Kerry Group Announces Shortlist For Irish Novel Of The Year

Listowel Writers Week has announced the shortlist for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the year, featuring two debut novelists, including Niamh Campbell's This Happy.

The winner of the €15,000 prize is to be announced on Wednesday, June 2.

The shortlist includes: This Happy, by Niamh Campbell, Threshold by Rob Doyle, A Sabbatical in Leipzig by Adrian Duncan, Words to Shape my Name by Laura McKenna and Bina by Anakana Schofield.

"We judges were thrilled to see the variety and quality of this year’s entries for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Prize," said author Richard Skinner. "There were many novels that impressed us but we feel these five shortlisted novels were the standouts this year for the experiment and playfulness they showed towards form and for their unique statements. Each one contained great beauty and originality – a rare combination these days.”

In a recent interview with Hot Press discussing her novel, Campbell noted: "Sex written very frankly from a female perspective can appear transgressive - not just in Ireland. I’m so interested in writing sex into literature, with lust as a genuine motivation for people’s behaviour."