Donal Ryan wins An Post Irish Book of the Year award for 'Heart, Be at Peace'
Eva Osborne
Donal Ryan has been announced as the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year 2024 award winner for his book 'Heart, Be at Peace'.
The book was among six titles competing for the accolade, all of which were category winners at the recent 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards.
The six books were shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book of the Year on the principle that they secured the highest number of votes during the shortlist voting process across all categories.
Ryan’s book was unveiled as the An Post Irish Book of the Year during a one-hour special television show aired on RTÉ one on Thursday evening hosted by broadcaster Oliver Callan.
The title won the ‘Eason Novel of the Year Award’ at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards and was chosen as the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year 2024 winner by a distinguished panel of judges.
The six nominated titles competing for the An Post Irish Book of the Year award were:
- Heart, Be at Peace – Donal Ryan (Doubleday, Penguin Random House);
- Fia and the Last Snow Deer – Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s);
- Frankie – Graham Norton (Coronet);
- A Stranger in the Family – Jane Casey (Hemlock Press);
- Obsessed: The Autobiography – Johnny Sexton with Peter O’Reilly (Penguin Sandycove);
- Nature Boy: A Journey of Birdsong and Belonging – Seán Ronayne (Hachette Books Ireland).
Described by The Irish Times as an “absorbing, emphatic story of a community in trouble”, Donal Ryan’s Heart, Be at Peace received a chorus of positive reviews upon publication.
Ryan is an award-winning author from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, whose work has been published in over 20 languages to major critical acclaim.
