The 41st Hennessy Literary Awards

A cocktail crying out to be sipped

 Fellow Shortlistee Máire T Robinson with John Murphy

Still crying out...

 

 MC John Kelly

 The amazed, stunned and hazy bit...

John Boyne joins the hall of Fame

I'm thrilled to have won the New Irish Writer Of The Year Award and the Emerging Poetry Award for my poem Kitty. There were lots of lovely guests including former winners Siobhan Mannion and Madeleine D'Arcy and fellow nominees Maire Robinson and Aisling Keogh. It was great to meet Deirdre Purcell and blogger Kate Dempsey and of course the star of the show, John Boyne who was inducted into the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall Of Fame, joining writers such as Dermot Bolger, Joseph O Connor, Patrick Mc Cabe, Colum McCann, Frank Mc Guinness, Anne Enright, Hugo Hamiltion, Neil Jordan and Sebastian Barry.

Ciaran Carty, New Irish Writing Editor, judged the entrants with authors Giles Foden and Deirdre Purcell. It's only the seventh time a poet has won the award, which makes it an added honour. First Fiction was won by Barbara Tarrent for her extremely powerful story Baby and Emerging Fiction was won by Viv Mc Dade for the original and witty Leaving For Chile.

• For more on the night click  HERE
• For the more about the shortlistees and their work there's a great post on Emerging Writer's Blog  HERE 
• To hear actress Tara Quirke read Kitty click HERE 
• To hear  my interview and reading of Kitty with Clem Ryan on KFM click HERE

NEW IRISH WRITING SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Stories should not exceed 2,200 words and up to six poems may be submitted. Entries (with a stamped addressed envelope) should be submitted to: New Irish Writing, Irish Independent, 27-32 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, along with name, phone number and email address.