Offaly designer's work shortlisted for Irish Book Awards
A children's book illustrated by an Offaly designer has been shortlisted for An Post Irish Book Awards 2024.
Birr native Shannon Bergin provided the illustrations for 'Over the Red-brick Chimney' by Una Leavy.
Shannon describes herself on her website as “an Irish illustrator, avid doodler, and tea drinker”. She graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design with a BA (Hons) in Animation and Motion Design.
A multi-award winner, Shannon was previously shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2021.
'Over the Red-brick Chimney' tells the story of a young goose that gets seperated from her flock during their winter migration.
It is one of six books nominated for the Novel of the Year, Children’s (Junior) category. The winners of each category will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Convention Centre, Dublin on Wednesday, November 27.
Meanwhile, the overall winner will be announced in a one-hour television special, hosted by Oliver Callan, on RTÉ One on December 19. The show will give viewers an exclusive insight into the six books and the authors competing for the accolade of ‘An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year 2024’.
An Post Irish Book Awards celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible. Each year, the awards bring together a vast community passionate about books – readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians – to recognise the very best of new and established Irish writing talent..
This year, the Hodges Figgis History Book of the Year’ category has been introduced to celebrate Ireland’s history writers and acknowledge the importance of historical writing and its contribution to the Irish literary landscape.
Additionally, the ‘Cookbook of the Year’ category has been expanded and renamed as the ‘Food and Drink Book of the Year’ category to reflect the evolving tastes and interests of readers who enjoy culinary literature.
The ‘Best Short Story’ and ‘Best Poetry Award’ categories are now in partnership with the Irish Independent’s New Irish Writing competition.
Formerly known as the Hennessy Literary Awards, New Irish Writing has been a platform for unpublished writers since its establishment in 1968. It has helped launch the careers of numerous Irish literary stars, including Colum McCann, Anne Enright, Joseph O’Connor and Claire Keegan. The monthly winners are published on the last Saturday of each month online and in the Review supplement of The Irish Independent.
The shortlist of six for the Short Story and Poetry categories was selected from the monthly winners between November 2023 and October 2024 by Ciaran Carty, New Irish Writing’s Editor since 1988, and Associate Editor Dermot Bolger. The overall winners of both categories will be chosen by two of New Irish Writing’s most successful and respected alumni – John Boyne and Paula Meehan.
Other categories include Novel of the Year, Children’s (Senior), Newcomer, Lifestyle, Crime Fiction, Biography, Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, Sports, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language.
Announcing the shortlist of nominees, An Post Irish Book Awards Chairperson Larry MacHale said, “The shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards is, once again, remarkable, showcasing the immense talent of Irish writers and the strength of our literary community.
“Each category highlights exceptional writing, with well deserving authors, publishers, illustrators, and booksellers being recognised.
“The An Post Irish Book Awards is a key event in the literary calendar, and it is wonderful to see the growing enthusiasm for this initiative. I would like to wish all the nominees the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating the winners on November 27.”
Speaking at the announcement, An Post Brand Head PJ Brigdale said “We are thrilled to announce this year’s shortlist for the An Post Irish Book Awards and celebrate the incredible talent and diversity of Irish writing.
“Each shortlisted book reflects the rich storytelling tradition we cherish, and we’re proud to honour the authors, publishers, booksellers and readers who make these awards so special. As a brand, we are especially proud to support and foster a love of reading across Ireland, helping to ensure that it remains a vital part of our culture and communities for generations to come.”
The public can now have their say and cast their votes for the best books of the year on the An Post Irish Book Awards website, anpostirishbookawards.ie/vote.
All voters will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five €100 National Book Tokens vouchers. Voters may cast their votes up until voting closes on November 14 at 5pm.
To see a full list of all books and authors nominated, see anpostirishbookawards.ie