Billy O'Callaghan (born 9 December 1974) is an
Irish short fiction writer and
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
. He is best known for his short-story collection ''The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind'', which was awarded the
Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award for the short story in 2013 and his widely-translated novel ''My Coney Island Baby'', which was shortlisted for the
Royal Society of Literature's
Encore Award
The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...
.
Early life
Billy O'Callaghan was born in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in 1974, and grew up in
Douglas village, where he still lives.
Literary career
His first collection of short stories, ''In Exile'', was published by
Mercier Press
Mercier Press is a publisher based in Cork, Ireland. It is the longest established independent Irish publishing house.
History
The company was founded in 1944 by Seán Feehan, and initially published religious books. In 1946 they published ''Th ...
in 2008. This was followed a year later by a second collection, ''In Too Deep'' (also published by Mercier Press). In 2013, his third collection, ''The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind'', was published by
New Island Books
New Island Books is an independent Irish publisher of literary fiction, poetry, drama, biography, and books on politics and social affairs.
History
It was founded as ''Raven Arts Press'' in 1977 by Dermot Bolger. In 1982, Raven Arts closed and w ...
. His short stories have been published in literary journals around the world, and translated into several other languages. His work has been broadcast on
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
's The Book On One, Sunday Miscellany and the
Francis McManus Award series.
In 2017,
Ploughshares
''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bos ...
published O'Callaghan's story ''A Death in the Family'' as a Ploughshares Solo.
O'Callaghan's first novel, ''The Dead House'', was published in Ireland by Brandon, an imprint of
O'Brien Press
The O'Brien Press is an Irish publisher of mainly children's fiction and adult non-fiction.
History
The O'Brien Press was founded in 1973, evolving out of a family-run printing and type-house. Its first publication came in November 1974 and n ...
, in 2017, and in North America by
Arcade Publishing
Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. It publishes American and world fiction and nonfiction.
The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette.Weber, Bruce (J ...
in 2018.
His novel, ''My Coney Island Baby'', was published in 2019, by
Jonathan Cape (UK) and
Harper
Harper may refer to:
Names
* Harper (name), a surname and given name
Places
;in Canada
* Harper Islands, Nunavut
*Harper, Prince Edward Island
;In the United States
*Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County
* Harper, Il ...
(USA), as well as in French by
Éditions Grasset
The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955).
History Founder
In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of '' À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'' ...
as ''Les amants de Coney Island'', translated by Carine Chichereau, Dutch by Ambo Anthos as ''Mijn lief op Coney Island'', translated by Lette Vos, German by
btb Verlag as ''Die Liebenden von Coney Island'', translated by Sibylle Schmidt Czech by
Nakladatelství Paseka as ''Náš Coney Island'', translated by Petr Eliáš, Catalan by L'Altra Editorial as ''Els amants de Coney Island'', translated by Ferran Ràfols Gesa, Italian by Guanda Editore as ''My Coney Island Baby'', translated by Ada Arduini, Hungarian by Jelenkor as ''Szerelmem, Coney Island'', translated by Zoltán Pék and in Turkish by Othello Kitap as ''Coney Island Bebeğim'', translated by Serkan Toy.
A new short story collection, ''The Boatman and Other Stories'', was published in January 2020 by
Jonathan Cape (UK) and
Harper Perennial
Harper Perennial is a paperback imprint of the publishing house HarperCollins Publishers.
Overview
Harper Perennial has divisions located in New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney. The imprint is descended from the Perennial Library imprint found ...
(USA).
A new novel ''Life Sentences'' was published in 2021 by
Jonathan Cape (UK) and in Czech by
Nakladatelství Paseka as ''Doživotí'', translated by Petr Eliáš, and in 2022 in the USA by
David R. Godine.
Awards
In November 2013, "The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind" won the inaugural Short Story of the Year Award at the 2013
Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award; "Down by the River" was selected in 2014 as Ireland's representative in the ongoing
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Cities of Literature project; and "The Boatman" was a finalist for the 2016 Costa Short Story Award. In June 2020, ''My Coney Island Baby'' was shortlisted for the
Royal Society of Literature's
Encore Award
The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...
.
Bibliography
Short story collections
*''In Exile'' (2008)
*''In Too Deep'' (2009)
*''The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind'' (2013)
*''The Boatman and Other Stories'' (2020)
Novels
*''The Dead House'' (2017)
*''My Coney Island Baby'' (2019)
*''Life Sentences'' (2021)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:OCallaghan, Billy
1974 births
Living people
21st-century Irish novelists
21st-century Irish male writers
Irish male short story writers
Irish male novelists
Irish radio writers
21st-century Irish travel writers
Writers from Cork (city)
Writers of books about writing fiction
21st-century Irish short story writers