Megan Nolan

Last updated

Megan Nolan
Born1990 (age 3334)
County Waterford, Ireland
OccupationJournalist, novelist
Notable works Acts of Desperation (2021)

Megan Nolan (born 1990) [1] is an Irish journalist, and author from County Waterford. Her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, [2] was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize [3] and was one of the four awardees of the 2022 Betty Trask Award for debut novels.

Contents

Biography

Nolan's father Jim Nolan was a theatre director and founder of the Red Kettle theatre company based in Waterford. [4] [5] She studied film studies and French at Trinity College Dublin, but dropped out before completion of her studies. [6] [5]

She has written essays and literary criticism for the New Statesman . [2] In 2018, she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that detailed how she had come to hate England and English people. [7] She subsequently moved from London to New York City.

Acts of Desperation was a Betty Trask Awardee for debut novels in 2022. [8] Ordinary Human Failings was shortlisted for the 2023 Gordon Burn Prize for "books that push boundaries, cross genres or otherwise challenge readers’ expectations", [9] [10] as well as for the 2024 Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the "difficult second novel" that follows an author's literary debut. [11]

Awards

YearWorkAwardResultRef
2021 Acts of Desperation Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award Shortlisted [12]
2022

Betty Trask Award

Won [13]
Dylan Thomas Prize Longlisted [14]
2023Ordinary Human Failings Gordon Burn Prize Shortlisted [15]
NeroFictionShortlisted [16]
2024 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Shortlisted [17]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booker Prize</span> British literary award established in 1969

The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, which was published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland. The winner of the Booker Prize receives £50,000, as well as international publicity that usually leads to a significant sales boost. When the prize was created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014, eligibility was widened to any English-language novel—a change that proved controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Booker Prize</span> International literary award

The International Booker Prize is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Booker Prize was then known, was announced in June 2004. Sponsored by the Man Group, from 2005 until 2015 the award was given every two years to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation. It rewarded one author's "continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage", and was a recognition of the writer's body of work rather than any one title.

The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the "Prize", and the remainder given to one or more other writers, called the "Awards". The award was established in 1984 by the Society of Authors, at the bequest of the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels. The awards are given to traditional or romantic novels, rather than those of an experimental style, and can be for published or unpublished works.

Paul Murray is an Irish novelist, the author of the novels An Evening of Long Goodbyes (2003), Skippy Dies (2010), The Mark and the Void (2015), and The Bee Sting (2023).

The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published writers in the English language under the age of forty. The prize was originally awarded biennially but became an annual award in 2010. Entries for the prize are submitted by the publisher, editor, or agent; for theatre plays and screenplays, by the producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon McGregor</span> British novelist and short story writer (born 1976)

Jon McGregor is a British novelist and short story writer. In 2002, his first novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize, making him then the youngest-ever contender. His second and fourth novels were longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006 and 2017 respectively. In 2012, his third novel, Even the Dogs, was awarded the International Dublin Literary Award. The New York Times has labelled him a "wicked British writer".

Gordon Burn was an English writer born in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of four novels and several works of non-fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Catton</span> New Zealand novelist and screenwriter

Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her award-winning debut novel, The Rehearsal, written as her Master's thesis, was published in 2008, and has been adapted into a 2016 film of the same name. Her second novel, The Luminaries, won the 2013 Booker Prize, making Catton the youngest author ever to win the prize and only the second New Zealander. It was subsequently adapted into a television miniseries, with Catton as screenwriter. In 2023, she was named on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadifa Mohamed</span> Somali-British novelist (born 1981)

Nadifa Mohamed is a Somali-British novelist. She featured on Granta magazine's list "Best of Young British Novelists" in 2013, and in 2014 on the Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. Her 2021 novel, The Fortune Men, was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, making her the first British Somali novelist to get this honour. She has also written short stories, essays, memoirs and articles in outlets including The Guardian, and contributed poetry to the anthology New Daughters of Africa. Mohamed was also a lecturer in Creative Writing in the Department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London until 2021. She will be Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University in Spring 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NoViolet Bulawayo</span> Zimbabwean author (born 1981)

NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele, a Zimbabwean author. In 2012, the National Book Foundation named her a "5 under 35" honoree. She was named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2014. Her debut novel, We Need New Names, was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize, and her second novel, Glory, was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, making her "the first Black African woman to appear on the Booker list twice".

Evelyn Rose Strange "Evie" Wyld is an Anglo-Australian author. Her first novel, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 2009, and her second novel, All the Birds, Singing, won the Encore Award in 2013 and the Miles Franklin Award in 2014. Her third novel, The Bass Rock, won the Stella Prize in 2021.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave FRSL is a British poet, playwright and novelist. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibundu Onuzo</span> Nigerian novelist (born 1991)

Imachibundu Oluwadara Onuzo is a Nigerian novelist. Her first novel, The Spider King's Daughter, won a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize, and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Etisalat Prize for Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayobami Adebayo</span> Nigerian writer (born 1988)

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ is a Nigerian writer. Her 2017 debut novel, Stay With Me, won the 9mobile Prize for Literature and the Prix Les Afriques. She was awarded The Future Awards Africa Prize for Arts and Culture in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Hisayo Buchanan</span> British-American writer (born 1989)

Rowan Hisayo Buchanan FRSL is a British American writer. Her novels include Harmless Like You, which received a Betty Trask Award and the 2017 Author's Club Best First Novel Award, and Starling Days. She is the editor of Go Home!, an anthology of stories by Asian American writers. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023.

The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employees. The prize money – initially raised by crowdfunding and latterly augmented by sponsorship – is divided between the publishing house and the author.

<i>The Spider Kings Daughter</i> 2012 novel by Chibundu Onuzo

The Spider King's Daughter is a 2012 novel written by Nigerian writer Chibundu Onuzo. It was first published on March 1, 2012, by Faber and Faber.

Caleb Azumah Nelson is a British–Ghanaian writer and photographer. His 2021 debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa Book Award for First Novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Booker Prize</span> British literary award given in 2023

The Booker Prize is an annual literary award given for the best English-language novel of the year published in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. The 2023 winner was Paul Lynch's Prophet Song.

Imogen Hermes Gowar is a British author. She published her debut novel The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, winning a Betty Trask Award in 2019; it became shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

References

  1. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19607931.Megan_Nolan
  2. 1 2 Feigel, Lara (3 March 2021). "Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan review – learning to say no". TheGuardian.com .
  3. "Diverse and global voices dominate the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize". Swansea.ac.uk . Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. Brennan, Marjorie (24 October 2022). "Book interview: Megan Nolan on discovering one of Waterford's best-known authors". IrishExaminer.com .
  5. 1 2 Clark, Alex (26 February 2021). "Megan Nolan: 'When I think back, the way I drank was crazy. Everyone I knew did it'". TheGuardian.com .
  6. McGrath, Maedhbh (8 July 2023). "Megan Nolan: 'In England, you're supposed to hate someone who has a tiny bit more than you'". Independent.ie .
  7. Nolan, Megan (18 October 2018). "I Didn't Hate the English — Until Now". nytimes.com . Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. "The Betty Trask Prize | Past Winners", The Society of Authors. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  9. Creamer, Ella (25 January 2024). "Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist". The Guardian .
  10. Lane, Harriet (4 February 2024). "A Dead Child, Too Much Booze and a Family in Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  11. Spanoudi, Melina (30 May 2024). "Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  12. team, Code8. "Past Years". Young Writer of the Year Award. Retrieved 8 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. "Irish writers short-listed for the 2022 Society of Authors Awards". Books Ireland Magazine. 11 May 2022.
  14. "Here is the longlist for the 2022 Dylan Thomas Prize". Literary Hub. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  15. Creamer, Ella (25 January 2024). "Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  16. Creamer, Ella (21 November 2023). "Paul Murray and Fern Brady shortlisted for inaugural Nero awards". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  17. "Orwell Prizes 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.