Commending Irish and Adventure Fiction

The shortlists have been announced for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. Categories range from Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, and Cookbook to Poetry, Short Story, Newcomer, and Teen and Young Adult. There are also half a dozen candidates for the 2023 Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year. They are:

• The Lock-Up, by John Banville (Faber and Faber)
• The Close, by Jane Casey (Harper Fiction)
• Kill for Me, Kill for You, by Steve Cavanagh (Headline)
• No One Saw a Thing, by Andrea Mara (Bantam)
• Strange Sally Diamond, by Liz Nugent (Sandycove)
• The Trap, by Catherine Ryan Howard (Bantam)

Two of those same authors are in contention to be named as this year’s Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year:

• Sebastian Barry (Faber and Faber)
• Claire Keegan (Faber and Faber)
• Liz Nugent (Sandycove)
• Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)
• Lucinda Riley (Pan Macmillan)
• Catherine Ryan Howard (Bantam)

Readers are invited to vote for their favorites from any or all of the shortlists. Division winners will be declared on November 22.

As the awards Web site explains, these prizes (dispensed annually since 2007) “are dedicated to the celebration of the best Irish writers and writing across all genres of publishing.” Sponsor An Post is “the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland.”

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Meanwhile, news regarding the recipient of the 2023 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize has also reached us.

That honor goes to Australian-born UK writer Emma Styles for her debut novel, No Country for Girls (Sphere). Amazon describes her tale as “Thelma & Louise for a new generation ... a gritty, twisty road-trip thriller that follows two young women on the run across the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Australia.” In Reference to Murder notes that No Country for Girls “was also shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award, the Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel, and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction.”