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Kevin Barry (writer)

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Kevin Barry
Barry in November 2024
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Limerick, Ireland
OccupationWriter
Notable workCity of Bohane
Beatlebone
Night Boat to Tangier
Awards

Kevin Barry (born 1969) is an Irish writer. He is the author of three collections of short stories and three novels. City of Bohane (2011) was the winner of the 2013 International Dublin Literary Award. Beatlebone (2015) won the 2015 Goldsmiths Prize and is one of seven books by Irish authors nominated for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award,[1] the world's most valuable annual literary fiction prize for books published in English. His 2019 novel Night Boat to Tangier was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize.[2][3][4] Barry is also an editor of Winter Papers, an arts and culture annual.[5]

Biography

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Born in Limerick, Barry spent much of his youth travelling, living in 17 addresses by the time he was 36. He lived variously in Cork, Santa Barbara, Barcelona, and Liverpool before settling in Sligo, purchasing and renovating a run-down Royal Irish Constabulary barracks. His decision to settle down was driven primarily by the increasing difficulty in moving large quantities of books from house to house.[6] In Cork Barry worked as a freelance journalist, contributing a regular column to the Irish Examiner. Keen to become a writer, he purchased a caravan and parked it in a field in West Cork, spending the next six months writing what he described as a "terrible novel".

Barry has described himself as "a raving egomaniac", one of those "monstrous creatures who are composed 99 percent of sheer, unadulterated ego" and "hugely insecure and desperate to be loved and I want my reader to adore me, to a disturbing, stalkerish degree."[7][8] He is highly ambitious, saying: "I won't be happy until I'm up there, receiving the Nobel Prize".[9] He confessed to "haunting bookshops and hiding" to "spy on the short fiction section and see if anyone's tempted by my sweet bait" and has also placed copies of his own work in front of books by other "upcoming" authors.[8]

In 2007 he won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for his short story collection There Are Little Kingdoms (2007).[10] In 2011 he released his debut novel City of Bohane,[11] which was followed in 2012 by the short story collection Dark Lies the Island. Barry won the International Dublin Literary Award for his novel City of Bohane in 2013.[12] When City of Bohane was shortlisted for the award in April 2013, Barry said: "Anything that keeps a book in the spotlight and keeps people talking about books is good. [...] And a prize with money attached to it has a lot of prestige."[13][14] He received €100,000 for winning the award.[15] The prize jury included Salim Bachi, Krista Kaer, Patrick McCabe, Kamila Shamsie, Clive Sinclair and Eugene R. Sullivan.[16] Lord Mayor of Dublin Naoise Ó Muirí said he was "thrilled" that someone of "such immense talent [should] take home this year's award".[17] Ó Muirí also said the characters were "flamboyant and malevolent, speaking in a vernacular like no other."[18] In November, 2015 Beatlebone won the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize that aims to reward British and Irish fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form.[19]

The Gazette described him as: "If Roddy Doyle and Nick Cave could procreate, the result would be something like Kevin Barry."[20]

Barry was the Ireland Fund Artist-in-Residence in the Celtic Studies Department of University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto in October 2010.[21]

Awards and honours

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Literary awards

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref
2007 There Are Little Kingdoms Rooney Prize for Irish Literature — Won
2011 City of Bohane Costa Book Award First Novel Shortlisted
2012 Beer Trip to Llandudno Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award — Won [22][23]
City of Bohane Authors' Club Best First Novel Award — Won [24]
2013 International Dublin Literary Award — Won [25]
Dark Lies the Island Edge Hill University Short Story Prize — Won [26]
2015 Beatlebone Goldsmiths Prize — Won [19]
2019 Night Boat to Tangier International Dublin Literary Award — Longlisted
2022 That Old Country Music Edge Hill University Short Story Prize — Won [27]

Honours

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Bibliography

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Novels

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Short story collections

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Short stories

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Year[29] Title First published Reprinted/collected Notes
2016 Deer Season Barry, Kevin (10 October 2016). "Deer Season". The New Yorker. Vol. 92, no. 32. pp. 84–89. That Old Country Music
2018 The Coast of Leitrim Barry, Kevin (15 October 2018). "The Coast of Leitrim". The New Yorker. Vol. 94, no. 32. pp. 70–75. That Old Country Music
2022 The Pub with No Beer Barry, Kevin (11 April 2022). "The Pub with No Beer". The New Yorker. Vol. 98, no. 8. pp. 50–52.

References

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  1. ^ "Seven Irish writers on the longlist for world's richest literary prize". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. ^ Marshall, Alex (23 July 2019). "Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie in Running for Booker Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (23 July 2019). "Booker Prize longlist includes Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Oyinkan Braithwaite". The Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ^ Schaub, Michael (24 July 2019). "Booker Prize longlist includes Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Valeria Luiselli". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Winter Papers 5: 'You can fling open any page and find something to curl into as the light fades'". independent. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ Barry, Kevin (10 September 2011). "Once upon a life: Kevin Barry". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  7. ^ Mackin, Laurence (10 September 2011). "True characters: Kevin Barry, author". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Interview with Kevin Barry". The Short Review.
  9. ^ "Leader Interview..with Kevin Barry". Limerick Leader. 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  10. ^ "Author Kevin Barry is awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature 2007". Trinity College Dublin. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  11. ^ Thomas, Scarlett (14 May 2011). "City of Bohane review". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Kevin Barry wins IMPAC Dublin literary award for City of Bohane". RTÉ. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  13. ^ Boland, Rosita (9 April 2013). "Kevin Barry shortlisted for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award: Limerick-born man the only Irish writer to make the shortlist, for his novel 'City of Bohane'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  14. ^ Lavery, Michael (31 May 2013). "Barry in line to win €100k city book prize". Evening Herald. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  15. ^ Spain, John (6 June 2013). "In the money: Irish writer Kevin Barry scoops €100,000 IMPAC literary award". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Kevin Barry wint IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2013". NRC. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Kevin Barry's City of Bohane wins the prestigious IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award". Journal.ie. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Irish author Kevin Barry wins Impac literary award". BBC News. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  19. ^ a b Gatti, Tom (11 November 2015) Kevin Barry wins the Goldsmiths Prize 2015 for his novel Beatlebone New Statesman
  20. ^ Farmer, Laura (2 June 2013). "Search no longer for stories about quests, author Kevin Barry has you covered". The Gazette. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  21. ^ "SMC Sponsored Programs - Celtic Studies - Ireland Fund Artist-in-Residence Program - University of St. Michael's College". stmikes.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  22. ^ "The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award winner announcement Beer Trip to Llandudno".
  23. ^ Flood, Alison (30 March 2012). "Kevin Barry's tale of ale enthusiasts wins Sunday Times short story award". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  24. ^ "Best First Novel Award | Authors' Club". Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  25. ^ Richard Lea (7 June 2013). "Kevin Barry wins Impac award". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  26. ^ "Irish author Kevin Barry wins Edge Hill Prize". Edge Hill. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Author Kevin Barry celebrates historic second Edge Hill Prize win - News". Edge Hill. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Kevin Barry among new members elected to Aosdána". Hot Press. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  29. ^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
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