Gethan Dick shortlisted for second Irish literary prize

Having already won this year's Kate O'Brien Award for her debut novel Water in the Desert, Fire in the Night, Gethan Dick is now shortlisted for the John McGahern Book Prize for the best debut Irish fiction of the year. In their announcement, the prize's judges said Gethan's novel "is a skilfully written, first-person narration of the end of the world as we know it, plotted around a journey that is provoked by a near extinction event. Bringing back vivid memories of the Covid pandemic, the read is quite challenging; there are no chapters and the timeline is fragmented, which means that what could have been a predictable journey narrative trajectory is rendered complex and thought provoking. The writing is allusive, drawing on literary and biblical language that is mixed skilfully with the demotic. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic novel replete with fresh takes on friendship, rebirth and the human condition."

This is another triumph for brilliant Irish indie press Tramp. If only Gethan's book were eligible for UK literary prizes, but alas she is neither citizen nor resident of the UK.