New Voices: Irish Book Awards feature six UCD alums among 20 Best New Irish Writers
Posted 28 August, 2024
Six UCD graduates have been named in (opens in a new window)a list by the An Post Irish Book Awards showcasing a new generation of talented Irish authors.
Twenty Irish fiction writers are featured in the new initiative which aims to promote the most exciting new authors in contemporary literature coming out of Ireland ahead of this year’s Irish Book Awards.
Among those listed are three graduates from UCD’s creative writing masters, as well as three alums from the University including a recent UCD Writer-in-Residence.
Author and UCD Creative Writing MFA graduate Disha Bose and her debut novel 'Dirty Laundry'
The authors are Disha Bose, Claire Coughlan, and Aingeala Flannery, each a graduate from UCD’s creative writing masters, and undergraduate alum Niamh Campbell – 2021’s UCD Writer-in-Residence, Louise Kennedy and Ferdia Lennon.
Novelist Claire Coughlan also teaches creative writing at UCD.
The ‘(opens in a new window)New Voices 20 Best New Irish Writers’ contains 20 Irish authors considered by a panel of literary experts to be “a new generation of Irish writers”.
Those on the list will be promoted nationwide in bookshops and libraries during September to celebrate the authors ahead of the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024 campaign.
Writer and broadcaster Aingeala Flannery with her debut novel 'The Amusements', which was written while completing her MFA in Creative Writing at UCD
“I have always loved the connection between the writers we champion and the community of publishers, booksellers and readers that has grown up around the An Post Irish Book Awards (APIBAs),” said David McRedmond, CEO of An Post.
“Now we are taking it a stage further and saying, ‘Just take a look at what’s next’. Here’s to the next wave of writers meeting readers, the magic continues.”
The nominated authors must not have published more than two books in the past decade, and be Irish by birth, citizenship or long-term residence. Their work can feature any genre of fiction.
Novelist Claire Coughlan, who has an MFA in Creative Writing from UCD, with her first novel 'Where They Lie'
Now in its 19th year, the APIBAs aims to celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible.
Its shortlist for this year’s awards will be announced in late October, with the winners’ ceremony taking place on November 27.
Categories include Novel of the Year, Children’s (Junior and Senior), Cookery, Crime Fiction, Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, Sports, Short Story, Poetry, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
