Taking a deeper dive into this year's shortlist for The An Post Irish Book Awards, the one thing that becomes very apparent is that the Irish publishing industry is in something resembling rude health.
Go here to cast your vote in this year's An Post Irish Book Awards...
On a category by category basis, choosing a clear winner is a nigh-upon-impossible task. We suggest you do a deeper dive by reading as many of the shortlisted titles as possible, and cast your vote wisely.
Below, we break down the categories for your bookish benefit...
TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book of the Year
This category offers a splendid showcase for the array of diverse and fascinating non-fiction titles coming from Irish publishing houses these days, from colourful (and educational) children's entries like The Great Irish Weather Book and Blazing A Trail - Irish Women Who Changed the World to Professor Luke O'Neill 's fascinating journey across centuries and galaxies, Humanology.
Lighthouses of Ireland – An Illustrated Guide to the Sentinels that Guard our Coastline – Roger O’Reilly (The Collins Press)
The Great Irish Weather Book – Joanna Donnelly illus. Fuchsia MacAree (Gill Books)
Dr Hibernica Finch's Compelling Compendium of Irish Animals – Rob Maguire illus. Aga Grandowicz (Little Island Books)
People on the Pier – Betty Stenson and Marian Thérése Keyes (New Island Books)
Humanology – Professor Luke O'Neill (Gill Books)
Blazing A Trail - Irish Women Who Changed the World – Sarah Webb illus. Lauren O'Neill (The O'Brien Press)
National Book Tokens Children’s Book of the Year (Junior)
We've been knocking it out of the park on the children's book front for the past few years; this time out, new kids on the block like Ryan Tubridy and Niall 'Bressie' Breslin face off against kids' faves Peter Donnelly (with a sequel to his much-loved The President's Glasses) and Oliver Jeffers...
The First Christmas Jumper (And the Sheep Who Changed Everything) – Ryan Tubridy illus. Chris Judge (Walker Books)
The Magic Moment – Niall Breslin illus. Sheena Dempsey (Gill Books)
The President's Cat – Peter Donnelly (Gill Books)
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth – Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
The Pooka Party – Shona Shirley Macdonald (The O'Brien Press)
I Say Ooh, You Say Aah – John Kane (Templar Press)
National Book Tokens Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)
What a great year for children's books! Educational (and fun) entries from Dara Ó Briain and Sarah Webb hold their own alongside literary superstar Eoin Colfer and emerging talents like Catherine Doyle.
Tin – Pádraig Kenny (Chicken House)
The Trouble with Perfect – Helena Duggan (Usborne Publishing)
Secret Science: The Amazing World Beyond Your Eyes – Dara Ó Briain illus. Dan Brammall (Scholastic)
The Storm Keeper's Island – Catherine Doyle (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Blazing A Trail - Irish Women Who Changed the World – Sarah Webb illus. Lauren O'Neill (The O'Brien Press)
The Dog Who Lost His Bark – Eoin Colfer illus. P.J Lynch (Walker Books)
Dept 51@Eason Teen / Young Adult Book of the Year
Don't make the mistake of thinking that the books in this category are only to be enjoyed by YA readers; talented authors like Dave Rudden, Sarah Maria Griffin and Louise O'Neill should be read by everyone.
Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping – Dave Rudden (BBC Children's Books)
The Surface Breaks – Louise O’Neill (Scholastic)
The Wren Hunt – Mary Watson (Bloomsbury)
The Weight of a Thousand Feathers – Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury)
Spare and Found Parts – Sarah Maria Griffin (Titan Books)
Dark Wood Dark Water – Tina Callaghan (Poolbeg)
Eason Book Club Novel of the Year
While Anna Burns already scooped the Booker Prize, there's a wealth of literary riches in this most hotly-contested of categories, and don't count out Sally Rooney and Donal Ryan, both of whom made the Booker longlist. All in, a vintage year for Irish literary fiction...
Milkman – Anna Burns (Faber & Faber)
From a Low and Quiet Sea – Donal Ryan (Doubleday Ireland)
A Ladder to the Sky – John Boyne (Doubleday)
Normal People – Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber)
Travelling in a Strange Land – David Park (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Future Popes of Ireland – Darragh Martin (Fourth Estate)
Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year
We're not quite sure what constitutes 'popular' fiction these days either, but with a line-up that includes everyone from Graham Norton and Aisling duo Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen to previous winner Ross O'Carroll-Kelly and the late Emma Hannigan, who cares?
The Importance of Being Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (Gill Books)
Letters to My Daughters – Emma Hannigan (Hachette Books Ireland)
Grace After Henry – Eithne Shorthall (Corvus)
Our Secrets and Lies – Sinead Moriarty (Penguin Ireland)
A Keeper – Graham Norton (Coronet)
Dancing with the Tsars – Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (Penguin Ireland)
Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year
The crime fiction renaissance continues - it's great to see emerging Irish talents like Dervla McTiernan and Andrea Mara sharing the stage with heavy-hitters like Liz Nugent and Jo Spain.
Skin Deep – Liz Nugent (Penguin Ireland)
A House of Ghosts – W. C. Ryan (Bonnier Zaffre)
The Confession – Jo Spain (Quercus)
One Click – Andrea Mara (Poolbeg)
The Ruin – Dervla McTiernan (Sphere)
Thirteen – Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year
Another impossibly strong category, with acclaimed memoirs from Emilie Pine and Arnold Thomas Fanning alongside novels from Danny Denton and Helen Cullen - kudos to new Irish publishing house Skein Press, landing a nomination for their first book, from Nigerian writer Melatu Uche Okorie.
The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow – Danny Denton (Granta Books)
This Hostel Life – Melatu Uche Okorie (Skein Press)
Notes to Self – Emilie Pine (Tramp Press)
The Lost Letters of William Woolf – Helen Cullen (Michael Joseph)
Promising Young Women – Caroline O’Donoghue (Virago)
Mind on Fire – Arnold Thomas Fanning (Penguin Ireland)
Onside Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Here's Emilie Pine again, in a category that mixes biography (Matt Cooper's controversial take on Ryanair's Michael O'Leary), autobiography (from Lynn Ruane and Robert Ballagh), history (Diarmaid Ferriter examination of Ireland's off-shore islands) and Mary Robinson's impassioned environmental treatise.
Notes to Self – Emilie Pine (Tramp Press)
People Like Me – Lynn Ruane (Gill Books)
Michael O’Leary – Matt Cooper (Penguin Ireland)
Climate Justice – Mary Robinson (Bloomsbury Publishing)
On The Edge – Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books)
A Reluctant Memoir – Robert Ballagh (Head of Zeus)
Ireland AM Popular Non- Fiction Book of the Year
From true talls tales (Tony 10) and celebrity tell-alls (Play It Again Des and Born for the Road) to vivid memoirs (The Cow Book), we love the sheer diversity of talent celebrated in this category.
Tony 10 – Declan Lynch and Tony O’Reilly (Gill Books)
Help Me! – Marianne Power (Picador)
The Skin Nerd – Jennifer Rock (Hachette Books Ireland)
The Cow Book – John Connell (Granta Books)
Play it Again, Des – Des Cahill and Mary Hannigan (Sport Media)
Born for the Road: My Story So Far – Nathan Carter (Penguin Ireland)
EUROSPAR Cookbook of the Year
While several much-loved household names (hello Donal Skehan, Neven Maguire and The Happy Pear lads) shore up this popular category, don't underestimate veterans like Diana Henry or Holly White's vegan(ish) manifesto.
The Currabinny Cookbook – James Kavanagh and William Murray (Penguin Ireland)
Vegan-ish – Holly White (Gill Books)
The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness – David and Stephen Flynn (Penguin Ireland)
Donal’s Meals in Minutes – Donal Skehan (Hodder & Stoughton)
How to Eat a Peach – Diana Henry (Mitchell Beazley)
Neven Maguire’s Home Economics for Life – Neven Maguire (Gill Books)
Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year
Irish sporting heroes abound in this category, with a strong showing on the GAA front...
The Hurlers – Paul Rouse (Penguin Ireland)
At All Costs – Davy Fitzgerald with Vincent Hogan (Gill Books)
Fighter – Andy Lee with Niall Kelly (Gill Books)
Sean Cavanagh: The Obsession – Sean Cavanagh with Damian Lawlor (Black & White Publishing)
Driven – Rosemary Smith with Ann Ingle (HarperCollins)
Game Changer – Cora Staunton with Mary White (Transworld Ireland)
RTE Radio One’s The Ryan Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award
Listeners to RTÉ Radio 1's Ryan Tubridy Show get to pick the winner in this fiercely contested category - cast your vote here. (NB: It should be noted that there's one former US President, one former Irish President, and a book about the President's Cat in this year's shortlist - if you're in any way Presidental, you're apparently a shoo-in...)
Ladder to the Sky – John Boyne (Doubleday)
The Stolen Girls – Patricia Gibney (Bookouture)
The President is Missing – Bill Clinton and James Patterson (Century)
Ruin – Dervla McTiernan (Sphere)
Skin Deep – Liz Nugent (Penguin Ireland)
The Woman in the Window – A.J. Finn (HarperCollins)
Listowel Writers’ Week Irish Poem of the Year
The annual Listowel bash provides a vivid showcase for emerging literary talents - this category is a great place to spot future poetry superstars, and lie to your friends that you've been reading them for years.
Kintsugi – Shannon Kuta Kelly (Poetry Ireland Review)
Birthday – Brian Kirk (After the Fall, Salmon Poetry)
Inglis & Co. Ltd. – Erin Halliday (Poetry Ireland Review)
The Snail – John W. Sexton (SurVision Magazine)
Writing.ie Short Story of the Year
This enjoyably eclectic category mixes selections from essential short story journals like The Dublin Review and Granta with entries from short story collections by the likes of Cecelia Ahern and Mia Gallagher.
How to Build a Space Rocket – Roisin O’Donnell (From The Broken Spiral ed by RM Clarke)
Prime – Caoilinn Hughes (From Granta March 2018)
The Mother – Deirdre Sullivan (The Dublin Review December 2017)
Pollyfilla – Mia Gallagher (From Shift – New Island Books)
Gooseen – Nuala O’Connor (From Granta June 2018)
The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Woman Down There Too – Cecelia Ahern (From Roar – HarperCollins)
The Love Leabhar Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year
A welcome addition to this year's nominations is a category exclusively devoted to Irish language publications, enjoying a serious renaissance at present.
Tuatha Dé Danann – Diarmuid Johnson (Leabhar Breac)
Fuascailt an Iriseora – Michelle Nic Pháidín (Cois Life)
Táin Bó Cuailnge – Darach Ó Scolaí (Leabhar Breac)
Teach an Gheafta – Cathal Ó Searcaigh (Leabhar Breac)
Lámh, Lámh Eile – Alan Titley (Cló lar – Chonnacht)
Luíse Ghabhánach Ní Dhufaigh: Ceannródaí – Celia De Fréine (Leabhair Comhar)
In addition to the category winners, two additional special awards will also be announced in November, prior to the Irish Book Awards bash on 27th November: The Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises the contribution of distinguished Irish writers and poets, and the International Recognition Award, a special award made to international authors who have contributed substantially to the health and wealth of the Irish book-trade. Now what are you waiting for? Get reading!
The An Post Irish Book Awards 2018 take place on 27th November, with the highlights to be broadcast on RTÉ One on 29th November - find out more (and cast your vote) here.
