Christmas is around the corner, and now we know who’ll be on our reading lists over the break. Bernard MacLaverty, Marian Keyes, Judi Curtin, Rory O Connell and Ruth Fitzmaurice were some of the winning authors named at the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards held in Dublin this week. For over a decade the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards have been championing incredible Irish stories and talent and this year was no exception.
Now in its 12th year, the star-studded awards ceremony took place in Dublin’s Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road and was attended by some of Ireland’s top writers, publishers and booksellers including Sinéad Moriarty, John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Eoin Colfer, Paul Howard, and more.
We were thrilled to see that Bernard MacLaverty’s first novel in over 15 years Midwinter Break; a beautiful tome about an ageing, estranged Irish couple on holiday in Amsterdam, won the coveted Novel of the Year prize while another IMAGE favourite, The Break by Marian Keyes, also about an Irish couple – and one who takes a break from their marriage – won the Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Another must-read is the soaring I Found My Tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice, which won Newcomer of the Year.
Below is the full list of winners, all of which should make any fellow bookworms happy (and easy to buy gifts for) this Christmas:
TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book of the Year
National Book Tokens Children’s Book of the Year (Junior)
National Book Tokens Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)
Dept 51@Eason Teen / Young Adult Book of the Year
Eason Book Club Novel of the Year
Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year
Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year
Onside Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year
EUROSPAR Cookbook of the Year
Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year
RTE Radio One’s The Ryan Tubridy Show Listener’s Choice Award
Listowel Writer’s Week Irish Poem of the Year
Writing,ie Short Story of the Year
Main image by Thought Catalog on Unsplash