In this dark, glittering collection of short stories, Deirdre Sullivan explores the trauma and power that reside in women's bodies. A teenage girl tries to fit in at a party held in a haunted house, with unexpected and disastrous consequences. A mother and daughter run a thriving online business selling antique dolls, while their customers get more than they bargained for. And after a stillbirth, a young woman discovers that there is something bizarre and wondrous growing inside of her. Wi...

Deidre Sullivan describes the lessons she learned from her father's advice to "Always Go To The Funeral" for NPR’s This I Believe series.This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the ...

A retelling of the favourite Irish fairytale The Children of Lir. Aífe marries Lir, a chieftain with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aífe turns them into swans for 900 years. Retold through the voice of Aífe, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, feminist and fierce, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.

It had felt a bit like being haunted, being pregnant. Unexpected thumps, and moments when she would be reminded that there was a little person living inside of her. For a while afterwards, sometimes it would feel like she was still inside, and Kate would tap her stomach, or say something to the baby before she remembered that she was alone. In this dark, glittering collection of short stories, Deirdre Sullivan explores the trauma and power that reside in women’s bodies. A teenage girl trie...

A tender picture book explores the journey of an unborn child toward birth, and the love it receives as it grows, in a perfect gift for new and expanding families everywhere.Beloved, protected, and growing—from pea size to pumpkin size to baby—a little passenger is getting ready to meet the world. In this beautiful picture book evoking all the vulnerability, hope, and tenderness of pregnancy, Deirdre Sullivan’s simple, poetic words capture the inner dialogue and de...

In this unique collaboration, award-winning writers Deirdre Sullivan and Oein DeBhairduin and artist Yingge Xu explore their shared passion for storytelling, folklore and ritual. Encompassing eight stories inspired by the eight festivals in the wheel of the year, this book illuminates our experiences and traverses our fears, intertwining older threads with contemporary spaces.Designed by artist and bookbinder Éilís Murphy in a tête-bêche format, this unique and tactile book is exqu...

A woman approaching fifty must rejoin the workforce as she juggles motherhood and her husband's midlife crisis in this "brilliant, funny, and tender" novel ( Booklist, starred review).Kate Reddy had it all: a nice home, two adorable kids, a good husband. Then her kids became teenagers (read: monsters). Richard, her husband, quit his job, taking up bicycling and therapeutic counseling: drinking green potions, dressing head to toe in Lycra, and spending his t...

‘Brilliantly-written characters, original and engaging. It’s so good!’ BA ParisJOANNE HAYNES HAS A SECRET.THAT IS NOT HER REAL NAME.And there’s more. Her flat isn’t hers. Her cats aren't hers. Even her hair isn’t really hers.Nor is she any of the other women she pretends to be. Not the bestselling romance novelist who gets her morning snack from the doughnut van on the seafront. Nor the pregnant woman in the...

The world is a confusing place, especially for children, and their innocent observations and questions can be side-splittingly hilarious. They can also be a tiny bit embarrassing if you're, say, behind an elderly gentleman at a busy checkout and your little angel asks you...'is that man all wrinkly because he's been in the bath too long?'

LONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZEFrom a comic mastermind comes this brilliant collection of storiesThree teenagers believe they are witches.A woman defaces a local billboard.A bored landlord tries to influence his son’s best friend.A cul-de-sac WhatsApp group discusses eggs at length.A heavily pregnant woman finds a way to time travel and a girl discovers joy on a stolen bicycle . . .Each tale paints a life i...

Shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize 2021Winner of the 2020 Forward Prize for Best CollectionShortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award 2020A Telegraph Poetry Book of the Month (February 2020)A Telegraph Book of the Year 2020A Guardian Book of the Year 2020The Air Year is a time of flight, transition and suspe...

‘A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief … compelling and nuanced.” Edel Coffey, Irish TimesQuick-witted, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pubs all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and everything she has lost. Soon after leaving college, in the early years of the millennium, Noelle flees. Even on the other side of the world, with fame...