2009 Irish Book Award Winners

With more hype than an FA Cup final and sponsors dropping by the wayside at a rapid rate, Tragic is not too sure if the Irish Book Awards are sustainable in their current state. They seem to have the aura of America's ill-fated high energy short lived Quills about them.

Possibly a bit unfair. Haven't been in the Republic over the last year or so and maybe the lists are household chit-chat- although Tragic's Irish relations, of which there are many, still haven't heard of the award. This Charming Man by Marian Keyes, winner of the popular fiction prize, may alter that at least as far as the female cousins are concerned.

The winning books are not bad at all at all, so the judging process, of which Tragic has been a tad critical, seems to have worked. Wrong yet again as people power prevails. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry is now on the official 'must read" list by virtue of being omnipresent in Literary Award World. Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy, winner of the older children category award, is also a fine book.

The Clare-born novelist and literary icon, Edna O'Brien, was honoured with The 2009 Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award. Excellent.

Must dash. One of Tragic's daughters is playing soccer this morning. They are playing the same team that beat them 14-0 last week. Character building.

2009 Winners and shorts below.

2009 Winners & Shortlist

The Hughes Hughes Irish Novel of the Year:

Winner: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Faber Faber)-

The story of centenarian and mental hospital patient, Roseanne McNulty, is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne’s story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland’s changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008.

The Truth Commissioner by David Park (Bloomsbury)

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill (Harper Perennial)

Disguise by Hugo Hamilton (Fourth Estate)

Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: This Charming Man by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph)

This charming man, Paddy de Courcy, is getting married. Stylist Lola is his girlfriend but definitely not the bride-to-be. That’s Alicia Thornton. Journalist Grace wants the scoop on Paddy and guess who was her sister Marnie’s first love? Four very different women. One awfully charming man. And the dark secret that binds them all. Marian Keyes’ darkest and most uncompromising novel to date.

The Gift by Cecelia Ahern (Harper Collins)

Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra's Box by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (Penguin Ireland)

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy (Orion)

Lessons in Heartbreak by Cathy Kelly (Harper Collins)

Forgive and Forget by Patricia Scanlan (Transworld Ireland)

Best Irish-Published Book of the Year:

Winner: The Parish by Alice Taylor (Brandon)

A profound and benign book, The Parish deals with the growing realisation that local community is very precious and must be nurtured. Through a series of vignettes of life in her own village, Innishannon, Taylor explores the positive values of social community and the extraordinary things that the members of a close-knit community do for each other.

Crime Wars by Paul Williams (Merlin)

Patrick Hillery: The Authorised Biography by Joh

Publish Post

n Walsh (New Island)

Traditional Boats of Ireland: History, Folklore and Construction by Criostóir MacCarthaigh (Collins Press)

The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children’s Book of the Year:

Junior section:

Winner: Before You Sleep by Benji Bennett (Adams Printing Press)

This is an affectionate and wonderfully illustrated children’s bedtime story book by first-time author, Benji Bennett. It offers parents a unique opportunity to enter the fascinating world of a child and express their love for their child through a series of magical adventures, powerful verse and imaginative illustrations.

Her Mother's Face by Roddy Doyle (Scholastic)

Highway Robbery by Kate Thompson (Bodley Head)

The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers (Harper Collins Children’s)

Senior section: 9+

Winner: Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy (Harper Collins)

Baron Vengeous makes a bloody escape from prison and dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. With Baron Vengeous after the deadly armour of Lord Vile, and pretty much everyone out to kill Valkyrie, the daring detective duo face their biggest challenge yet. Latest in the rip-roaring Skulduggery series.

The Magician, by Michael Scott (Doubleday Children’s)

Alice and Megan Forever by Judi Curtin (O’Brien Press)

The Poison Throne (Moorehawke Trilogy) by Celine Kiernan (O’Brien Press)

RTÉ Radio 1’s The Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award:

Winner: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Faber Faber)-

The story of centenarian and mental hospital patient, Roseanne McNulty, is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne’s story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland’s changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008.

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill (Harper Perennial)

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)

Testimony by Anita Shreve (Little Brown)

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Millar (Canongate)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic Books)

The Ireland AM Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: Blood Runs Cold by Alex Barclay (Harper Collins)

Kidnap and murder collide in Alex Barclay's heart-stopping new thriller featuring FBI Agent Ren Bryce. When an FBI agent is found dead on the white slopes of Quandary Peak in Colorado, a brilliant but volatile agent is drafted in from Denver to lead the investigation. Alex Barclay is the rising star of the hard-boiled genre.

The Likeness by Tana French (Hachette Ireland)

Undertow by Arlene Hunt (Hachette Ireland)

Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin Mystery 2) by Brian McGilloway (Pan MacMillan)

The Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney by Seamus Heaney and Dennis O’Driscoll (Faber Faber)

Widely regarded as the finest poet of his generation, Seamus Heaney has been the subject of no book-length portrait until now. In response to Dennis O’Driscoll’s subtle questioning, the poet sheds a personal light on his work and on the artistic and ethical challenges he faced, providing an original, diverting and absorbing store of reflections, opinions and recollections.

Ivor Browne: Music and Madness by Ivor Browne (Cork University Press)

The Builders by Frank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan (Penguin)

Bake by Rachel Allen (Collins)

Energise Sport Irish Sports Book of the Year:

Winner: Ronan O'Gara: My Autobiography by Ronan O’Gara (Transworld Ireland)

Ronan O'Gara is quite simply one of the greatest sportsmen Ireland has ever produced. In this illuminating autobiography, O'Gara tells the story of his many on-field successes but does not shy away from addressing the darker days, most notably at the 2007 World Cup. Here is the story of a passionate representative of the people of Cork and Ireland.

Better Than Sex: My Autobiography by Mick Fitzgerald and Donn McClean (Highdown)

Crashed and Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw by Tommy Byrne and Mark Hughes (Icon Books)

The Chairman of the Boards: No. 1 by Eamon Coughlan and George Kimball (Red Rock Press)

International Education Services Irish Newcomer of the Year:

Winner: Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O’Brien (Hachette Ireland)

Following a near-death experience as a child, the narrator becomes cursed with the ability to foresee the deaths of the people closest to him. Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Rathgorman, this is a story where dreams come true but can turn into nightmares; a place where true love will prevail and where death is only the beginning.

The Poison Throne (Moorehawke Trilogy) by Celine Kiernan (O’Brien Press)

Bad Day in Blackrock by Kevin Power (Lilliput)

Off the Beaten Track: My Favourite Faraway Places by Kathryn Thomas (Poolbeg)

Lifetime Achievement in Irish Literature 2009:

The Clare-born novelist and literary icon, Edna O'Brien, was honoured with The 2009 Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award. Presenter Seamus Heaney delivered a rich and eloquent encomium, congratulating O'Brien on her long and distinguished career, her gift for language and her courage in the face of harsh and misguided criticism. O'Brien declared herself delighted to be honoured in her own county which, she remarked, had always been the well-spring of her imaginative life as a writer.