In July, the Arts Council wrote to organisations and individuals across the country, asking for their nominations for the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. The closing date for receipt of nominations was 3 October 2014, and we received 119 submissions from bookshops, libraries, book clubs, arts organisations, poets and playwrights. A total of 34 writers were nominated for this honour.
| Anne Enright |
Anne Haverty |
Belinda McKeon |
| Bernard MacLaverty |
Catherine Dunne |
Christine Dwyer Hickey |
| Claire Keegan |
Colum McCann |
Dermot Bolger |
| Donal Ryan |
Edna O'Brien |
Eimear McBride |
| Emma Donoghue |
Eoin McNamee |
Evelyn Conlon |
| Hugo Hamilton |
Jaki McCarrick |
Jennifer Johnston |
| John Banville |
John Boyne |
John MacKenna |
| Joseph O'Connor |
Liam Mac Cóil |
Michael Coady |
| Niall Williams |
Nuala Ní Chonchuir |
Patrick McCabe |
| Paul Murray |
Peter Cunningham |
Ré O Laighleis |
| Roddy Doyle |
Sebastian Barry |
Tom Kilroy |
| William Trevor |
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Selection panel
A selection panel will consider a shortlist of nominees and make its final decision before Christmas and the first Laureate for Irish Fiction will be announced in January 2015. The criteria for selection will be based on the Laureate possessing the following qualities:
- a significant contribution to the field of literature in Ireland and internationally, one which has had a considerably positive impact on readers
- a demonstrated commitment to engaging with the public, the media and the literary sector
- an internationally recognised body of high quality literary writing.
Selection process and key dates
Step in the process
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Who's involved
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Dates
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Nominations window
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We invited nominations from:
- County Libraries (some, in turn, invited nominations from branch libraries)
- library-affiliated book clubs (via the Library Association of Ireland)
- booksellers (via the Booksellers’ Association)
- Arts Council funded organisations with a literary interest
- a small number of senior poets and playwrights
- national cultural institutions
- local authority arts offices
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July–3 October 2014
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Internal shortlisting
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The Project Partners for the Laureate for Irish Fiction are:
- Arts Council
- New York University
- University College Dublin
- Irish Times
The partners met to establish a shortlist of 5–8 names, ranking each writer competitively on the basis of the criteria. Download the shortlisting guidelines (PDF, 110 KB).
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15 October 2014
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List of nominations published
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The Arts Council contacted all nominated writers to let them know that they had been nominated for the honour. In a small number of instances, writers asked not to be considered for the role and for their names to be struck from the nomination list.
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20 October 2014
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Selection of inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction
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The final selection of the Laureate for Irish Fiction will be made by an esteemed selection panel based on the published criteria for selection.
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21 November 2014
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Planning for inaugural Laureateship
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The project partners and the selected Laureate will spend two months planning the shape and priorities of the first six months of the Laureate’s term
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22 November– 25 January
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Announcement of inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction
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Venue and nature of events to be confirmed!
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Week beginning 27 January
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