Belfast's Jan Carson wins EU Prize for Literature 2019

Belfast author Jan Carson's second novel The Fire Starters has won the EU Prize for Literature 2019.

The award is dedicated to supporting emerging talent throughout the European Union and also used as a means to showcase quality literature that is prevalent in Europe.

Jan Carson is "absolutely delighted" to win the EU Prize for literature.

"It's particularly encouraging to see a book set in East Belfast, so enthusiastically championed as an Irish book, engaging with issues which effect the whole island," she says. "I hope this prize will allow me to develop a larger audience for my writing throughout Europe and am incredibly grateful for the opportunities it affords."

The novel describes the conflict between two fathers, Dr. Jonathan Murray and Sammy Agnew, and their offspring in times of turmoil and mayhem. The gripping and explosive novel succeeds in transporting readers to east Belfast.

Winners are selected from across the European Union, with authors from Austria, France, Hungary, Lithuania and more also receiving the prestigious prize.

The Awards Ceremony will be held on October 2 2019 in Bozar, Brussels.

The Fire Starters is Jan Carson's second novel, her critically acclaimed debut, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was released in 2014.

When she is not writing novels, Jan Carson is a Community Arts Development Officer in the Ulster Hall.

Check out her interview with Hot Press's own Peter McGoran.