Recently there’s been much talk of a resurgence in Irish literature, particularly writing by women. This supposed trend encompasses all genres from literary fiction to crime, YA, poetry and non-fiction. Female Irish writers are enjoying significant commercial success, with novelists such as Louise O’Neill, Marian Keyes, Maggie O’Farrell and Liz Nugent regularly appearing in international bestseller lists.

But it’s not just sales which typify their growing influence; many are also receiving critical acclaim. Northern Irish novelist Anna Burns’ Booker win for Milkman added yet another major literary prize to the long list of accolades recently garnered. Notable mentions should also go to Sinead Morrissey’s TS Eliot and Forward Prize wins for Parallax and On Balance respectively, Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing which won the Goldsmiths, Desmond Elliott and Women’s Prize for Fiction awards in 2014, Lisa McInerney’s Bailey’s prize-winning The Glorious Heresies, Suzanne O’Sullivan’s 2016 Wellcome Prize win for It’s All In Your Head, Irish children’s laureate Sarah Crossan’s Carnegie Medal-winning One, and playwright Abbie Spallen, who won the prestigious Windham-Campbell prize in 2016. The list is far-reaching, cross genre and growing daily.

Irish literature is having a resurgence – and women are at the forefront