The Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year is both the senior award and the foundation stone of the new Irish Book Awards. Inaugurated in 2000, it counts among it's distinguished Irish winners the late John McGaherm, Colum McCann, Ronan Bennett, and John Banville. The worthy 2007 winner was Patrick McCabe for Winterwood.
One of the mainstays of the Irish book-trade, Argosy book wholesalers, joined the first expansion of the Irish Book Awards in 2006 when their Nonfiction prize went to Brian Dillon for his searing memoir In the Dark Room. The 2007 winner was Tim Robinson for Connemara.
The Dublin Airport Authority, along with Argosy,completed the the three-sponsor roster for the first Irish Book Awards in 2006. That year the winner was Kate Thompson for The New Policeman. In 2007 the DAA award winners were Oliver Jeffers in the junior category and John Boyne in the senior category. PJ Lynch received a special award for illustration. The titles below refer to the junior category for readers aged 8 and under.
The titles below refer to the the senior category for children in the 9 + age group.
WILDERNESS by Roddy Doyle
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Few writers know how to engage the imagination of young readers like Roddy Doyle and Wilderness is as good as anything he's done.
This award was created to reward the most promising first-time author published in Ireland in any given year. The award is unrestricted by genre and the first winner was Gisele Scanlon for The Goddess Guide. We're delighted that 2008 sponsorship of this award was recently taken up by International Education Serices Ltd of Leixlip.
Adding a major player like Easons to the roster of sponsors is a huge advance for the Awards and it's fitting that Easons, Ireland's senior bookselling company, should choose to sponsor an award aimed at rewarding a book emanating from the vibrant Irish publishing sector. Lifelines: New & Collected, a splendid poetry collection, was the first-time Easons winner.
Long recognised for their massive contribution to sports promotion in Ireland, Club Energise Sport hope to establish their Irish Sports Book of the Year as the premier award in a crowded field. Paul McGrath, for Back from the Brink, was an immensely popular first winner in 2007.
This award is a huge feather in the cap of the Irish Book Awards since Ryan Tubridy is fast becoming the most influential media personality actively promoting books in Ireland. A massive public vote awarded the first TTS award to John Boyne for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Another stellar addition to the awards roster, the food giant, Galaxy, (also sponsors of the British Book Awards) launched the first Irish Popular Fiction Award in 2007. Paul Howard (aka Ross O'Carroll-Kelly) won the prize for Should Have Got Off at Sydney Parade.
The Cork-born novelist, playwright, and short story writer, William Trevor, was honoured with The 2008 Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award. He was described by guest speaker, An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern as "one of our country's most prolific writers and above all, a master storyteller."