2024 saw the publication of two highly anticipated debut novels by acclaimed Irish writers. Hagstone is the debut novel from award-winning essayist and editor of short story anthologies, Sinéad Gleeson, and Breakdown is written by Cathy Sweeney, an author best-known for her short stories. This podcast was recorded at West Cork Literary Festival on 18 July 2024 and Sinéad and Cathy were in conversation with fellow author Colin Barrett.

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Sinéad Gleeson’s essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life was published by Picador in 2019 and won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at 2019 Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Michael Deon Prize. She is editor of The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers (named for a line from Maeve Brennan, which includes a story by Brennan), The Glass Shore: Short Stories by Women Writers from the North of Ireland and The Art of Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories. Sinéad also collaborates with artist and musicians, with commissions from The Wellcome Collection, BBC, Frieze and various galleries. In 2022, with Kim Gordon, she co-edited This Woman’s Work: Essays in Music, published by White Rabbit Books. Hagstone is her first novel and it is published by 4th Estate in April 2024.

Cathy Sweeney lives in Dublin. She studied at Trinity College and taught English at secondary level for many years before turning to writing. Her work has been published in various magazines and journals. Her collection of short stories Modern Times was published by The Stinging Fly in 2020 and her debut novel Breakdown was published by W&N in January 2024.

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