Terry Prone: Thoughts and prayers for writers navigating their book launch

I forgot that Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, in her political days, was regarded as the most lethal practical joker in the Oireachtas

At the launch of Terry Prone’s memoir at Dubray Books on Grafton St, Dublin, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn ‘recalled something I have spent more than 20 years trying to forget’ Picture: Arthur Carron

This is book launch season. From the beginning of October, every week, in some bookshop, a book is launched, with the writer hoping it will help get it on people’s Christmas gift list. Roughly one in four books published in any given year is sold in the run-up to Christmas.

An essential element of any book launch is a famous person to do the honours. So, in the last couple of weeks, Vincent Browne launched Justine McCarthy’s book, Mario Rosenstock did the honours for Matt Cooper’s latest, and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn launched my memoir. Their very presence attracts attention, which is good. The writer can’t control what they are going to say, which is not so good.