Joseph O’Connor is honoured with Irish PEN Award

Joseph O'Connor 'honoured' and 'deeply touched' when given an award by Irish PEN on Friday 10 February, 2012  for Services to Irish Literature. The award was presented by President of Ireland Dr. Michael D Higgins, who also received honorary membership of Irish PEN.

President of Ireland Dr. Michael D Higgins said of Joseph O'Connor:

'Tonight, I am truly delighted to be joining you to honour one of those great Irish diplomats of literature, renowned abroad and loved at home as one of our greatest and most popular contemporary writers....

He is a brilliant writer and an accessible one. He is an urban realist who also delves beautifully and imaginatively into a past that defines so much of our national character. He is a talented writer, and a truly courageous one, a writer who takes risks, who tries new things, who is determined to constantly stretch and challenge himself, who never ever takes his great and unique gift for granted.'

Commenting on Joseph's wide array of works, President of Ireland Dr. Michael D Higgins noted that GHOST LIGHT 'not only beautifully tells the story of a doomed love affair between John Millington Synge and Molly Allgood, it also evocatively captures the spirit of a society in crisis in all its political, cultural and social turmoil. In Molly Allgood Joe has surely depicted one of the most compelling female characters in modern literary fiction and her decline and death in the novel is unbearably moving. There is no doubt that Joe O'Connor is one of the brightest stars among a brilliant constellation of contemporary Irish writing.'

Joseph spoke of the 'wonderful honour' he felt in receiving this award:

'I'm of course deeply touched to win any award that was won in its time by some of my boyhood heroes in writing; some of the truly great writers - people like John McGahern, William Trevor, Edna O'Brien and John B. Keane, and I owe them so very much. I thank their great presences - they were writers who understood that all writing is about the reader and that empathy is at the heart of the story and the world. The writer makes the sheet music, but the reader sings the song. And so to be given this award by Irish PEN, part of a wonderful organisation that campaigns for writers all over the world is to be reminded of the undying value at the heart of great literature. It's to be reminded that we read to know that we're not alone, to realise that another human being is real, for enlightenment, knowledge, to escape, to come home, and for that most subversive of all reasons, simple pleasure...

Every writer knows that trying to write is trying to make a ship sail, you work hard on the planning, and the building, and the finishing, and you freight your story with your hopes, you push it out into the water, someday, maybe, it will reach the harbour of another person, and tonight, thanks to you at Irish PEN, I feel that one of my boyhood ships came home.'

Joseph was joined by his wife, scriptwriter and novelist Anne Marie Casey, his parents, Sean and Viola O'Connor, his publisher from Vintage Liz Foley and his agent Carole Blake among many other honourable guests including the Director of PEN International, Laura McVeigh. To find out more about the event and about writing in Ireland in general, please view the online Irish writing magazine and resources website, Writing.ie. To view more photos, please click here.

The Irish PEN Award celebrates Irish born writers who have made outstanding contributions to Irish Literature. The winner is nominated and chosen by the members of Irish PEN as well as by previous winners of the award.

GHOST LIGHT, Joseph's most recent work, was published in 2010 and was chosen as Dublin's One Book, One City in April 2011. His next work, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?, a collection of stories and a novella, will be published by Harvill Secker later this year.

Photo Credit: Moya Nolan

THE SOMNAMBULIST praised on Channel 4's TV Book Club

THE SOMNAMBULIST was heaped with praise and tipped to be an excellent TV series with 'great strong female roles,' that 'any actress would be grateful to play.'

TV Book Club has a prime time slot on one of the UK's main television stations, and aims to showcase brilliant fiction as 'Best Reads' of 2012. One of ten shortlisted books, THE SOMNAMBULIST features alongside 'Before I Go To Sleep' by SJ Watson, 'The Sisters Brothers' by Patrick DeWitt and 'Into The Darkest Corner' by Elizabeth Haynes - for a full list of all selected titles, click here.

Funded by Specsavers, the ten-part series sees a celebrity panel that includes Meera Syal, Dave Spikey and Laila Rouass, critiquing a new title each week. For the first time ever, viewers are invited to interact with the show, reading along with them and sending in their own reviews. Actress Sue Johnston was a special guest on this week's episode and had nothing but praise for THE SOMNAMBULIST: 'It would make a wonderful TV series - a very dark Downton Abbey. The locations are brilliant, the characters are very rich. It draws you in...There are great strong female roles. Any actress would be grateful to play them.'

Click here for a link to TV Book Club's interview with Essie Fox.

THE SOMNAMBULIST is published in the UK by Orion, Castelvecchi in Italy and Damm in Sweden.

Praise from other panellists:

'I loved the sense of place and atmosphere...full of twists and turns...it's plotted really well. [Essie Fox] has managed to capture a fantastic period in British history. Very evocative - it's brilliantly researched and very, very clever. Her descriptions are beautiful and vivid and full of colour and depth.' -- Meera Syal

'I really enjoyed it - there were some great plot twists and turns.' -- Dave Spikey

'A page turner - it kept me there...every character has a richness and depth to them.' -- Laila Rouass

Reader reviews:

'I could almost smell it, the descriptions were so good'

'So atmospheric, an easy read... But also more than that ... A 5 star read.'

More praise for THE SOMNAMBULIST:

'This is a gutsy page-turning novel with a delightful heroine...larger than life Dickensian characters and generous supply of plot twists and turns. But it is no pastiche. It is an affectionate and knowledgeable homage to the genre and a thumping good read.' -- Sally Zigmond, Historical Novels Review

'Vividly compelling, dark and dazzling.' -- Katherine Webb

'Finishing THE SOMNAMBULIST feels like coming back (somewhat regretfully) from time-travelling to Victoria's England. Essie Fox's descriptions of places are just wonderful. This writer has the neat knack of recapturing the mystical eccentricity of Victorian time and place without caricaturing it. I was totally drawn in...A beautiful reading experience! I look forward to the next book from this writer.' -- Michelle Lovric, author of THE BOOK OF HUMAN SKIN

'Wonderful debut...well written - lively and believable characters...I found this book difficult to put down and look forward to more from this very promising author.' -- Yorkshire Gazette and Herald

THIRTEEN HOURS on Barry Awards Best Thriller shortlist

Deon Meyer's THIRTEEN HOURS has been shortlisted for The Barry Award in the Best Thriller category. Named after book reviewer Barry Gardner and supported by Deadly Pleasures magazine, The Barry Award for Best Thriller Category showcases the best works that are published in the field of crime fiction every year and is a coveted prize among crime writers. Previous winners include Barry Eisler and Val McDermid and this year's list features Daniel Silva, Vince Flynn, Noah Boyd, Charles Charters and Mark Greaney. The winner will be announced during the Bouchercon mystery and crime writing convention in St Louis, Missouri, 15-18 September 2011.

With his books sold in 23 countries, Deon Meyer has received wide recognition for THIRTEEN HOURS, originally published in Afrikaans in South Africa by Human & Rousseau, and in the UK by Hodder, in Canada by Random and in the US by Grove Atlantic. THIRTEEN HOURS won the ATVK Prize in South Africa in 2009, was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger Award in 2010 and is optioned for film by Malcolm Kohll and Robert Fig.

Deon Meyer will be a featured guest author at Crimefest in Bristol in the UK, 19-22 May 2011. 

 
Praise for Deon Meyer:

'THIRTEEN HOURS proves Deon Meyer should be on everyone's reading list. This book is great!' -- Michael Connelly

'THIRTEEN HOURS has breathtaking suspense, psychological understanding, and one of the most inspiring detectives ever. Deon Meyer deserves his international reputation.' -- Thomas Perry

 'I look at this wonderfully realized book as a two-for-one - an exciting chase thriller and a puzzling murder mystery. This is my favorite novel of the year.' -- George Easter, Deadly Pleasures

'Meyer is a writer to take seriously - the best crime writer out of South Africa."  -- Crime Time

'If you want a glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems and corruption, Meyer is your man.' -- Matthew Lewin, Guardian

'I've been reading a new book by Deon Meyer, a South African writer of crime fiction, set in his homeland. I love crime fiction and I'm always on the lookout for a new talent and Mr Meyer certainly fits the bill.' -- Michael Parkinson, from his website

Joseph O’Connor to receive Irish PEN Award

An "honoured and touched" Joseph O'Connor will tonight receive the Irish PEN Award in a ceremony to be held at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire. The award will be presented by President Michael D. Higgins, who will also receive honorary membership of Irish PEN.  

The Irish PEN Award celebrates Irish born writers who have made outstanding contributions to Irish Literature. The winner is nominated and chosen by the members of the Irish PEN as well as by previous winners of the award, whose ranks include Seamus Heaney, Jennifer Johnston and Colm Tóibín.

To read the whole article in The Irish Times, please click here.

GHOST LIGHT, Joseph's most recent work, was published in 2010 and was chosen as Dublin's One Book, One City in April 2011. His next work, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?, will be published by Harvill Secker later this year.

Praise for Joseph O'Connor:

'[GHOST LIGHT] has an astonishing command of voice and period detail, and offers an intimacy with the lives of others which is rare in fiction.' -- Colm Tóibín

'This is a dream of a novel, beautifully written, the tragedy of a disappointed life wrapped in the chewy crust of indomitable humour...take GHOST LIGHT away somewhere quiet and listen to its music for yourself. You won't regret it.' -- Arminta Wallace, Irish Times

Peter James to be Author of the Day at the London Book Fair

Peter James has been chosen to be one of the London Book Fair's 'Author of the Day' for this year's event, taking place in April. The author of the day programme features seminars, discussions and book signing and photo opportunities. Peter James will feature on the first day of the fair, Monday April 16. Chinese author and screenwriter Bi Feiyu will feature on Tuesday, and children's writer Patrick Ness on Wednesday.

In The Bookseller James says: "The value of the LBF both as a grand and respected institution and as a forum and showcase, cannot be underestimated".   To read the full article on The Bookseller, please click here.

Peter James' eighth Roy Grace novel, NOT DEAD YET will be published in hardback in early June this year, along with the paperback of his stand-alone novel PERFECT PEOPLE.
 
Praise for PERFECT PEOPLE:

"Brilliantly done, the emotional credibility of the characters is as good as it gets.  There's a movie in this book." -- Jeff Park, 'Front Row', BBC radio

'James takes a break from his Roy Grace crime series with this excellent standalone thriller...James writes beautifully, maintaining the pace with short, punchy chapters. But it's his firm grasp of the moral issues surrounding designer babies that makes PERFECT PEOPLE so satisfying - and so unsettling.' -- John O'Connell, The Guardian