Donal Ryan

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Donal Ryan (born 1976) is an Irish writer. He has published six novels and one short story collection. In 2016, novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry described Ryan in The Guardian newspaper as "the king of the new wave of Irish writers". [1] All of his novels have been number one bestsellers in Ireland. [2]

Contents

Biography

Donal Ryan was born outside Nenagh, Tipperary, in 1976. [3] He holds a degree in law from the University of Limerick where he now lectures in Creative Writing. [4] He worked for the National Employment Rights Authority until April 2014. [5] He is married and lives in Castletroy, County Limerick, with his wife and two children. [6]

Ryan has won numerous awards for his fiction, among them the European Union Prize for Literature, [7] the Guardian First Book Award [8] and four Irish Book Awards, [9] and has been shortlisted for several more, including the Costa Book Award [10] and the IMPAC awar d. [11] In September 2021 he became the first Irish writer to be awarded the Jean-Monnet Prize for European Literature. [12]

His debut novel, The Spinning Heart, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, and his fourth novel, From A Low And Quiet Sea, was longlisted in 2018. [13] The Spinning Heart was voted Irish Book of the Decade in 2016 in a nationwide poll run by Dublin Book Festival. [14] He holds the record, at four, for most nominations for the International Dublin Literary Award.

Ryan's first two novels, The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December, were between them rejected 47 times before being accepted for publication. [15]

The Thing about December (written before The Spinning Heart) was published in 2013 and was adapted into an Irish-language film, Foscadh , in 2020. [16] It was also adapted for the stage by Decadent Theatre Company in 2019. [17] The Spinning Heart was adapted by Articulate Anatomy Theatre Company in 2017 and staged at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. [18]

Ryan's books have been translated into over twenty languages. [19]

Works

Recognition

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References

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  4. "'Dream come true': Author Donal Ryan takes up lecturer post at University of Limerick". www.limerickleader.ie. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
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  9. "No more Mr Nearly... Writer Donal Ryan on his award-winning sixth novel". independent. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
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  14. "Donal Ryan wins Dublin Book Festival's Book of The Decade". 14 November 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. Hector Tobar (26 July 2013). "Rejected 47 times, Irish novelist finally wins recognition". The LA Times. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  16. Nathan Griffin (6 November 2019). "Filming begins on Foscadh, Seán Breathnach's debut Irish Language feature film". IFTN.
  17. McCormack, Cian (3 June 2019). "Novel never meant for stage set for Galway premiere".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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  19. "Ennis Book Club Festival - Donal Ryan". www.ennisbookclubfestival.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
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