Tipperary author in running for An Post Irish Book of the Year award

Donal Ryan and his book "Heart, Be at Peace" are in the running for the accolade of ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2024’.

The titles competing for the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year Award were drawn from the category winners at the An Post Irish Book Awards, and were chosen on the principle of the highest number of votes secured during the shortlist voting process across all categories.

The six nominated titles are category winners of the Eason Novel of the Year, the Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Senior), the Ireland AM Popular Fiction Book of the Year, the Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year, the Eason Sports Book of the Year and the Dubray Biography of the Year:

In Heart, Be at Peace, which can be read independently, Donal picks up the twenty-one voices from The Spinning Heart ten years on, in 2019.

Small-town Ireland has rebounded from the economic crash, with work restored and past struggles seemingly behind.

However, beneath the surface, old and new grudges are simmering, and a new threat is quietly emerging.

As young people are lured by the allure of quick money, the older generation battles an intangible enemy, setting the stage for a community on the brink of turmoil.