State support for Irish authors is ‘transformative’

There were four Irish writers on the Booker Prize shortlist this year. Why? Ana Kinsella takes a look

Winner of the 2023 Booker Prize Paul Lynch for the novel 'Prophet Song', at an award ceremony in Old Billingsgate, London, last month.

When Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize last week for his novel Prophet Song, it marked the sixth time an Irish author has won the prestigious literary award.

This year, there were four Irish authors on the longlist of 13. That meant that Ireland has now produced the most nominees, relative to population, in the prize’s history.

For those wondering how this can be, Lynch had some suggestions in his interviews after collecting the award: “It’s a great place for writers,” he said.

And what makes it great? Well, he got to that too.

“Any country that supports writers in the way that the Arts Council has supported me, and many other really truly worthy Irish writers, can only be a great place to live.”

Writing a novel takes time and focus and, thanks to two bursaries from the Arts Council, Lynch was able to spend four years working on Prophet Song.

In his remarks, he said the book wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the State.

How else might one manage to fund four years of focus? A lottery win might do the trick.

For a writer, a bursary — like those provided by the Arts Council — can be transformative.

As a writer who recently moved back to Ireland after 12 years in Britain, it seems clear to me that this kind of State support for literature is the point of difference in the Irish literary landscape.

The purpose of the Arts Council’s Literature bursaries is to “buy time”for writers to think, to write, and to develop as writers.

Currently, writers can apply for between €10,000-20,000.

It should be said that these bursaries are not exactly easy to nab; it’s a very competitive process and the selection panel will want to see a good track record of published work, as well as a high quality sample of writing.

But the amount that can be applied for is considerable, and one bursary could buy authors months of time to focus on their work.

Authors’ incomes are typically precarious. Outside of bursaries, the main form of income from writing books is the advance paid when a publisher acquires your book.

Precarious incomes of authors

The typical advance for a first-time author in Britain might be well under €10,000, and any further royalties will only be earned when your book has “earned out” its advance — something many books, even successful and prize-winning books, might not manage for years.

Well, it certainly isn’t a job one goes into for the money.

There’s no direct equivalent to the Arts Council’s Literature bursary in Britain. There are grants available from various bodies, but rarely as generous or as devoted to writing practice as those that Irish authors can apply for.

However, State support for literature in Ireland is not just about bursaries.

The Arts Council also funds literary journals like The Stinging Fly, widely regarded as one of the best outlets in the world for short fiction, and Tolka — a newer magazine dedicated to what it calls “formally promiscuous non-fiction”.

It provides funding for Tramp Press, the independent publisher home to award-winning novelist Mike McCormack and Sara Baume — the Irish writer recently named as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.

There are many more publishers and journals that receive funding from the Arts Council, and the cumulative effect is in creating a publishing landscape that doesn’t need to focus as closely on the bottom line as its equivalent in other countries.

Sarah Baume, the Irish writer recently named as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, has received State funding.

Trends don’t need to be adhered to as clearly, risks can be taken, and what results can be enriching for the reading public.

The reading public, after all, is the end consumer.

We’re lucky to have a very engaged community of readers in Ireland. Since I moved home from London earlier this year, I’ve been struck by how prevalent literary discussion is.

Reading as a pursuit isn’t the preserve of a rarefied stratum of society, as I found it was often depicted in British media — a gentle hobby for the educated, wealthy, or those with lots of free time. Here, people seem to be reading and discussing books everywhere.

That’s thanks, in part, to a well-funded library system — where local libraries programme talks with authors and events for readers — so books are firmly in the heart of the community.

It’s also due to the emphasis placed on reading and writing stories in education.

We shouldn’t ignore the status of Ireland as a literary culture, the country that produced Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, and O’Brien.

Irish people seem to like thinking of ourselves as a country of storytellers.

Award winning novelist Mike McCormack was a recipient of the Arts Council’s Literature bursary.

The Irish public have an interest in history and hearing about how we got to where we are, which goes hand in hand with reading books.

All of this has meant that there’s no typical reader in Ireland. You don’t need to be university educated or well-off to enjoy books.

You’ll see this at literary festivals or library talks.

Events like these are not only important for the reading public, they’re also opportunities for what you might call “professional development” for a writer.

Most authors tend to juggle their writing with other professional responsibilities, and it’s easy to feel like you’re not truly a “writer” if you don’t have the time or freedom to write more.

Participating in events and meeting readers helps writers to conceive of themselves as part of that same literary culture that produces award-winning books.

I, myself, have benefitted from professional development through the Irish Writers Centre’s Evolution programme — which is aimed at a small group of authors who have published at least one book.

To my knowledge, there’s nothing like this on offer for writers in Britain: A free programme of resources, skill-sharing, and mutual support to help authors take the next step in their careers, funded by the State through the support of the Arts Council.

Writing a book is never easy, and I would imagine that writing one that lands you on the Booker shortlist is a task of another order as well.

But as Lynch pointed out, there are ways that a country like Ireland can support its writers.

If we’re serious about producing great literature — work to be read and enjoyed now and in years to come — why not invest in it? As we’ve seen this week, doing so pays off.