M.O. Walsh
M.O. Walsh has been writing since the 8th grade, when he discovered literature through Edgar Allan Poe. It’s all he’s ever wanted to do. Since finally leaving college at 27, he has been teaching creative writing;…
Jane Urquhart
The Canadian novelist Jane Urquhart has spent so much time in Ireland, particularly Kerry, that she has based her latest book — The Night Stages — here. She spoke to Sue Leonard about her more than…
Oisin Fagan
Oisín has been writing since he was 9. At 19 he dropped out of college for a year, to be a writer. “I wrote full time, and worked nights. Then I went back to complete my…
Debut Roundup. May and June.
Weightless. Sarah Bannan. Bloomsbury. It’s the summer in a High School in small town Alabama, and a group of girls watch as the cheerleaders perform their practised routines. Wondering at their sheer perfection, their air of…
Kelly Creighton
After college Kelly worked in a special school, then she worked with adults who had learning difficulties. Once her four children were born, she trained as an arts facilitator, and though she was interested in writing,…
Lisa McInerney
John Murray, €17.99; Kindle, €12.51 JOSEPH O’Connor called The Glorious Heresies, Lisa McInerney’s debut novel, a punchy, edgy, sexy fizzing feast; Kevin Barry called its author “totally and unmistakably the real deal,” and Colin Barrett, Donal…
Caitriona Lally
Interested in science, Caitriona started studying speech therapy at college, but she dropped out, took a year out, and studied English. “Then I went to Japan to teach for a year with my boyfriend, then we…
David Shafer
David credits his father for his love of books. He studied journalism with the hope of becoming an inteprid investiagative reporter, but soon found it was a career he wasn’t suited for. “I wrote for a…
Gavin McCrea
Gavin’s mother gave him a love of books. “She left school at 14, but discovered reading when she was having children. It was a modest upbringing but we were always surrounded by good books.” After college…
Hugh O’Donovan
After a short spell at teacher training college, Hugh joined the Irish army. “Loving the idea of the outdoors, I got a cadetship at 17 and stayed for 23 years. I had a whizz time!” During…
Tim McCormick
Tim taught in India with the VSO after college, then moved to London to study accountancy. Back in Dublin, he joined the National Irish Investment Bank, where he remained until 1990. “After that I lectured in…
Ann O’Loughlin
High court reporter Ann O’Loughlin sees us at our most distressed moments and is particularly passionate about the plight of children put up for forced adoption, a thread in her first novel. She explains all to…