Monday 20 October 2014

Laureate for Irish Fiction - three Clare authors nominated

The Arts Council has just announced the full list of nominees for the Laureate for Irish Fiction, with County Clare's Edna O'Brien, Niall Williams and Ré O’Laighleis joining the likes of John Banville, Sebastian Barry, Emma Donoghue, Anne Enright, Eimear McBride, and Joseph O'Connor among the 34 authors nominated. Nominations were made by 119 organisations and individuals, including book clubs, bookshops, poets, playwrights, arts organisations (including the Ennis Book Club Festival) and public libraries.

In December 2013 the Arts Council announced the establishment of a new award which will honour an outstanding Irish fiction writer and encourage the next generation of Irish fiction writers. The Laureate for Irish Fiction will be awarded by the Arts Council to an Irish writer of national and international distinction. The honour will be used to promote Irish literature nationally and internationally and to encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The video above offers an introduction to the Laureate and outlines the nomination process via interviews with Orlaith McBride, Arts Council Director, Sheila Pratsche, Arts Council Chair, and Denis Staunton, Deputy Editor of the Irish Times.

Click here for the full list of nominees: http://www.artscouncil.ie/laureate/list-of-nominees/

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