Literary Diary

Madeleine Keane

BLOOMSDAY will certainly be different this year but at least we can look forward to a new work from Edna O’Brien. Extracts from

James and Nora: Portrait of Joyce’s Marriage will be broadcast on June 13 at 6.30pm on RTE Radio 1. The half-hour show will feature specially adapted excerpts of O’Brien reading from her latest book, recently recorded at her home in London.

The broadcast is scheduled to sit between June 10 when Nora Barnacle and James Joyce were due to walk out together, and June 16 when they had their first date; and to mark the publication of Ulysses. Weidenfeld & Nicholson publish

James and Nora on June 11.

I’m a big fan of the Dalkey

Book Festival, so it’s fortuitous that its dynamic director Sian Smyth launched the inaugural Dalkey Literary Awards back in February.

These will replace the festival on June 20 in a digital ceremony. Generous sponsors Zurich will present the ‘Novel of the Year’ winner with a cheque for €20,000 whilst the author crowned ‘Emerging Writer’ will take home €10,000. For a full list of nominees go to www.zurich. ie/dalkey-literary-awards/2020.

During these strange summer months, I’m going to keep you posted with my novel recommendations.

From my recent pile, I adored Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan. Due from Doubleday at the end

August, it’s an exquisitely wrought story of family and how we sometimes hardly know those we love. I was also very taken with Anne Tyler’s bittersweet Redhead by the Side of the Road and The Weekend by Australian writer Charlotte Wood, a witty, poignant portrait of female friendship.

Redoubtable agent Marianne Gunn O’Connor struck gold again last week, negotiating a six-figure, two-book deal for 27-year-old debut Irish author Louise Nealon. Her tender coming-of-age story, Snowflake will be the lead literary title from new imprint Manilla Press in 2021. Film and TV rights have already been acquired by Element Pictures, the team responsible for the current TV hit Normal People.

This time of the year the enchanting Kerry town of Listowel usually buzzes with book lovers for Writers’ Week. It seemed especially unfair in its 50th year that it couldn’t happen but organisers pressed ahead with an online awards ceremony last Wednesday evening.

Miriam Gamble picked up the Piggott Poetry Prize for her collection What Planet while the Kerry Group Novel of the Year with a purse of €15,000 was won for Girl by the indefatigable Edna O’Brien. Here’s to May 2021 when the belated birthday celebrations for the most beloved of book festivals will be all the sweeter.