An Post Irish Book Awards

18/08/2026

Have you submitted? Submissions are open for the 2026 An Post Irish Book Awards!

From unforgettable fiction and insightful non-fiction to inspiring children’s books and everything in between, we can’t wait to discover the stories that will define Irish publishing in 2026.

Find everything you need to know and submit your entry via the link in our bio.

02/07/2026

Tá an córas iarratais OSCAILTE anois do Ghradaim Leabhar na hÉireann 2026!

Tosaíonn bliain eile de scoth na scéalaíochta anseo, agus táimid ag fáiltiú roimh iarratais do Ghradaim Leabhar na hÉireann na bliana seo.

Ó fhicsean nach ndéanfar dearmad air go deo, go neamhfhicsean géarchúiseach, go leabhair spreagúla do léitheoirí óga agus gach uile rud idir eatarthu, táimid ar bís teacht ar na scéalta a mhúnlóidh an fhoilsitheoireacht Éireannach i 2026. Faigh gach eolas atá de dhíth ort agus déan iarratas tríd an nasc inár bpróifíl.

Arís i mbliana, déanaimis ceiliúradh nach ndéanfar dearmad go deo air ar leabhair na hÉireann in 2026.

02/07/2026

Submissions are now OPEN for the 2026 An Post Irish Book Awards!

Another year of extraordinary Irish storytelling begins here, as we’re inviting submissions for this year’s Irish Book Awards.

From unforgettable fiction and insightful non-fiction to inspiring children’s books and everything in between, we can’t wait to discover the stories that will define Irish publishing in 2026. Find everything you need to know and submit your entry via the link in our bio.

Here’s to another incredible year of celebrating the very best of Irish books. 💚

20/04/2026

We asked the nation, and you voted! 📚

To mark 20 years of the Irish Book Awards, readers have chosen the 20 best Irish books of the last 20 years; the stories that have moved us, challenged us, and stayed with us long after the final page.

From unforgettable novels and powerful memoirs to landmark works of non-fiction, this list brings together the books that have defined Irish reading over the past two decades.

Here are the nation’s favourites:

📚Room,
📚Fia and the Last Snow Deer, , illustrated by
📚The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,
📚The Bee Sting, Paul Murray
📚The Spinning Heart, Donal Ryan
📚Unravelling Oliver,
📚Poor,
📚The Importance of Being Aisling, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
📚Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun), Manchán Magan, illustrated by Megan Luddy
📚Normal People, Sally Rooney
📚Small Things Like These,
📚The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry
📚Country Girl, Edna O’Brien
📚Asking For It,
📚Holding,
📚Trespasses, .kennedyy
📚We Don’t Know Ourselves, Fintan O’Toole
📚Girls Who Slay Monsters, , illustrated by Shona Shirley Macdonald
📚A Ghost in the Throat, .ni.ghriofa
📚Atlas of the Irish Revolution, John Crowley, Donál Ó Drisceoil, Mike Murphy and John Borgonovo

19/04/2026

Dark, lyrical and quietly powerful, Savage Her Reply reimagines an old Irish myth through a bold, feminist lens.

With haunting prose and a fierce emotional core, Deirdre Sullivan gives voice to a woman long silenced, exploring rage, resilience and the power of reclaiming your own story.

In 2020, it won our Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year and it’s now nominated as one of the best Irish books of the last 20 years. The final list will be revealed on Monday 20th April.

18/04/2026

Witty, dark and endlessly entertaining, Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire is everything readers love about the series; sharp humour, fast-paced adventure and a world where magic feels both thrilling and dangerous.

It won our Senior Children’s Book of the Year in 2009, and it’s now nominated as one of the best Irish books of the last 20 years. The final list will be revealed on Monday 20th April.

17/04/2026

Witty, dark and endlessly entertaining, Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire is everything readers love about the series; sharp humour, fast-paced adventure and a world where magic feels both thrilling and dangerous.

It won our Senior Children’s Book of the Year in 2009, and it’s now nominated as one of the best Irish books of the last 20 years. The final list will be revealed on Monday 20th April.

16/04/2026

If you could read one book again for the first time… what would it be? 📚

Some stories stay with us forever; the ones that made us feel everything, that we wish we could experience all over again.

As we celebrate 20 years of the Irish Book Awards, we’re shining a light on the books that stand the test of time. The ones readers return to, recommend, and never quite forget.

Tell us yours 👇

16/04/2026

‘The Secret Scripture’ is a triumphant panorama of twentieth-century Ireland as told through the prism of a centenarian care home resident who has her own momentous story to tell.

In 2009, it won our Novel of the Year and is still just as loved 17 years later, joining a host of incredible books from Sebastian Barry.

It is now nominated as one of the best Irish books of the last 20 years. The final list will be revealed on Monday 20th April.

16/04/2026