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Mike McCormack (writer)

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Mike McCormack
McCormack at the 2017 Gothenburg Book Fair
McCormack at the 2017 Gothenburg Book Fair
Born1965 (age 58–59)
London, England
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
EducationEnglish and Philosophy
Alma materUniversity College Galway (UCG)
Notable worksNotes from a Coma
Notable awardsRooney Prize for Irish Literature
1996

Goldsmiths Prize
2016

International Dublin Literary Award
2018

Mike McCormack (born 1965) is an Irish novelist and short-story writer. He has published two collections of short stories, Getting It In the Head and Forensic Songs and four novels - Crowe's Requiem, Notes from a Coma, Solar Bones, and This Plague of Souls. He was described as "a disgracefully neglected writer"[1][2][3] early in his career, but the success of some of his later works and his tenure as a writing educator have brought him wide recognition today.[4]

McCormack was born in London.[5] He grew up on a farm in Louisburgh, County Mayo, and studied English and philosophy at UCG.[6] In 1996, he was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. In 1998, Getting It In the Head was voted a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. A story from the collection, "The Terms", was adapted into an award-winning short film directed by Johnny O'Reilly.

In 2006, Notes from a Coma was shortlisted for the Irish Book of the Year Award. In 2010, John Waters in The Irish Times described it as "the greatest Irish novel of the decade just ended". It took McCormack seven years to write the book.[6] It is currently on the Senior Cycle reading list for Leaving Certificate English. In May 2016, Dublin publisher Tramp Press published his novel Solar Bones; this went on to win the Goldsmiths Prize. The book was unusual in that it was written as a single sentence[7] (albeit a long one, that spans about 270 pages).[8] Also in 2016, the book was named "Novel of the Year" by the Irish Book Awards.[citation needed]

He was elected to Aosdána in 2018.[9]

In June 2018, McCormack won the Dublin Literary Prize of €100,000, the largest literary prize in the world for a single novel published in English, for his book Solar Bones.[8]

He lives in Galway with his wife Maeve, where he works as a lecturer and director of NUI Galway's MA in Creative Writing.[10][2][11][12][4]

Writings

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Core selves go missing in high-tech celeb world". The Irish Times. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Taking risks, challenging publishers, and earning readers". The Irish Times. 10 April 2013. p. 1. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Taking risks, challenging publishers, and earning readers". The Irish Times. 10 April 2013. p. 2. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b Fox, Killian (11 November 2023). "Mike McCormack: 'If I've one gift as a writer, it's patience'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  5. ^ "A Real Heart Stopper". Transcript Review. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  6. ^ a b McKeon, Belinda (13 May 2005). "Metaphysics gets a Mayo accent". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 May 2005.
  7. ^ "Goldsmiths Prize: Single sentence novel wins £10,000 award". BBC News. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  8. ^ a b Cain, Sian (13 June 2018). "Mike McCormack wins €100,000 International Dublin lite". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  9. ^ Kelly, Aoife (13 June 2018). "Mike McCormack wins €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award for Solar Bones". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 13 June 2018. Sheila Pratschke, Chair of the Arts Council said, "Mike has a long relationship with the Arts Council, through our residency programmes, bursary awards and, most recently, through his appointment to Aosdána, and we have known for many years that he is a writer of astonishing talent."
  10. ^ "People - NUI Galway". NUI Galway. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Mike McCormack: Cúirt International Festival of Literature". Galway Arts Centre. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Mike McCormack & Mary Costello". Cúirt International Festival of Literature. 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
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