A reading (by our lovely intern Rose, from Kevin McCarthy's second novel, Irregulars -

Described as "Astounding" by Ken Bruen and a "thrilling rocket-ride" by Ed O'Loughlin, Kevin's novel follows the search for a missing boy in the hectic and terrifying atmosphere of Dublin during the Irish Civil War. 

Kevin's previous novel, Peeler was commissioned by our commissioning editor, Eoin Purcell when Eoin worked at Mercier Press in Cork, we he was especially pleased to have the chance to work with Kevin again.

Extract from Kevin McCarthy's 'Irregulars'

Squidinky was featured in Silver Threads Of Hope  a collection edited by Sinéad Gleeson and with an introduction by Anne Enright in aid of Console, which featured stories written by some of Ireland's leading writers.

From the parodied etiquette of Celtic Tiger dinner parties to the first tentative signs of new found love in a coastal tattoo parlour, the collection features stories that evoke feelings of sadness, happiness and humour.

Read stories by: Kevin Barry, Greg Baxter, Dermot Bolger, John Boyne, Declan Burke, John Butler, Trevor Byrne, Emma Donoghue, Roddy Doyle, Dermot Healy, Christine-Dwyer Hickey, Declan Hughes, Arlene Hunt, Colm Keegan, John Kelly, Claire Kilroy, Pat McCabe, Colum McCann, John McKenna, Belinda McKeon, Mike McCormack, Siobhan Mannion, Peter Murphy, Phillip O'Ceallaigh, Keith Ridgway, William Wall and Mary Costello.

An Extract From Squidinky By Nuala Ní Chonchúir

An extract from the 2012 novel by Paul Charles, The Last Dance:

Written in the style of a band biography, The Last Dance charts the rise and dramatic demise of the Playboys from Castlemartin a now forgotten showband from the heyday of the era. Along the way it explores the journey of martin McCelland from small-town boy to songwriter and lead singer, and his complicated love affair with Hanna Hutchinson, his friend from childhood who grew t be much more.

Nostalgic and written with a wry humour, The Last Dance will stay with you long after you read the final page.
 

Paul Charles is an author and agent in the music business. His previous novels include the DI Christy Kennedy Series. For The Last Dance, he has shifted back to the music-themed novel of The First of The True believers where he used the story of The Beatles as a backdrop. He lives in London with his wife Catherine.


Praise
“Evoking the lost world of the Irish showbands of the 1960s with the affectionate eye of an insider, The Last Dance is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand where Irish music has come from.”

- Niall Stokes, Hot Press

Extract From The Last Dance by Paul Charles

An extract from Not Lost: a story about leaving home by Sarah Maria Griffin

"Griffin's writing never ceases to be compelling...She certainly fits into, and holds her own among the global movement of young women writing about their own lives. Women of all ages will love reading Griffin's story as, for many, her ambition, enthusiasm, naïveté, hunger for life and vivacity will sound an echo deep inside of a long-buried voice." - Irish Independent

"an amusing, frank, fresh and very Irish assessment of what it is to step out of ones comfort zone." - Sunday Business Post 

At once brazen and terrified, Sarah Maria Griffin’s beautifully written memoir, opens a doorway into the interior life of the Celtic Tiger Cubs who have left Ireland to escape the recession and in search of prosperity.

Thrown into life 5,000 miles away from home, Sarah’s tale echoes that of many of her generation — forced to forge new lives and build new homes on distant shores. She describes in open, honest, detail her experience of her first year in San Francisco, a year of struggle and strife, of newness and oddness of adventure and excitement, of loneliness and despair, but also of incredible happiness and joy.

Not Lost is a book about growing up, about friendship, about love, about life and living it well. It is by turns heartbreaking, funny, tender and gutsy, it is assured but never cocky and marks Sarah Maria Griffin as one of the major voices of her generation.

Sarah Maria Griffin is an Irish emigrant living in San Francisco with a handsome boy and a cat called moriarty.

She writes essays and poems for lots of places and sometimes does things on the radio. Her first book of poetry & prose, Follies, was published by Lapwing Press in 2011. She makes zines under the imprint Wordfury and is co-editor of Bare Hands International Poetry Journal.

Her memoir, Not Lost: a story about leaving home was published in November 2013.

She tweets from @griffski

Extract From Not Lost a story about leaving home by Sarah Maria Griffin

The Skipper & Her Mate is a book about the people, boats and wildlife on the Irish waterways. 

Told from the perspective of a woman with only a week’s hire-boat experience learning to skipper a vintage timber cruiser, it is a journey through rivers and canals, and an apprenticeship in the ways of boating among a vibrant community of new and diverse people. 

When Nicki Griffin started boating in 2000, the inland waterways were occupied by older family boats. In the years to follow, however, she would witness these being replaced by larger cruisers and ‘gin palaces’, changing the character of Irish waterways, and threatening what was, for many, a unique and special way of life. 

Following in the wake of such works as Theo Dorgan’s Sailing for Home and Time on the Ocean, and Dick Warner’s television shows, The Skipper & Her Mate will appeal to the novice, the river rat and the non-boater alike. 

Buy it now! http://www.newisland.ie/books/bestsellers/skipper-her-mate/978-1-84840-244-7

Extract From The Skipper & Her Mate

Thursday Taster: an extract from Billy O'Callaghan's wonderful short story collection 'The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind'

**WINNER OF THE BORD GAIS ENERGY WRITING.IE SHORT STORY OF THE YEAR AWARD 2013**

'The Things We Lose, the Things We Leave Behind' is a new collection by Billy O'Callaghan that explores everyday existence in the aftermath of cataclysms both subtle and overt. The characters who populate these stories are people afflicted by life and circumstance, hauled from some idyll and confronted with such real world problems as divorce, miscarriage, cancer, desertion, bereavement and the disintegration of love.


Extract From The Things We Lose The Things We Leave Behind.MP3

Listen to an extract from Conor Brady's thrilling crime novel, 'A June of Ordinary Murders' now!

delivers with surprising panache, and by the time of its cliff-hanger conclusion the reader will be absorbed by the ride and eager for more. - Irish Independent

a multilayered tale that offers much more than plot twists and narrative thrills. - The Irish Times

Buy the book here http://bit.ly/1gB79RR

Extract from A June of Ordinary Murders by Conor Brady

Listen to an extract from Erin Fornoff's 'Confidante'. Taken from 'New Planet Cabaret', an anthology of emerging writing talent, edited by Dave Lordan.

'this collection shows there are a lot of talented people out there well capable of giving striking impression to moments of truth and clarity.' - Sunday Business Post,

Buy the book here: http://bit.ly/1eteA8k

New Planet Cabaret - Erin Fornoff.MP3

A reading of an extract from Theo Dorgan's first novel Making Way -

Tom, an aging music executive, retiree and sailor meets Clare, a young, beautiful and somewhat mysterious woman on the quays of a Sicilian port.

The two strangers share an unpredictable voyage around the Mediterranean Sea. As their voyage together takes its twists and turns, the destination turns out to be very different to what either of them expected, and will change both of their lives forever….

This is no ordinary love story; it is more than that. It is about joy and pain; life and loss; who we are and what really matters to us.

Extract from Theo Dorgan's 'Making Way'

“We’re going to make a play out of our own lives and we’re putting it on in three weeks. Now let’s get started....”

A new memoir from acclaimed playwright and director Peter Sheridan, Break A Leg tells the story of his life in the theatre, and meanwhile touches on so much more.

Break a Leg is not just about Sheridan’s life, but also about the wider culture and politics of Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s. The theatre, seen through Sheridan’s eyes, can do much more than entertain; it can itself be a vehicle of social change.

Honestly confronting his emerging problems with panic attacks and alcohol, and blending social history with memoir, Sheridan’s story is written in gutsy, fresh prose that captures your attention from the first page.

Extract from Peter Sheridan's 'Break A Leg'

New Island Books is a leading Irish independent publisher of both fiction and  non-fitcion books. We are based in Dublin, Ireland.

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