When Chris Kerr spoke out on his struggles to cope with depression, it stunned the sporting community in Antrim. Now the Saffrons keeper is coming out the other side, and proving an inspiration on and off the pitch, writes Declan Bogue

JM COETZEE’s novels are generally bleak, and full of hidden meanings. Yet most of the time this is a recipe for success.

It was an itch that would not go away and in the end Mary Costello could not help becoming a writer, a very good one at that. She spoke to Sue Leonard about her debut novel has come garlanded with high praise.

The determinedly private JM Coetzee is one of the world’s great writers. Billy O’Callaghan reports on a biography that unwraps the enigma

Mary Costello

John Connolly and Declan Burke convinced great writers to write about their favourite mystery novels. Val Nolan is impressed

Zoë Devlin

SJ WATSON, has always written, but he was good at science as well. So he decided that science would be his career, and writing his hobby.

Life Times

Bookies’ favourite Hilary Mantel scooped the Man Booker Prize for Fiction tonight for her “demanding” novel about Henry VIII’s adviser Thomas Cromwell.

A HISTORICAL novel about Henry VIII’s adviser, Thomas Cromwell, leads the shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize.

Irish authors have missed out on a place in the shortlist for this year's Man Booker Prize.

THREE Irish writers are named in the long list for this year’s £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Tributes were being paid today to Nobel-prize winning author and Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who has died aged 89.

SALMAN Rushdie’s novel, Midnight’s Children, has been named the greatest Booker-prize winner of all time.

A FORMER librarian recorded a turn-up for the books when he won the world’s richest literary prize — on the nomination of librarians.

WHEN JM Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003, the citation from the Academy read: “He is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalisation and cosmetic morality of western society”.

WRITER Sebastian Barry has won this year’s €10,000 Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award for his novel A Long Long Way, it was announced at the opening of Listowel Writers’ Week yesterday evening.

DOUBLE Booker Prize winner JM Coetzee will be among the literary luminaries attending Listowel Writers’ Week from May 31 to June 4 next.

IRISH authors John Banville and Sebastian Barry have been shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction, it was announced yesterday.

IRISH authors John Banville and Sebastian Barry have been shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction, it was announced yesterday.

THE Man Booker long list announced yesterday has a strong Irish showing, with authors John Banville, Sebastian Barry and William Wall all in the running for the prestigious £50,000 book award.

The 18 contenders for the inaugural Man Booker International Prize were announced today.

SOUTH African novelist JM Coetzee was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for literature yesterday.