Mayo native Colin Barrett nominated for prestigious Nero Book Awards

A story showcasing the “voices” of rural Ireland is among the novels that have been shortlisted for a book awards established by coffee chain Caffe Nero.

Three Irish authors have been nominated in the Nero Book Awards this year, including Colin Barrett, who grew up in County Mayo, is nominated in the debut fiction category and is most known for writing the novella Calm With Horses, which was adapted into a film starring Barry Keoghan.

Barrett is recognised for Wild Houses, a story which sees the town of Ballina become the scene of violence and a kidnapping.

Donal Ryan, from County Tipperary, whose book Heart, Be At Peace features in the fiction shortlist. His book “uses 21 different voices to explore the hopes and fears of young people and older generations in rural Ireland”, according to a description.

Dublin-born Ferdia Lennon also features on the debut fiction shortlist for his book Glorious Exploits, which is set in Sicily in 412 BC and sees two young potters sense an opportunity to stage a production of Medea, casting captured Athenian soldiers as the characters.

The Nero Book Awards recognises the best books from the last 12 months and there are four nominees in each category which are fiction, non-fiction, debut fiction, and children’s fiction.

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Over in the children’s fiction category, topics range from murder to a megalomaniac pelican threatening to take over the world while the non-fiction shortlist includes a book about toxic beauty culture and another about the true story of a shipwreck.

Gerry Ford, founder and chief executive of Caffe Nero, said:

“There is extraordinary writing talent in the UK and Ireland and our judges have worked tirelessly to find 16 outstanding books based on the quality of their writing and their readability.

“We received an overwhelming number of entries this year, so I know it was no small feat to choose just 16 for the shortlists.

“Through The Nero Book Awards, we continue our long-running support of the arts and to strengthen our community-based roots.

He added: “We are grateful for the support we received in our inaugural year, and we look forward to continuing to work with publishers and authors to bring these exceptional books to as many people as possible, both in our coffee houses and the wider community.

The books in the debut fiction shortlist 

“Our goal is to inspire writers to write, readers to read and everyone to live a richer life through ideas and storytelling.”

Authors from across the UK and Ireland have been considered for this year’s shortlist which also comprises writers from Bradford, Edinburgh, Shropshire and Oxford.

Caffe Nero announced the launch of its writing awards in 2023, a year after fellow coffee shop chain Costa scrapped its popular book awards.

The winners will be announced on Tuesday January 14 and of those, one book will be selected as the overall winner by a final panel of judges and announced at a ceremony on March 5 2025.

Last year Dublin-born writer Paul Murray won the book of the year gong for his fourth novel The Bee Sting.