Hachette UK

The shortlist for the Irish Book Awards has been announced and Hachette Ireland feature prominently.  Arlene Hunt’s Undertow and Tana French’s The Likeness, which is co-published with Hodder & Stoughton in the UK are both nominated for the TV3 Ireland AM Irish Crime fiction Award. This is the first year of this award, and the tie-in with Ireland’s most watched morning television show should help it generate a high profile for the authors short-listed.
 
Ronan O’Brien has been nominated in the IES Best Newcomer category for his debut work, Confessions of a Fallen Angel. The novel, which shot straight into the Irish top five on publication in January 2008, is also co-published in the UK with Hodder & Stoughton.
 
Anita Shreve’s Testimony (Little, Brown Book Group) is nominated in the Tubridy Show Listener’s Choice Award, the only award to allow non-Irish titles. Testimony was a bestseller on publication in October 2008 and shot back up the charts when it was featured as the book of the month for January 2009 in the Tubridy Show Book Club. Anita was featured on the show in October  and interviewed again in January.
 
Breda Purdue, Group Managing Director for Publishing & P.R. commented ‘We are delighted for Arlene, Ronan and Tana, it’s a testament to their terrific books. This award, and the TV coverage that comes with being short-listed should really help to grow their status both here and abroad. It’s also great to see Testimony nominated for the Tubridy Show Listener’s Choice Award. It really struck a chord with readers and Anita did some great publicity on it. We’re looking forward to what should be a great night.’
 
The Irish Book Award winners will be announced at a gala awards dinner in Dublin’s Mansion House on May 6th. For more information on the Irish Book Awards go to www.irishbookawards.ie.