The Prize awards no money, is to showcase Irish books and only excludes cookery and poetry books.

Some of the touchstones didn't work but such is life

Irish Novel of the Year
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne*
Book of Lost Things - John Connolly**
Tenderwire - Claire Kilroy
Winterwood - Patrick McCabe

Irish Non-Fiction book of the year
Northabout - Jarlath Cunnane
In search of Iraq - Richard Downes
The Stolen Village - Des Elkin**
Connemara - Tim Robinson

Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year
A Place called Here - Cecelia Ahern #
Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy
Christine Falls - Benjamin Black **
From here to Maternity - Sinead Moriarty
Should have got off at Sidney Parade - Ross O'Carroll Kelly

Irish Sports book of the Year
Forza Italia - Paddy Agnew
Every Single Ball - Brian Corcoran
Dublin v Kerry - Paul McGrath

Irish Newcomer of the Year
Forget - Ruth Gilligan #
Pack up the Moon - Anna McPartlin
Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse - Philip O Ceallaigh
The Goddess Guide - Gisele Scanlon#

Irish-published book of the year
Vanishing Ireland - Turtle Bunbury & James Fennell
Irish Times book of 1916 Rising - Fintan O'Toole & Shane Hegarty
Tom Crean : An illustrated Life - Michael Smith
Lifelines

Tubridy Show Listeners' Choice Award
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne *
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Winterwood - Patrick McCabe
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
Q&A - Vikas Swarup
Terrorist - John Updike

Irish Children's Book of the Year
Junior:
Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy - Marie Louise Fitzpatrick
Incredible Book-Eating boy - Oliver Jeffers
Irish Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Eddie Lenihan
I'm a Happy Hugglewug - Niamh Sharkey

Senior:
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne *
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony - Eoin Colfer *
Something Invisible - Siobhan Parkinson
Demon Thief - Darren Shan

* - I'd like to read it
** - it's in my TBR mountain
# - I've read it

Message edited by its author, Feb 7, 2007, 10:32am.

The Popular Fiction of the year and the Tubridy Show Listeners Choice are both public Votes.

Message edited by its author, Feb 1, 2007, 9:32am.

I enjoyed the John Connolly novel and found it unexpectedly moving at the end. And how can one not be attracted to a story that has books whispering to its main character?

The current issue of World Literature Today features modern Irish literature. It's a nice overview.

There are eight categories but I'll just list the nominees for Irish Novel of the Year 2008:

The Gathering by Anne Enright
Zugzwang by Ronan Bennett
Redemption Falls by Jospeh O'Connor
The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black (aka John Banville)

Message edited by its author, Mar 18, 2008, 7:35pm.

(P.S. Last years winner was Winterwood by Patrick McCabe.

gosh, what a surprise.

Message edited by its author, Apr 30, 2008, 8:32am.

Nominees for Novel of the Year 2009:

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
The Truth Commissioner by David Park
Disguise by Hugo Hamilton