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Irish Book Awards あいりっしゅ・ぶっく・あわーず

Edition 10 (2012)

Novel of the YearCrime Fiction Book of the YearBest Irish Published Book of the YearNon-Fiction Book of the YearCookbook of the YearPopular Fiction Book of the YearChildren's Book of the Year, JuniorChildren's Book of the Year, SeniorTeen & Young Adult Book of the YearSports Book of the YearNewcomer of the YearIrish Language Book of the YearLifestyle Book of the YearBiography of the YearAuthor of the YearShort Story of the YearPoem of the YearBookshop of the YearThe Last Word Listeners' Choice AwardNew Voices: The An Post Writing PrizeLifetime Achievement Award

Winners

13 people
John Banville じょん・ばんゔぃる Winner

A mature novel about memory, guilt, and atonement. Through an aging actor’s recollections, it explores the passing of time and the hidden weight of family and desire.

It follows memory and loss through a quiet but forceful voice.

304 pages
memoryatonementfamilyrecollection
Tana French たな・ふれんち Winner

A crime novel set in Ireland’s recession-era housing wastelands. A murder investigation pulls a detective into a case shaped by family strain, economic collapse, and buried personal history.

A murder case opens onto recession, family strain, and buried history.

464 pages
crime fictionfamilyrecessionpsychological tension
John Crowley じょん・くろうりー & うぃりあむ・じぇい・すみす & まいく・まーふぃー Excellence Award

A scholarly atlas that maps the Irish Famine through geography, statistics, images, and historical commentary. It turns a vast historical catastrophe into a richly documented reference work.

An atlas that maps the Great Irish Famine through history and data.

728 pages
historyfaminegeographyreference
Edna O'Brien えどな・おぶらいえん Winner

A candid memoir of Edna O’Brien’s life, from rural Ireland to an international literary career. It follows her growth, her writing, and the personal costs of a remarkable public life.

A candid memoir that traces a life through writing.

368 pages
memoircoming of agewritinglife story
Catherine Fulvio きゃさりん・ふるゔぃお Winner

A recipe book built around Italian food culture and family cooking. It combines accessible recipes with the idea that good food is part of a slower, more attentive way of living.

A cookbook that brings Italian family cooking into the home kitchen.

204 pages
cookingItalian cuisinerecipeshome cooking
Maeve Binchy めいゔ・びんちー Winner

A warm ensemble novel about guests gathering at a country house hotel on Ireland’s west coast. Each character brings a private burden, and the novel follows their search for renewal and ease.

A winter gathering becomes a story of renewal and second chances.

480 pages
ensemble novelfamilyrenewalIreland
Oliver Jeffers おりゔぁー・じぇふぁーず Winner

A picture book with a dry sense of humor and a gentle message about ownership and friendship. A boy’s certainty that the moose is his slowly gives way to a wider idea of sharing and belonging.

A playful picture book about ownership, sharing, and friendship.

32 pages
picture bookfriendshipsharinghumor
Eoin Colfer いーおん・こるふぁー Winner

The final volume of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series, full of magic, action, and high-stakes adventure. Artemis, Holly, Butler, and Mulch face an ending that threatens both their world and themselves.

A fast, magical finale that raises the stakes for the entire series.

336 pages
fantasyadventureYAseries finale
Katie Taylor けいてぃ・ていらー Winner

A memoir of training, discipline, and the road to Olympic gold. Katie Taylor reflects on boxing, faith, and the pressure of carrying a nation’s hopes.

A boxer’s path to Olympic gold, told in her own words.

224 pages
memoirboxingOlympicssports
Donal Ryan どなる・らいあん Winner

A multi-voiced novel about life in Ireland after the financial crash. It traces jobs lost, loyalties strained, and the fragile bonds of a community under pressure.

A chorus of voices captures the damage left by the crash.

160 pages
social changeeconomic crisisensemble novelcommunity
Mary O'Rourke めありー・おろーく Winner

A frank political memoir that mixes public life with private memory. Mary O’Rourke writes about family, power, success, disappointment, and the emotional cost of a long career in public life.

A frank memoir of political life and private loss.

243 pages
memoirpoliticspublic lifefamily
F. E. Higgins ぶりっじ・すとりーと・ぶっくす(うぃっくろう・たうん) Winner
Jennifer Johnston じぇにふぁー・じょんすとん Lifetime Achievement Award