Christmas Tree Waiting To Be Collected
Karl Whitney: Don’t let the spoils of the old year ruin the lure of the new 
End-of-year lists can flatten culture into sameness; real taste is built by curiosity, scepticism, and a willingness to stray off the well-worn path

Fri, 09 Jan, 2026

International Booker Prize 2025 Award Ceremony in London
Books of the year: Berlin millennials, Belfast mothers, crime, and word-of-mouth successes
Social media malaise, moral reckoning, art and faith, crime fiction at its peak, and a quietly devastating debut all feature in Marjorie Brennan’s selection of the best books of 2025

Fri, 02 Jan, 2026

Books of the year: Novel of the year ‘Nesting’ an achingly real story for women
Books of the year: Novel of the year ‘Nesting’ an achingly real story for women
Critic Deirdre McArdle selects her best books of the year, featuring Irish writers, an AI office romance, and a brilliant book for children and parents alike

Fri, 02 Jan, 2026

29th Annual Critics Choice Awards – Reception
Books of the year: There’s beauty and there are beasts in real world and fiction
Chloe Barrett selects her books of the year, from a tender, beautiful story about beating the odds to one that exposes what really goes on behind the scenes of the global tech elite

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

Books of the year: Poetry and polished prose probing power and privilege
Books of the year: Poetry and polished prose probing power and privilege
Laura Cassidy’s books of the year include intricate yet accessible poems, a Cork City-based crime thriller, the Giller Prize winner 2025, and a top grade campus novel

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

Costa Book Awards 2015
'Confessions of a Shopaholic' novelist Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55
The ‘queen of romantic comedy’ has died 18 months after announcing her brain cancer diagnosis

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

Manchán Magan 16/3/2025
Revealed: Manchán Magan and Michael D Higgins among winners of Irish Book Awards 2025
Former President Michael D  Higgins was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his impact on Irish art and culture

Thu, 27 Nov, 2025

Booker Prize 2025
Overdue Booker nod brings Szalay in from the margins
A unique talent with a track record of challenging work, David Szalay creates worlds that are full of despicable characters and delectable prose

Fri, 21 Nov, 2025

The Children’s Booker Prize will be a boon to young readers everywhere
The Children’s Booker Prize will be a boon to young readers everywhere
The announcement has sparked great excitement in the realm of children’s literature, with the prize sure to shine a light on some of the best stories available for young and eager readers, writes Deirdre McArdle

Fri, 07 Nov, 2025

Celebrity Burial Sites and Landmarks
Karl Whitney: Is it better to let ideas fumble on the long route or set them in stone?
Etching into stone implies permanence, and that requires an eye on the eternal. When a sentence is for life, it’s best to keep it short, writes Karl Whitney

Fri, 24 Oct, 2025

2022 Booker prize
Booker Prize announces launch of first award for children’s fiction
The Children’s Booker Prize will see an author selected annually from 2027 to celebrate the 'best contemporary fiction' for children aged eight to 12 years old

Fri, 24 Oct, 2025

Revealed: Manchán Magan among authors shortlisted for Irish Book Awards
Revealed: Manchán Magan among authors shortlisted for Irish Book Awards
The Irish Book Awards has shortlisted both new and established writers across 19 categories

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

FILE PICS: Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald is understood to be seriously ill in hospital.
Autumn round up: Varadkar and Zappone tell all while Enright casts artful eye
From FitzGerald v Haughey and ‘Bailout Babies’ to Dan Brown and Anne Enright, Marjorie Brennan rounds up a selection of new and forthcoming releases

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025

Sue Leonard: Jilly Cooper charted the excesses of Thatcher's 1980s
Sue Leonard: Jilly Cooper charted the excesses of Thatcher's 1980s
Although the author's 'bonkbusters' were sneered at by critics, her fun and empathy opened up conversations around sex and influenced a generation, writes Sue Leonard

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025

Little boy reading a book in green armchair
Jennifer Horgan: When we stop reading, we limit our understanding of others
Reading, entering another person's world, can help to counter the one-dimensional view of the world we are fed by algorithms 

Fri, 03 Oct, 2025

Books are my business: Illustrator, designer, and director Mel Carroll
Books are my business: Illustrator, designer, and director Mel Carroll
Mr Carroll acts as an agent in UsFolk, managing the commissions for all the other artists — and sometimes himself — 'so I have my business head and then my creative head'

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025

Library, white shelves, multi colored books
Karl Whitney: Difficult decisions you have to face when the books pile up
Many books, on reflection, are entertaining but nothing more: You hold them in front of you and read, but once you’re done, you’re done writes Karl Whitney

Fri, 26 Sep, 2025

Books are my business: Literary agent Jade Kavanagh
Books are my business: Literary agent Jade Kavanagh
'I represent authors in the same way actors have agents. I read their work, take it on, represent it, and then sell it to publishers'

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025

Books are my business: Chair of Bookselling Ireland Maria Dickenson 
Books are my business: Chair of Bookselling Ireland Maria Dickenson 
Bookselling Ireland is the Irish branch of Booksellers Association in the UK

Sat, 06 Sep, 2025

Books are my business: Executive librarian Margaret O'Sullivan
Books are my business: Executive librarian Margaret O'Sullivan
'There is nothing I don’t like about working in the library. I have been at it for 34 years now and I still love it'

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

AM-FM frequency indicator of retro radio
Karl Whitney: Don’t touch that dial: Talking about books on the radio
Writers don’t really get tutored in the art of talking about their book on the radio, where conversations thrive on small talk

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

Colm Tóibín returns as president of Listowel Writers’ Week
Colm Tóibín returns as president of Listowel Writers’ Week
Brooklyn author to return after resigning in 2022

Thu, 21 Aug, 2025

Books are my business: Write by the Sea festival chair Sasha Wilson
Books are my business: Write by the Sea festival chair Sasha Wilson
Looking for a volunteer opportunity during the pandemic led to the discovery of a local literary festival in Co Wexford

Mon, 11 Aug, 2025

Sarah Jessica Parker in possible conflict of interest over Booker longlisted author
Sarah Jessica Parker in possible conflict of interest over Booker longlisted author
Actor and book prize judge’s production company in process of developing novel by Claire Adam

Wed, 30 Jul, 2025

Revealed: The 13 authors in the running for the Booker Prize 2025
Revealed: The 13 authors in the running for the Booker Prize 2025
The ‘Booker Dozen’ features nine nationalities across four continents

Tue, 29 Jul, 2025

Books are my business: Tramp Press founders Sarah Davis-Goff and Lisa Coen
Books are my business: Tramp Press founders Sarah Davis-Goff and Lisa Coen
‘No better feeling in the world’ than discovering new authors

Sat, 26 Jul, 2025

UK. Gillian Anderson in (C)Black Bear film: The Salt Path (2024). Plot: A couple lose their home and later discover the husband
Karl Whitney: On true stories: If reality is a show, then we want our narrator to win
As fundamentally optimistic readers, we want to see our literature conform to the worldview of how to overcome adversity

Fri, 25 Jul, 2025

Woman is typing on a laptop keyboard while lying on a sofa at home in the dark.
New Irish writer getting rave reviews — but nobody knows who they are
Pen names have a long history. Now Liadan Ní Chuinn is shunning publicity in an industry that demands ever more exposure

Tue, 22 Jul, 2025

Books are my business: Illustrator and author Margaret Anne Suggs
Books are my business: Illustrator and author Margaret Anne Suggs
Margaret lectures at Ballyfermot College of Further Education, where she founded the illustration course, and is also director of Illustrators Ireland

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

A good read guaranteed with our top picks for summer
A good read guaranteed with our top picks for summer
Whether you’re a fan of fiction, a politics addict, or a history buff, there is plenty to throw into your book bag this summer

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

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