Colm Tóibín, Joseph O’Connor, Donal Ryan, Niall Williams, and Christine Dwyer Hickey have been shortlisted for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, unveiled this week by Listowel Writers’ Week. With a prize fund of €22,000 and literary prestige to match, this year’s competition is one of the most exciting to date. The winner will be announced at the festival’s opening night on 28th May.
Listowel Writers’ Week, Ireland’s oldest literary and arts festival, is proud to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, one of the most esteemed prizes in Irish literature. Now celebrating its 31st year, the award continues to honour exceptional fiction from Irish writers and remains a standout moment in the country’s literary calendar.
Sponsored by Kerry Group, the award carries a total prize fund of €22,000, with €20,000 awarded to the winner and €500 for each shortlisted author.
“Kerry Group’s 31-year partnership with Listowel Writers’ Week stands as a testament to our enduring belief in the power of storytelling to inspire and connect. Each year, the calibre of literary talent and vision among the shortlisted writers astounds us, and this year is no exception. We extend our congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and eagerly await the announcement of the winning work later this month.” Catherine Keogh, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Kerry Group
This year’s adjudicators, acclaimed authors Carol Drinkwater and Paul McVeigh, reviewed over 48 submitted novels and carefully selected five outstanding titles that reflect the strength, imagination, and storytelling brilliance of contemporary Irish fiction.
The shortlist for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is:
Christine Dwyer Hickey – Our London Lives (Atlantic Books, 2024)
Joseph O’Connor – The Ghosts of Rome (Harvill Secker, 2025)
Colm Tóibín – Long Island (Picador and Pan Macmillan, 2024)
Niall Williams – Time of the Child (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024)
Donal Ryan – Heart, Be At Peace (Penguin Random House, 2024)
Ned O’Sullivan, Chairperson of the Board of Listowel Writers’ Week, said, “The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is a valued part of our festival’s celebration of Irish writing. We are sincerely thankful to Kerry Group for their continued and generous support. Congratulations to the five shortlisted authors, your novels reflect the richness and diversity of contemporary Irish fiction, and we’re proud to honour your work here in Listowel.”
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 28th May 2025, at the festival opening night event in the Listowel Arms Hotel. The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award continues to celebrate literary excellence, supporting Irish writers and ensuring their voices reach readers both at home and internationally.
This Listowel Literary Festival upcoming programme is the result of a collaboration between three leading local cultural institutions, Listowel Writers’ Week, Kerry Writers’ Museum and St. John’s Theatre and Arts Centre. For more information and festival updates, visit www.writersweek.ie
Listowel Writers’ Week Festival Manager Katie O’Brien pictured at the statue of Bryan MacMahon in Listowel with the five shortlisted books for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, a fitting tribute to the town’s proud literary legacy. Photo: Dominic Walsh
