Author Sally Hayden's My Fourth Time, We Drowned has been announced as the overall winner of An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022.
The winning book was revealed last night at an event which was televised with a one-hour special on RTÉ One, hosted by Oliver Callan - watch it here, via RTÉ Player.
Currently the Africa Correspondent for the Irish Times, Sally Hayden wrote My Fourth Time, We Drowned after receiving a Facebook message asking for help from an Eritrean refugee held in a Libyan detention centre.
Her book documents the migrant crisis across North Africa, using dozens of first-hand narratives from people currently living in Libyan detention centres, and revealing that they were all incarcerated as a direct result of European policy
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Listen: Sally Hayden speaks to This Week on RTÉ Radio 1
Hayden's book competed against six others for the accolade, all of which were category winners at this year's An Post Irish Book Awards.
"I'm honestly astounded that My Fourth Time, We Drowned was awarded An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022," says Sally Hayden. "It's a huge recognition of the importance of journalism, non-fiction writing, and mostly the topic of the book: how the rich world is cementing its borders to shut out people who need help".
"Crimes against humanity and war crimes are ongoing on the edges of Europe, and they're being done in our names with the aim of keeping us comfortable. This award was possible because of the bravery of my sources in north Africa and elsewhere, who risked their lives to send evidence about what they were going through. I hope it will encourage more people to read the book, and that reading it makes them begin to question the world we're living in. Thank you to the judges and thank you to all the public who voted for it".
