Donal Ryan was long listed for the Man Booker 2018 Prize on 23rd July for his latest novel From a Low and Quiet Sea. The Lilliput Press has a limited edition of the title for sale, all signed by the author. The Man Booker Prize is recognised as the leading prize for literary fiction written in English. This year the long list comprises of 13 novels. There are 2 other Irish writers on the long list, Sally Rooney and Anna Burns. The shortlist will be announced on 20th September and the winner on the 16th October. Ryan’s novel From a Low and Quiet Sea is about three men, each of whom is searching for something…

On Wednesday 18th July Constance Markievicz was honoured in the House of Commons as the first elected female to the British Parliament. A photographic reproduction of an oil painting of Markievicz, owned by the Hugh Lane gallery, will go on permanent display in Westminster. This is as part of Westminster’s ‘Voice and Vote’ exhibition, which highlights the role of women within parliament. The Lilliput Press published Anne Haverty’s biography ‘Constance Markievicz: Irish Revolutionary’ in 2016. It is a landmark text in Markievicz studies, which provides a complete account of a woman often maligned and misunderstood. It is must read for anyone from the general reader to the serious student of Irish history. Constance Markievicz remains…

Bloomsday at Lilliput was celebrated on Friday 15th, on the eve of the day itself. Our event began in the early evening with Burgundy and Gorgonzola reminiscent of Leopold Bloom stopping in Davy Byrne’s in Ulysses. Sam Coll, the author of The Abode of Fancy kicked off the night by giving an energetic reading of passage from Finnegans Wake. Next, we had the main event of the evening – the launch of The Mookse & the Gripes as illustrated by Thomas McNally. This beautifully illustrated book went down a treat with all the attendees, as did the speech Thomas made, thanking his family for their support. Emer Martin, the author of The Cruelty Men did…

On Thursday 15th June, we launched of The Cruelty Men by Emer Martin in Hodges Figgis. She was introduced by the poet Michael O’Loughlin who suggested her novel could have been called The Great Irish Novel, such is its depth and breadth. Emer spoke about the 7 year long process of writing this book. She conducted pain-staking research after the idea of the book was formed following the release of both the Ryan and Murphy Reports. Emer concluded by reading three extracts from The Cruelty Men, ending with a powerful passage on the state of our nation, ‘Under the toll roads that they built to slice through a Neolithic  world they refused to understand. Under the…