KAITE O’REILLY’S ‘richard iii redux’ TAKES TO THE STAGE IN MADRID

Sara Beer in ‘richard iii redux’. Image credit: Artezblai

Kaite O’Reilly and Phillip Zarrilli’s play ‘richardiii redux, or Sara Beer [is/not] richard iii’ – nominated for the 2018 James Tait Black Prize for Drama – has just finished its first international run, at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid.

The play, reflecting on Shakespeare’s representation of disability in his acclaimed historical tragedy, stars Sara Beer as the iconic machiavel. According to Kaite, ‘our piece interrogates, satirises and subverts Shakespeare's attitude towards physical difference through a parallel contemporary story: a bogus autobiography of performer Sara Beer, who had the same form of scoliosis. Through irreverent references, we break down the construction of the “twisted body, twisted mind” stereotype of Richard III as evil incarnate – and we do it with laughter and moments of playfulness and absurdity.’

Praise for ‘richard iii redux’:

‘richard iii redux or Sara Beer [is/not] richard iii is a bold, informative, occasionally traumatic, and irreverently amusing 70 minutes of theatre.’ – Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide

‘Richard III Redux is an insightful piece of disability art, mixing demonstrably excellent work by disabled people with biting social comment. More than this, it lets us into a new Richard, one free of disabling barriers. But rather than talking about it, my best advice is go and see it. You won’t regret it.’ – Chris Tally Evans, Disability Arts Online

‘Sara Beer and Kaite O’Reilly’s approach to Richard III is certainly unique… It is a brave piece, and one that demonstrates how Shakespeare’s work can be actualised without being fit into a mold it doesn’t belong in. All in all, the show managed to give a layered interpretation of an iconic character by approaching it from an angle that, while often visited in the past, has never been entirely in the spotlight. It is an excellent, immersive experience that is sure to leave its audience thinking well after its conclusion.’ – Chiara Strazzulla, Arts Scene in Wales

Joseph O’Connor wins the 2022 AWB Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Award

Joseph O’Connor and Caitríona Fottrell (CEO of the American Ireland Fund)

We are thrilled to announce that Joseph O’Connor has been awarded the 2022 AWB Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Award.

The AWB Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Award is one of Ireland’s most illustrious literary prizes, with past recipients of the award including Seamus Heaney, Edna O’Brien, Michael Longley, William Trevor, Colm Toibin and Eavan Boland. It is given each year to a ‘promising or established writer in Ireland who best reflects the great Irish literary tradition’ and is named in honour of Mr. AWB Vincent who was one of the founders of the American Ireland Fund and who initiated the award in 1972. The winner receives a cash prize of $25,000 and this year’s prize was presented at a private reception in Killarney, County Kerry on 16 June 2022 during the annual Worldwide Ireland Funds conference.

Caitriona Fottrell, President and CEO of The Ireland Funds, said: ‘We would like to congratulate Joseph O’Connor on his significant contribution to the Irish and international literary landscapes. This award is truly deserved and is a testament to Joseph’s talent, creativity, and hard work. He now shares The Ireland Funds AWB Vincent Literary Award with some of the titans of Irish literature.’

Joseph O’Connor said: ‘Forty years ago, at the age of 17, inspired by many of the great writers who have received this award, I began to write fiction and to dream I might one day have a novel published. To be now invited into a group that includes the lighthouses of my early teens, is a humbling honour and a blessing. I am profoundly grateful to The Ireland Funds for this extraordinarily generous act of support and for all it has done, and continues to do, for the arts, culture, and education in Ireland.’

Joseph O’Connor is the author of many novels, collections of short stories, and bestselling works of non-fiction. He has also written film scripts and radio and stage-plays. STAR OF THE SEA (2002) was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies and being published in 38 languages. His most recent novel, SHADOWPLAY (2019), has won him extraordinary praise and won Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, The Dalkey Novel Prize and the Costa Novel Prize, among others. The French edition was shortlisted for the Jean Monnet Prize and the Vintage paperback was a Richard and Judy Winter 2020 pick. Joseph’s upcoming novel, MY FATHER’S HOUSE, will be published in January 2023.

The Ireland Funds is a global philanthropic network established in 1976 to promote and support peace, culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland, and Irish-related causes around the world. With chapters in 12 countries, The Ireland Funds has raised over $600 million for deserving causes in Ireland and beyond, benefiting more than 3,200 different organisations with both financial and non-financial support.

 

Praise for Joseph O’Connor:

‘A masterful storyteller.’ — Neel Mukherjee, The Times

‘Joseph O'Connor has the magic touch, he brings whole eras alive.’ — Colum McCann

‘A great writer performing Olympian literary storytelling.’ — Sir Bob Geldof

'Like Joyce, O'Connor combines his panoramic range with a close eye to the grain and texture of the phrase ... An astonishingly accomplished writer.'  — Terry Eagleton, The Guardian

‘Ireland’s greatest storyteller.’ — The Sunday Independent

‘One of the best writers working today.’ — Alice Walker

 

About Joseph O’Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin, where he still lives. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Literature from University College Dublin and received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012. He is the inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

Visit Joseph O’Connor’s website

THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean makes 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award shortlist

 Will Dean’s highly acclaimed thriller, THE LAST THING TO BURN, has been shortlisted for the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK’s most prestigious crime-fiction awards, with its annual winner announced in a prize ceremony at the Harrogate Crime Festival. Members of the public can now vote for their favourite crime novel over at https://harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com/. Voting closes on Friday 8th July, with this year’s winner announced on the 21st of July.

The other shortlisted titles are: THE NIGHT HAWKS by Elly Griffiths, SLOUGH HOUSE by Mick Herron, MIDNIGHT AT MALADAR HOUSE by Vaseem Khan, TRUE CRIME STORY by Joseph Knox, and DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. None of the shortlisted authors have ever won this coveted prize before, making this year’s competition even more exciting.

The prize’s executive director Simon Theakston said: ‘What a fantastic shortlist, six thrilling tales which deliver shocking twists and unforgettable characters! We raise a glass of Theakston Old Peculier to all of the shortlistees and look forward to revealing the winner in July as we kick off the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.’

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, added: ‘We are delighted to announce this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist, featuring six novels by some of the most exciting crime writers working today. Whisking readers around the world and through time, this shortlist is a fantastic demonstration of the variety to be found in crime fiction. The public have a tough task ahead choosing just one winner and we can’t wait to see who they vote for.’

THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most horrific of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, and was voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.  It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021 and is now available to buy in paperback.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on the 14th of April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld. The fifth instalment of the series, WOLF PACK, will be published in the Autumn.

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN:

‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey

‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes

‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent

‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

Credit: Rosalind Hobley

‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, The Observer

About Will Dean:

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.

Sceptre acquires James Cahill's second novel

We are delighted to announce that Juliet Brooke, Associate Publisher at Sceptre Books,  has acquired UK and Commonwealth (exc. Canada) rights for James Cahill’s second novel, THE VIOLET HOUR,  from Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann.

A sweeping psychological drama and razor-sharp satire of the international art world, THE VIOLET HOUR is a gripping and insightful glimpse into a maelstrom of glittering parties, titanic reputations and fatal rivalries.

A young man falls to his death from a tower block in London. Gradually, this apparently random tragedy is shown to be entwined with the lives, desires and regrets of the novel’s three protagonists as they grapple with their pasts and presents – and the ruthlessness of the international art world.

Assured, intelligent, laced with notes of violence and eroticism, THE VIOLET HOUR is a perfect follow up to TIEPOLO BLUE (which publishes today, 9 June 2022), a debut novel that already garnered praise and admiration from readers and reviewers alike. Like TIEPOLO BLUE, THE VIOLET HOUR  weaves sophisticated ideas about expression, authenticity and performance into an exquisitely written story you cannot put down.

James Cahill said: ‘I’m hugely excited to be publishing my second novel with Sceptre. THE VIOLET HOUR is a portrait of the contemporary art world – a world I’ve existed in for many years – but it’s also a story of loss, longing and redemption. I can’t wait for it to come to life as a book, and I’m looking forward to working again with Juliet Brooke, Charlotte Humphery and the whole team at Sceptre.’

Charlotte Humphery, senior commissioning editor at Sceptre, who is working with Brooke’s authors while Brooke is on parental leave, said: ‘TIEPOLO BLUE is a remarkable debut – confident, beautiful and thrilling to read – and we’re so excited to be publishing it this month. THE VIOLET HOUR confirms James Cahill as a vital voice in literary fiction – we’re thrilled to invest in his work. And I know that his new and future fans will love this gorgeous, sophisticated new novel.’

Sceptre will publish THE VIOLET HOUR in Spring 2024.

Praise for TIEPOLO BLUE:

‘The spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill.  The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence – except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously’ – Edmund White

‘This is the best novel I have read for ages. It is so beautifully written, not a false note in any sentence… it’s just masterly… My heart was constantly in my throat as I read… [There is] so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in.’ – Stephen Fry

‘Imagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of DEATH IN VENICE and you’ll see the appeal of James Cahill’s assured debut.’ – Patrick Gale

‘Sensual, treacherous and elegiac.’ – Maggi Hambling

‘[An] arresting debut novel… [the prose] has a masterly attention to (especially visual) detail and in an irresistibly propulsive, almost swaggering style…there are moments here and there that would make even Hollinghurst blush….’ – Literary Review

‘This divine debut from art critic and academic James Cahill is the smart, sexy read you need in 2022.’ – Evening Standard

About James Cahill:

James Cahill was born in London. Over the past decade, he has worked in the art world and academia, combining writing and research with a role at a leading contemporary art gallery. He is currently a Research Fellow in Classics at King’s College London. His writing on art has appeared in publications including The Burlington Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The London Review of Books. He was the lead author and consulting editor of FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (Phaidon, 2018), a survey of classical myth in art from antiquity to the present day. He was the co-curator of ‘The Classical Now’, an exhibition at King’s College London (March-April 2018), examining the relationships between ancient, modern and contemporary art.

Follow James on Twitter and Instagram.

THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean makes The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2022 longlist

We are delighted that Will Dean’s highly acclaimed thriller, THE LAST THING TO BURN,  has been longlisted for The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2022. 

Now in its sixth year, the Glass Bell Award celebrates the best storytelling across contemporary fiction, regardless of genre. The other titles longlisted for this year’s prize include: TALL BONES by Anna Bailey, MRS MARCH by Virginia Feito, THE WOLF DEN  by Elodie Harper, THE OTHER BLACK GIRL by Zakiya Dalila Harris, SISTERSONG by Lucy Holland, THE PROPHETS  by Robert Jones Jr, THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS by Ruth Ozeki, ARIADNE by Jennifer Saint, DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, THREADNEEDLE by Cari Thomas and WE ARE ALL BIRDS OF UGANDA by Hafsa Zayyan.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell, says: ‘Every year, we are chomping at the bit to get together and discuss our favourite books published in the previous year; and 2022 was no exception. Once again, the longlist is incredibly exciting and without one weak link. Every year, the judging process gets more difficult as the standard of publishing continues to grow - this year might be our trickiest yet.’

The shortlist of six will be announced on 28th July, with the winner revealed on 8th September.

THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most chilling of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and  Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, as well as voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.  It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021, and is now available to buy in paperback.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on 14th April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld. The fifth instalment, WOLF PACK, will be published later this year.

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN:

‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey

‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes

‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent

‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, Observer

Credit: Rosalind Hobley

About Will Dean:

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.