An Post Irish Book of the Year Award 2022 Shortlist

Six titles in the running for prestigious overall

 ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year Award’ 2022

• Books by Charlie Bird, Kellie Harrington, Sally Hayden, Louise Kennedy, Marian Keyes and Ellen Ryan nominated for significant accolade

• Winner will be revealed during one-hour television special presented by Oliver Callan on RTÉ One on Wednesday 7 December

Books by Charlie Bird, Kellie Harrington, Sally Hayden, Louise Kennedy, Marian Keyes and Ellen Ryan are in the running for the accolade of ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022’.

The six titles competing for the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year were category winners at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards, and have been selected based on the fact that they accrued the highest number of votes during the shortlist voting process across all categories.

The six nominated titles are:

• Time and Tide – Charlie Bird, with Ray Burke
• Kellie – Kellie Harrington, with Roddy Doyle
• My Fourth Time, We Drowned – Sally Hayden
• Trespasses – Louise Kennedy
• Again, Rachel – Marian Keyes
• Girls Who Slay Monsters – Ellen Ryan, illustrated by Shona Shirley Macdonald

The overall ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022’ winner will now be decided by a distinguished panel of judges, including a bookstore chain chief executive, two literary editors, a best selling novelist, and the CEO of Children’s Books Ireland.

The judging panel consists of:

• Maria Dickenson – General Manager of Dubray, Board Member of the An Post Irish Book Awards and Council Member of the Booksellers Association

• Madeleine Keane – Literary editor of the Sunday Independent, lecturer at University College Dublin and Board Member of Children’s Books Ireland

• Ronan Hession – Author of An Post Irish Book Awards shortlisted books Leonard and Hungry Paul and Panenka, fiction reviewer with The Irish Times fiction and musician known as Mumblin’ Deaf Ro

• Laura Hackett – Deputy Literary Editor of The Sunday Times

• Elaina Ryan – CEO of Children’s Books Ireland and Co-Artistic Director of Tower and Tales Children’s Books Festival in Co. Wexford

One of the six titles will be revealed as the ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022’ during a one-hour television special hosted by Oliver Callan on RTÉ One on Wednesday 7^th December at 10.35pm.

Since its inception, the An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year Award has been won by a series of landmark titles which have gone on to become Christmas bestsellers and firm favourites with readers.

Previous winners of the An Post Irish Book of the Year include Fintan O’Toole for We Don’t Know Ourselves, Doireann Ni Ghriofa for A Ghost in the Throat, the late Vicky Phelan for Overcoming, Emilie Pine for Notes to Self, John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil, Mike Murphy, and John Borgonovo for Atlas of the Irish Revolution, Mike McCormack for Solar Bones, Louise O’Neill for Asking For It, Mary Costello for Academy St, Donal Ryan for The Spinning Heart, Michael Harding for Staring at Lakes, and Belinda McKeon for Solace.

Tune into RTÉ One at 10:35pm on Wednesday 7th December to find out who wins the

An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022.

First awarded in 2006, the An Post Irish Book Awards celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible. Each year it brings together a vast community passionate about books – readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians – to recognise the very best of Irish writing talent and 2022 is no different.

The 2022 winners, outlined below, were announced earlier this week:

Eason Novel of the Year

• Trespasses – Louise Kennedy

TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year

• An Irish Folklore Treasury – John Creedon

Odgers Berndtson Non-fiction Book of the Year

• My Fourth Time, We Drowned – Sally Hayden

Avoca Cookbook of the Year

• The Daly Dish: Bold Food Made Good – Gina and Karol Daly 

Eason Sports Book of the Year in Association with Ireland AM

• Kellie – Kellie Harrington, with Roddy Doyle

Dubray Biography of the Year

• Time and Tide – Charlie Bird, with Ray Burke

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Junior

• Our Big Day – Bob Johnston, illustrated by Michael Emberley

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Senior

• Girls Who Slay Monsters – Ellen Ryan, illustrated by Shona Shirley Macdonald

Bookselling Ireland Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year

• Let’s Talk – Richie Sadlier

An Post Irish Bookshop of the Year

• Bridge Street Books, Wicklow

Love Leabhar Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year

• EL – Thaddeus Ó Buachalla

Listowel Writers’ Week Poem of the Year

• Wedding Dress – Martina Dalton

Writing.ie Short Story of the Year

• This Small Giddy Life – Nuala O’Connor

Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year

• Breaking Point – Edel Coffey

National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year

• Again, Rachel – Marian Keyes

Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year

• There’s Been a Little Incident – Alice Ryan

Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year

• John Boyne