Drue Heinz Literature Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 37 (2017) Winner
William Wall
ウィリアム・ウォール
William Wall
Aliases:
Bill Wall
Pen Names:
Bill Wall（Informal diminutive used in casual contexts）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1955-07-06 （Cork City, Ireland）
- Nationality
- Ireland
- Languages
- English
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, poet, short story writer, teacher
- Active Years
- 1997-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College Cork | Faculty of Arts | Philosophy and English | — | — | Ireland |
University College Cork
Faculty of Arts
/ Philosophy and English
Country:
Ireland
Graduated having studied Philosophy and English
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award | Mathematics And Other Poems (poetry collection) | — | Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award committee | winner |
| 2017 | Drue Heinz Literature Prize | The Islands (short story collection) | — | University of Pittsburgh Press | winner |
| 2005 | Man Booker Prize (longlisted) | This Is The Country | — | Man Booker Prize | longlisted |
| 2005 | Irish Book Awards (shortlisted) | This Is The Country | — | Irish Book Awards | shortlisted |
Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award
1997
Work:
Mathematics And Other Poems (poetry collection)
Organization:
Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award committee
Result:
winner
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
2017
Work:
The Islands (short story collection)
Organization:
University of Pittsburgh Press
Result:
winner
Man Booker Prize (longlisted)
2005
Work:
This Is The Country
Organization:
Man Booker Prize
Result:
longlisted
Irish Book Awards (shortlisted)
2005
Work:
This Is The Country
Organization:
Irish Book Awards
Result:
shortlisted
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
This Is The Country
2005 Novel (contemporary social satire)A coming-of-age novel and broad satire on politics in 'Celtic Tiger' Ireland, examining corruption and the links between capitalism and liberal democracy through minor criminals and changing landscapes.
politicscorruptionfamilysuburbanisation
Alice Falling
2000 Novel (dark fiction)A dark study of power and abuse in modern-day Ireland, noted for its charged prose and strong character work.
powerabusedomestic life
The Islands
2017 Short story collectionA collection of short stories exploring loneliness, movement and fraught human relationships. Winner of the 2017 Drue Heinz Literature Prize.
lonelinessrelationshipsmovement
Empty Bed Blues
2023 NovelEnglish edition of a novel first published in Italian in 2022; deals with themes of loss and the ache of relationships.
lossrelationshipsintrospection
Ghost Estate
2011 Poetry collectionA poetry collection reflecting on economic and ecological decline; combines political concerns with questions of aesthetics and poetics.
ecologyeconomic collapsesuburbia
Bibliography
- Ti ricordi Mattie Lantry? (2024)
- Empty Bed Blues (2023)
- La Ballata del Letto Vuoto (2022)
- Suzy Suzy (2019)
- Grace's Day (2018)
- This Is The Country (2005)
- The Map of Tenderness (2002)
- Minding Children (2001)
- Alice Falling (2000)
- Smugglers In The Underground Hug Trade (2021)
- The Yellow House (2018)
- Ghost Estate (2011)
- Fahrenheit Says Nothing To Me (2004)
- Mathematics And Other Poems (1997)
- No Paradiso (2006)
- Hearing Voices / Seeing Thing (2016)
Translations of Works
- Empty Bed Blues — Italian translation 'La Ballata del Letto Vuoto' (2022)
- Empty Bed Blues — English edition 'Empty Bed Blues' (2023)
- Ti ricordi Mattie Lantry? — Italian-first publication 'Ti ricordi Mattie Lantry?' (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- poetic and compact proseincisive social and political critiquestrong dialogue and characterisation
- Recurring Motifs
- broken familiespolitical corruptionsuburban decay (ghost estates)ecology and apocalypse
Health
-
Adult-onset Still's disease長年The condition has caused disabling effects; he has described using speech-to-text and other assistive technologies to continue writing.
Legacy
William Wall is recognised for combining a poet's sensitivity with a novelist's social critique. His sharp linguistic sense and political perspective have earned critical support across poetry, short fiction and novels, and international recognition through translations and awards.
Quotes
-
"Lyrical and cruel and bold and with metaphors to die for."
Source: Praise by writer Kate Atkinson (2005)
Trivia
- Taught English at Presentation Brothers College in Cork and reportedly inspired actor Cillian Murphy.
- Won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1997 and published his first poetry collection that year.
- In 2017 he became the first European winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize for 'The Islands'.
- Maintains a provocative political blog called 'The Ice Moon'.