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History of the John McGahern Book Prize

The John McGahern Annual Book Prize is designed to encourage, reward and promote new Irish writing.

It was set up in 2019 by the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies in memory of John McGahern, and with the endorsement of the John McGahern Estate.

The Prize has since been awarded annually for the best debut work by an Irish author published across all genres of adult fiction. The inaugural John McGahern Annual Book Prize was awarded in July 2020 to Adrian Duncan for his novel Loves Notes from a German Building Site (The Lilliput Press). Please find a brief overview below of the past years of the Annual John McGahern Book Prize, including links to the complete list of the submissions and shortlists in a given year.

Book Cover for Close to Home by Michael Magee2023 Prize

The 2023 John McGahern Book Prize was won by John Magee for his debut novel Close to Home (Hamish Hamilton). The recording of his public reading and Q&A at the Liverpool Literary Festival will be uploaded shortly.

Winner of John McGahern Prize for debut Irish fiction announced
Shortlist for 2023 Book Prize
Submissions for 2023 Book Prize 

 

 

Collage made of photos from fairgrounds, including at the top left an image of two people in an old style rollercoaster.The book title is in white blockpring over the top half of the cover, the author's name in faded pink blockprinting on the bottom of the cover.2022 Prize

Aingeala Flannery won the 2022 Prize for her novel The Amusements (Sandycove) and celebrated her award with a public reading and Q&A during the 2023 Liverpool Literary Festival.

Winner of John McGahern Book Prize for Debut Irish Fiction announced
Shortlist for 2022 Book Prize
Submissions for 2022 Book Prize

 

 

The End of the world is a cul de sac by Louise Kennedy book cover. Orange and white patterned cover with the book title and author name centred in black block text2021 Prize

The 2021 Prize was the first prize to be awarded to a collection of short stories - The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy (Bloomsbury) - and it was the start of our collaboration with the University of Liverpool's Literary Festival, with Louise giving a public reading and Q&A as part of the Festival.

Winner of the 2021 John McGahern Book Prize announced
Shortlist for 2021 Book Prize
Submissions for 2021 Book Prize

 

 the weight of love book cover - dark haired woman lying front down on a bed looking sideways so her face is front on2020 Prize

The 2020 Prize was won by Hilary Fannin for her debut novel "The Weight of Love" (Doubleday). With some Covid restrictions still making an in-person event unfeasible, the award was again celebrated in the form of a Zoom interview with our Professor Frank Shovlin.

Hilary Fannin named 2020 John McGahern Annual Book Prize winner
Shortlist for 2020 Book Prize
Submissions for 2020 Book Prize

 

Book cover of Love Notes from a German Building Site by Adrian Duncan2019 Prize

The inaugural John McGahern Prize was won by Adrian Duncan for his debut novel Love Notes from a German Building Site (The Liliput Press). Due to Covid restrictions no physical reading was possible, so instead Adrian recorded a Zoom interview with our Professor Frank Shovlin.

Announcement of the 2019 Book Prize Winner
Shortlist for 2019 Book Prize
Submissions for 2019 Book Prize