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The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is an annual award for
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
authors of fiction, established in 1995. It was previously known as the Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year Award (1995–2000), the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Award (2001–2002), and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award (2003-2011). The winner of the prize is announced in May/June each year at the opening ceremony of the Listowel Writers' Week in
Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
. The prize is sponsored by the food group
Kerry Group Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant int ...
, and is the largest (currently €20,000) monetary prize for fiction available solely to Irish authors.


Winners and shortlists

Blue Ribbon () = winner *1995
Philip Casey Philip Casey (1950-2018) was an Irish poet and novelist. Life Philip Casey was born in London on 27 June 1950. His parents were from County Laois and County Sligo and they returned to live in County Wexford, Ireland. After spending some years ...
– ''The Fabulists'' (
The Lilliput Press The Lilliput Press is an Irish publishing house. It was founded in 1984 by Antony Farrell, in County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Soverei ...
) *1996 Emer Martin – ''Breakfast in Babylon'' ( Wolfhound Press) *1997
Deirdre Madden Deirdre Madden (born 20 August 1960) is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Career Madden was born in Toomebridge, County Antrim and was educated at St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt. She proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and then to t ...
– ''One by One in the Darkness'' (
Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
) *1998
John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry J ...
– ''
The Untouchable ''The Untouchable'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Scarface. The album was released on March 11, 1997, by Rap-A-Lot Records and Noo Trybe Records. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for the first time ...
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Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...
) *1999 J. M. O'Neill – ''Bennett & Company'' ( Mount Eagle Publications) *2000
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
– ''
The Keepers of Truth ''The Keepers of the Truth'' is a novel by Michael Collins, first published in 2000. Set in the late 1970s, the story follows the main character Bill and his attempt to unravel a murder-mystery as a cub reporter for a local newspaper in a small M ...
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Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...
) *2001 Anne Barnett – ''The Largest Baby in Ireland After the Famine'' (
Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' ( genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-ā ...
) *2002
John McGahern John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in wo ...
– ''
That They May Face the Rising Sun ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not ori ...
'' (Faber and Faber) *2003
William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016), known by his pen name William Trevor, was an Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the ...
– ''
The Story of Lucy Gault ''The Story of Lucy Gault'' is a novel written by William Trevor in 2002. The book is divided into three sections: the childhood, middle age and older times of the girl, Lucy. The story takes place in Ireland during the transition to the 21st cent ...
'' (
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
) *2004
Gerard Donovan Gerard Donovan (born 1959), is an Irish-born novelist, photographer and poet living in Plymouth, England, working as a lecturer at the University of Plymouth. Career Donovan attracted immediate critical acclaim with his debut novel ''Schopenhaue ...
– ''Schopenhauer's Telescope'' ( Scribner) *2005
Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...
– '' Shade'' ( John Murray) *2006
Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...
– ''
A Long Long Way ''A Long Long Way'' is a novel by Irish author Sebastian Barry, set during the First World War. Plot synopsis The young protagonist Willie Dunne leaves Dublin to fight voluntarily for the Allies as a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, leavin ...
'' (Viking) *2007
Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...
– '' Paula Spencer'' (
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
) *2008
Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. She has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called ''Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood'', about the birth of her two children. Her writing explo ...
– '' The Gathering'' (Jonathan Cape) *2009 Joseph O'Neill – ''
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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 foun ...
) *2010
John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry J ...
– ''
The Infinities ''The Infinities'' is a 2009 novel by John Banville. Plot introduction The book involves a reunion of the Godley family as the family patriarch, Adam, lies in a coma on his deathbed. The book takes place in an alternative reality with the wor ...
'' (Picador) *2011
Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...
– '' Mistaken'' (John Murray) *2012 Shortlist ** Christine Dwyer Hickey – ''The Cold Eye of Heaven'' (
Atlantic Books Atlantic Books is an independent British publishing house, with its headquarters in Ormond House in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is perhaps best known for publishing Aravind Adiga's debut novel ''The White Tiger'', which rece ...
) **
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Bri ...
- ''City Of Bohane'' **
Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. She has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called ''Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood'', about the birth of her two children. Her writing explo ...
- ''The Forgotten Waltz'' **
Carlo Gébler Carlo Gébler (born 21 August 1954) is an Irish writer, television director, and teacher. His publications include novels, short stories, plays, historical works and memoirs. He is a member of Aosdána. Early life Gébler was born in Dublin, t ...
- ''The Dead Eight'' **
Belinda McKeon Belinda McKeon (born 1979) is an Irish writer. She is the author of two novels, ''Solace'', which won the 2011 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and ''Tender'' (2015). Life and work McKeon was born in Longford and attended Trinity College, Dublin, ...
- ''Solace'' *2013 Shortlist ** Gavin Corbett – ''This Is the Way'' (
4th Estate Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
) **Lucy Caldwell - ''All The Beggars Riding'' **
Claire Kilroy Claire Kilroy (born 1973) is a contemporary Irish author. She was born, and currently resides, in Dublin, Ireland. Background Early life Born in Dublin in 1973, Claire Kilroy grew up in the scenic fishing village of Howth, north of the city. Edu ...
- ''The Devil I Know'' **
Kathleen MacMahon Kathleen MacMahon is an Irish writer and former radio and television journalist who worked with Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ She is the author of three novels and numerous short stories. Childhood and family Born in Kilkenny, MacMaho ...
- ''This Is How It Ends'' ** Thomas O'Malley - ''This Magnificent Desolation'' *2014 Shortlist **
Eimear McBride Eimear McBride (born 16 April 1976) is an Irish novelist, whose debut novel, ''A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing'', won the inaugural Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the 2014 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Published works McBride wrote ''A Girl Is ...
– ''
A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing ''A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing'' is the debut novel of Eimear McBride published in 2013. Content and style This stream of consciousness novel explores an Irish girl's relationship with her disabled brother, religious mother, and her own troubl ...
'' ( Galley Beggar Press) **Deirdre Madden - ''Time Present & Time Past'' **
Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and ...
- ''Transatlantic'' **
Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and ''Dolly West's Kitchen'', ...
- ''Arimathea'' **
Donal Ryan Donal Ryan (born 1976) is an Irish people, Irish writer. He has published six novels and one short story collection. In 2016, novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry described Ryan in The Guardian, ''The Guardian'' newspaper as "the king of the n ...
- ''The Thing About December'' *2015 Shortlist **
Eoin McNamee Eoin McNamee (b.1961) is an Irish writer from Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland who has written numerous novels and screenplays. He was awarded the Macauley Fellowship for Irish Literature in 1990. He lives in County Sligo. Career Novell ...
– ''Blue Is the Night'' (Faber and Faber) ** David Butler - ''City Of Dis'' **
Nuala Ní Chonchúir Nuala Ní Chonchúir (born 14 January 1970) is an Irish writer and poet. Biography Born in Dublin in 1970, Nuala Ní Chonchúir is a full-time fiction writer and poet, living in County Galway. She holds a BA in Irish from Trinity College Dub ...
- ''The Closet Of Savage Mementos'' ** Patrick O'Keeffe - ''The Visitors'' **Eibhear Walshe - ''The Diary Of Mary Travers'' *2016 Shortlist **
Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. She has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called ''Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood'', about the birth of her two children. Her writing explo ...
– ''The Green Road'' (Jonathan Cape) **
John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry J ...
- ''The Blue Guitar'' **
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Bri ...
- ''Beatlebone'' **Austin Duffy - ''This Living And Immortal Thing'' **
Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" D ...
- ''The Little Red Chairs'' *2017 Shortlist **
Kit de Waal Mandy Theresa O'Loughlin (born 26 July 1960), known professionally as Kit de Waal, is a British/Irish writer. Her debut novel, ''My Name Is Leon'', was published by Penguin Books in June 2016. After securing the publishing deal with Penguin, De ...
– ''My Name is Leon'' (Viking) **Emma Donahue - ''The Wonder'' **Neil Hegarty - ''Inch Levels'' ** Mike McCormack - ''
Solar Bones ''Solar Bones'' is a 2016 novel by Irish fiction writer Mike McCormack. The novel's plot revolves around Marcus Conway, a deceased middle-aged engineer who has returned on All Souls' Day, and is reminiscing about his past life's events while si ...
'' **
Conor O'Callaghan Conor O'Callaghan (born 1968) is an Irish novelist and poet. Biography O'Callaghan was born in Newry in 1968 and grew up in Dundalk. His first novel, ''Nothing on Earth'', was published to acclaim in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Kerry Grou ...
- ''Nothing On Earth'' *2018 Shortlist ** Paul Lynch – ''Grace'' (
Oneworld Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
) **Lisa Harding - ''Harvesting'' **
Frank McGuiness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and ''Dolly West's Kitchen'', ...
- ''The Woodcutter And His Family'' ** Bernard McLaverty - ''Midwinter Break'' **
Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published three novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), and ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021). ''Normal People'' was adapt ...
- ''Conversations With Friends'' *2019 Shortlist ** David Park – ''Travelling in a Strange Land'' (
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
) **
John Boyne John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish novelist. He is the author of eleven novels for adults and six novels for younger readers. His novels are published in over 50 languages. His 2006 novel ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'' was adapte ...
- ''Ladder To The Sky'' **Jess Kidd - ''The Hoarder'' ** Emer Martin - ''The Cruelty Men'' **
Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published three novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), and ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021). ''Normal People'' was adapt ...
- ''Normal People'' *2020 Shortlist **
Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" D ...
– ''
Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
'' (Faber and Faber) **
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Bri ...
- ''Nightboat To Tangier'' ** Mary Costello - ''The River Capture'' ** Ronan Hession - ''Leonard And Hungry Paul'' **
Joseph O'Connor Joseph Victor O'Connor (born 20 September 1963) is an Irish novelist. His 2002 historical novel '' Star of the Sea'' was an international number one bestseller. Before success as an author, he was a journalist with the ''Sunday Tribune'' newspap ...
- ''Shadowplay'' *2021 Shortlist ** Anakana Schofield – ''Bina'' (Fleet) ** Niamh Campbell - ''This Happy'' ** Laura McKenna - ''Words To Shape My Name'' ** Adrian Duncan - ''A Sabbatical In Leipzig'' ** Rob Doyle - ''Threshold'' *2022 Shortlist **
Claire Keegan Claire Keegan (born 1968) is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in ''The New Yorker'', ''Best American Short Stories'', ''Granta'', and ''The Paris Review''. Biography Born in County Wicklow in 1968, Keegan is ...
– ''
Small Things Like These ''Small Things Like These'' is a historical fiction novel by Claire Keegan, published on 30 November 2021 by Grove Press. In 2022, the book won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the B ...
'' (
Grove Press Grove Press is an United States of America, American Imprint (trade name), publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it in ...
) ** Jan Carson - ''The Raptures'' ** Lisa Harding - ''Bright Burning Things'' ** Nuala O'Connor - ''Nora'' **
Kevin Power Kevin Power (born 19 August 1981) is an Irish writer and academic. He currently teaches in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin. He writes regularly for The Sunday Business Post. His novel '' Bad Day in Blackrock'' was published by ...
- ''White City''


References

{{Reflist


External links

Listowel Writers' Week
Irish literary awards Fiction awards Awards established in 1995