Vicky Phelan and Andrea Corr among the winners at 2019 An Post Irish Book Awards

The winners of this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards have been announced and we have the full list below 

It was a night where Irish literature was celebrated and acclaimed. A night where the very best of our writers were given their much-deserved dues and accolades.

Writers, media personalities and publishers gathered last night at Dublin’s Convention Centre for this year’s An Post Book Awards. The awards, which are decided by the public, received more than 115,000 votes this year to determine the winners.

Accolades

Among this year’s winners were campaigner Vicky Phelan who won the RTÉ Radio 1 Listeners’ Choice Award for her memoir Overcoming and singer Andrea Corr whose biography Barefoot Pilgrimage won the Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book Award.

Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, the duo behind the popular ‘Aisling’ series, were awarded the National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year accolade for Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling. The Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year went to former footballer Richie Sadlier for his autobiography Recovering, while Cornucopia: The Green Cookbook was the Avoca Cookbook of the Year.

Children of the Troubles by Joe Duffy, which honoured the children who died during the Northern Ireland conflict, was named TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year winner. Elsewhere, Sinead Gleeson was victorious in the Bookselling Ireland Non-Fiction Book of the Year category for Constellations and When All is Said by Anne Griffin was named the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year.

Popular author and journalist Colm Tóibín received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for his contribution to literature in Ireland. Some of his most famous works include Brooklyn (which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film) and The Testament of Mary.

Fantastic storytelling

Maria Dickinson, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, said of this year’s winners: “Many of our winning authors reflect on contemporary or historical issues within Irish society, while others amuse, inspire and enthrall through fantastic story-telling.

“Both the winning authors and all our shortlisted titles are a terrific testament to the strength and vitality of Irish writing – and long may this continue.”

The public can now vote for their overall An Post Irish Book of the Year here. The winner will be announced in January. Last year’s winner was author Emilie Pine for her selection of essays called Notes to Self. 

Full list of winners

RTÉ Radio 1 Listeners’ Choice Award

Overcoming – Vicky Phelan with Naomi Linehan (Hachette Books)

Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year

Recovering – Richie Sadlier with Dion Fanning (Gill Books)

Avoca Cookbook of the Year

Cornucopia: The Green Cookbook – Tony Keogh, Aoife Carrigy, the Chefs of Cornucopia, Deirdre and Dairine McCafferty (Gill Books)

Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year

Cruel Acts – Jane Casey (HarperFiction)

Bookselling Ireland Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Constellations – Sinéad Gleeson (Picador)

TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year

Children of the Troubles – Joe Duffy and Freya McClements (Hachette Books Ireland)

Love Leabhar Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year

Tairngreacht – Proinsias Mac a’Bhaird (LeabhairComhar)

Dept51@Eason Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year

Other Words for Smoke – Sarah Maria Griffin (Titan Books)

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Senior

Shooting for the Stars – My Journey to Become Ireland’s First Astronaut – Norah Patten, illustrated by Jennifer Farley (The O’Brien Press)

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Junior

123 Ireland! – Aoife Dooley (Little Island Books)

Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year

When All is Said – Anne Griffin (Hodder & Stoughton)

National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year

Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (Gill Books)

Listowel Writers’ Week Irish Poem of the Year

Salt Rain – Audrey Molloy (from Mslexia, September 2019)

Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Award

Parrot – Nicole Flattery (from The Stinging Fly, Issue 39, Volume 2, Winter 2018-19)

Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Barefoot Pilgrimage – Andrea Corr (HarperNonFiction)

Eason Novel of the Year

Shadowplay – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)

Read more: #IMAGEReads: 10 of our favourite books of 2019 (Part I)

Read more: You LOL’d, you cried, you rubbed shoulders with the authors making you laugh

Read more: ‘I’ve been battling hardship since I was 19’ – Vicky Phelan