Irish Writers Union
Chomhar na Scribhneoiri

This is the website of the
Irish Writers' Union, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
t 086 233 00 84.
or email

The website is edited by Brendan Nolan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Listings
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Fintan J. Power
Waterford: This is where ...
A new book of poetry by Fintan J.Power.
The book contains a group of 40 poems in the main, spanning more than 25 years of the author’s life, addressing the issues of nature, religious faith, growing, illness, and love.
The front cover is illustrated with photographs of Waterford, in keeping with the intention of the work.
The book can be found in bookshops in Waterford City and County.
It is available directly from the author for €13.00 (including postage & packaging)
Write to: 23 Grange Lawn, Waterford or email:
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Maria Ní Mhurchú
Caite le Chéile
Maria’s new book includes three plays in Irish.
Two of the plays are fairly long and one of the plays won a major award in the Irish language.
The final play in the book may be performed for the first time in 2011.

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Patricia O’Reilly
A Type of Beauty, the story of Kathleen Newton (1854-1882)
A Type of Beauty is the dramatised account of the life of Kathleen Newton (1854-1882), whose intense affair with Jacques Tissot scandalised Victorian society.
Published by Cape Press.
ISBN-13: 978-0956363206

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Liz Lyons
Come this way home

Liz Lyons’ debut novel Barefoot Over Stones was published in 2009.
Come this Way Home is her second novel.
Published by Transworld Ireland @ €12.99.

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Mairead O Driscoll
A Moment in Time
Poolbeg April 2010.
J ust before she signed her first publishing deal, Mairead attended an IWU Pathways to Publication Day at the Irish Writer's Centre: “It was fabulous. I'd encourage any aspiring writer to attend this seminar as it was invaluable to hear the "experts" talk and give advice.”
Moment in Time is Mairead’s fourth novel.

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Nuala Ní Chonchúir
You
A début novel, published by New Island.
Dublin, summer 1980; Kate Bush on the radio. In a house by the Liffey, a spiky but sensitive ten-year-old girl is minder and mother to her troubled Ma, as well as her two younger brothers. A family tragedy changes everything, she realises that the only person she can trust is herself, so she takes her future into her own hands.

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Morgan Llywelyn
Brendan

Brendan is Morgan’s latest historical novel.
The review in Publishers Weekly (U.S) says: 'The colorful life story of revered monastic saint Brendan the Navigator, in the form of a personal journal. ... climaxes with a fantastical maritime expedition worthy of Ulysses. Llywelyn's prose is by turns reflective, lyrical, and stalwart, delving into the popular legend with a genuine sense of Brendan's human strengths and frailties'.
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, New York.
ISBN 978-0-312-86099-8.

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Peter Dunne
Emotional Structure: a guide for screenwriters
Emmy and Peabody award winning producer, writer, and teacher, Peter Dunne, provides guidance for when the plot fits nicely into place like pieces in a puzzle, yet an elemental, terribly important something remains missing.
published by Quill Driver Books @ $14.95
ISBN 1-884956-53-X

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Still Selling
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Glynn Anderson
Birds of Ireland: Facts, Folklore & History
A book of non-fiction published by Collins Press, Cork.
It is a companion to traditional bird guides and through species-by-species accounts, relates man's interaction with birds in Ireland, though history, said Glynn.

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Juliet Bressan
Snow White Turtle Doves
Published by Poolbeg
The book is a love story set against the background of the war on Iraq.
"There is an aftertaste of wonderment to this book, written from within by a child of our times. Now I know what is going on in the heads of those who are marching to change them, from Dublin to Mayo, Baghdad to New York - sex, desire, love, family and politics. Marvelous." Nell McCafferty.

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Juliet Bressan
Entanglement
Published by Poolbeg

Entanglement is a romantic thriller set in Dublin, Paris and Kenya about three junior doctors and the lawyers who sue them.
Juliet was the script advisor to the RTE drama series The Clinic.

website

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Patricia Burke Brogan
Decolage: New and Selected Poems
Published by Wordsonthestreet
A collection of new and selected poems by the author of the acclaimed play Eclipsed.
100 pp RRP €11.99 ISBN 978-0-9552604-6-9.

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Anne Chambers
Granuaile
Grace O'Malley - Ireland's Pirate Queen

The story of one remarkable woman’s quest for survival and fulfilment, by land and by sea, in a time of profound political upheaval and male chauvinistic bias. Grace O’Malley was the original trail-blazer and mould-breaker.
30th Anniversary new edition of the best-selling biography.

Publisher: Gill & Macmillan
@ €12.99.
ISBN 9780717145829

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Patrick Chapman
A Shopping Mall on Mars
poetry collection published by BlazeVOX, Buffalo, New York.
and
Breaking Hearts and Traffic Lights
published by Salmon.October 2007

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Michael Clemenger
Holy Terrors
A Boy, Two Brothers, a Stolen Childhood
Published by O’ Brien Press
@ €11.99
ISBN 978-1-84717-187-

Aged eight, Michael Clemenger was transferred to St Joseph’s Industrial School in Tralee.
Chosen as their ‘favourite’ by two Christian Brothers, Michael endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of both men. One would strike at night, while the other took his pleasure in a weekly bathtime ritual. Even their protection did not save the boy from merciless beatings at the hands of other sadistic brothers in the notorious institution.

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Karina Colgan
Trust betrayed
How The Organ Retention Scandal Devastated Irish Families

Karina Colgan examines the story behind the organ retention scandal. She talks to parents, relatives, hospital management, politicians and campaigners. She even includes a response from Pope Benedict XVI to the scandal. Her revelations will shock and anger as she seeks the answer to the question: "Why was our trust betrayed?"

Publisher: Poolbeg
@ €14.99.
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Joseph. E.A. Connell
Dublin in rebellion

This directory lists historic locations in Dublin on a street-by-street basis, describing events during the decade from the 1913 Dublin Lockout, through the 1916 Easter Rising and War of Independence, until the end of the civil war.
It is reissued with an extensively revised and expanded introduction by the author.
Entries have been supplemented with further research.

Publisher: The Lilliput Press.
@ €25.
ISBN 978 1 84351 137 3.

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Brendan Connolly
The Natural Religion
Brendan Connolly debunks the myth, peddled by traditional religions that we need spiritual and supernational beliefs to have morals and ethics.
Published by Emmer Publications @ €22.45
ISBN 978-0-9558313-1-7

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John Austin Connolly
The Boys from Siam
Winner of the inaugural Yale Drama Series Award, 2007.
With a foreword by Edward Albee,
Published by Yale University Press @ €11
ISBN 978-0-300-14185-6.

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June Considine Laura Elliot
The prodigal sister

Three Lambert sisters journey across New Zealand to be reunited with their youngest sister, Cathy, who ran away from home when she was fifteen. Sixteen years have passed since she made contact with them and, as they draw near their destination, tensions simmers and old hurts surface as the secret shared histories of the Lambert sisters are revealed.

Publisher: Avon/Harper Collins.
ISBN 978-1847561473

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Maeve Friel
Tiger Lily - A Heroine for All Seasons
Packed with richly descriptive language and references to great works of literature from Scheherazade to Mary Poppins, this is another sparkling story featuring this feisty character.
ISBN 978-1847150844

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Dave Duggan
Plays in a peace process
published by Guildhall Press
ISBN 978 1 906271 13 8
The collection brings together dramatic writing by Dave Duggan in response to the peace process in Ireland between 1994 and 2007. The plays were professionally produced and toured to venues across Ireland and to Liverpool, Edinburgh and New York. An adaptation of one of them was produced in Afghanistan.
Dave was also awarded The 2008 Stewart Parker Trust/BBC Award for writing in Irish for his play Gruagairí.

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Claire Hennessy
Every Summer

A sixteen-year-old serial heartbreaker finds that the past has a strange way of repeating itself, while her alleged best friend discovers that emerging from a chrysalis isn't as ideal as it might seem.
This is Claire's ninth novel for young adults.

Publisher: Poolbeg

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Christine Dwyer Hickey
Last train from Liguria

Christine’s latest novel is set in 1930’s Fascist Italy and Dublin in the 1990’s.
It’s described as a sweeping tale of consequences that spans claustrophobic Dublin, the tense formality of London, and the heat and bustle of the Italian Riviera.

Publisher Atlantic Books (UK)
@ £12.99
ISBN: 978 1 84354 987 1
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Mary Kenny
Crown and Shamrock
Love and Hate between Ireland and the British Monarchy
Published by New Island
Mary Kenny – drawing on research at the Royal Archives in Windsor as well the Irish archives, and personal reminisce by a number of people – examines the complex and contradictory relationship between Ireland and the Crown.

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Conor Kostick
The siege of Jerusalem

Conor's book is an account of the final act of the crusade of 1099.
Published in the USA and the UK by Continuum Press.
@ £20.00 (€23.50).

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Brid Fitzpatrick
The Book of the Brown Calf Moo-Calf
published by Trafford.
A Moo-Calf with a lot of problems keeps on meeting more amid the creatures of Tirbook. How can she resolve these issues' while at the same time making her wish come true?

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Miriam Gallagher
The Gold of Tradaree and Other Plays
(Mirage, 2008)
This is a third book of produced plays by award winning playwright Miriam Gallagher.
The title play is the first to be commissioned under the Per Cent for Arts Scheme.

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Claire Hennessy
Big Picture
Claire's eighth novel for young adults, sees a group of students in their final year of school with the very best of intentions of studying frantically for their Leaving Cert - as soon as life stops getting in the way. Poolbeg.

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Anne Holland
The Grand National, the Irish at Aintree
(The O’Brien Press)
This is Anne’s 16th published title. It was long listed for the Irish Sports Book of the Year. A fascinating mix of history and current, the book tells the stories behind the stories of every Irish-trained winner of the Grand National in Aintree in 180 years.

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Michelle Jackson
Three Nights in New York

The storyline follows three girls, three men, and three unforgettable nights in trendy downtown New York.
Published by Poolbeg Press
www.michellejackson.ie
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Michelle Jackson
Two Days in Biarritz
Michelle’s first novel became available nationwide from June 16, 2008. Two friends take a holiday that will change everything for them. Poolbeg.
For detail, see the website

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George P Kearns
A History of Speedway and its Dublin Experience
Scheduled for launch in December 2008; publication was postponed to April, 2009.
For more information visit the website

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George Kearns
A to Z of All Old Dublin Cinemas .
George’s book the A to Z of All Old Dublin Cinemas was rated the highest in loans and renewals in a recent survey of Dublin City libraries. The number of loans recorded for George’s book was 119, with 104 renewals, said George.

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Anna Kelly
Daniel’s Daughter
City girl Angela Brennan is astounded when the father she has never known leaves her a house and land in the country. But not everyone is happy.
Published by Poolbeg. ISBN 978-1-84223-336-8

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Conor Kostick
Move
What if you could live in a universe where you were always the winner?
Move is a gripping fantasy adventure story of the battle between a teenage boy and a terrible demon. Move is described as being a thrilling roller-coaster ride from an award-winning author.
Published by O’Brien @ €9.99 ISBN-13 978-1-84717-010-1

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Brendan Lynch
Yesterday we were in America
Alcock and Brown, First to Cross the Atlantic Non-Stop.

The story of the scarcely credible feat of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown who defied continuous cloud and snow and a near-fatal stall in their open-cockpit Vimy plane in their flight from St John's, Newfoundland to Derrygimla, Connemara on June 14/15, 1919.
Publisher; Haynes, Sparkford.
@ €25.
ISBN 978 1 84425 681 5.
For detail, see the website

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Eugene McCabe
The Love of Sisters

The first hardback edition of The Love of Sisters has sold out.
New Island is now reissuing another hardback edition.
Set in the early 50s, it’s the story of two sisters, traumatised by the untimely death of their mother. The elder, Patricia, is scarred by the realities of other childhood experiences and a humiliating marriage. The younger, Carmel, commits herself to an enclosed order. Carmel’s abrupt disillusionment and departure from the convent throws the sisters together again.

Publisher: New Island
@ €13.99
ISBN: 9781848400184

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Gerry McDonnell
Mud Island Anthology

Gerry McDonnell continues his exploration of life and death in Dublin’s
north inner city. In Mud Island Elegy (Lapwing, 2001) he invited the Jews of a little known Jewish cemetery in Ballybough, to speak from beyond the grave.
In his latest collection people who lived in Dublin's north inner city from the 1950s on, speak their truth.

Publisher: Lapwing.
@ £6.95
ISBN 978-1-905425-96-9.

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Oisín McGann
Small-Minded Giants
Oisín McGann has sold the film rights for his novel, Small-Minded Giants.
His agent, Sophie Hicks, negotiated the deal with director/producer team of brothers Gavin and Greg O'Connor, who made the ice hockey movie, Miracle for Disney in 2004 and are releasing Pride and Glory starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell in 2009 with New Line Cinema.

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Peter McKimm
Remembering Seapoint
This evocative book brings us back to the Dublin of the 1940s and 1950s through the interlinked stories of three boys' lives as they move from childhood to youth to adulthood.
Published by A&A Farmar @ €11.99
ISBN: 978-1-906353-08-7

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Sam Millar
The Dark Place
Published by Brandon
ISBN 9-78086-3224034
Karl Kane’s nightmarish journey forces upon him a decision that changes his life forever, and forces him to look into the abyss of no return.
Sam’s new book is the follow-up to his best-selling and critically acclaimed Bloodstorm, for which Publishers Weekly said: “The start of a powerful new crime series.”

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Mary Mulvihill
Drive like a Woman, Shop like a Man: Greener is Cheaper
101 practical 'green' ways to save money and time.
One tip alone could save you €500 a year!
Published by New Island, 142pp, pbk €8.99
ISBN: 978-1-848400160
For detail, see the website

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Brendan Nolan
Barking Mad: Tales of Liars, Lovers, Loonies and Layabouts
Brendan’s latest book is a selection from some of his best loved ten-minute tales broadcast on Telling Tales, his weekly radio story programme on Liffey Sound FM.
Published by Fresh Appeal. ISBN 978-0-9560810-0-1.
For detail, see the website

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Cláir Ní Aonghusa
Civil and Strange
Penguin Ireland
Published the UK in August 2009.
ISBN: 978-1-844-88195-6
Published in the USA in 2008 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Reviews:
'Deft touches of humour and an artful grasp of this world . . . accomplished' (Washington Post)
'The author's ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect, and her characters are complex and often flawed, underscoring their authenticity . . . masterly' (Library Journal)

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Nuala Ní Chonchúir
Nude

Nuala’s new short story collection uses sensual frankness and poetic language, to weave a spell around the reader; in these stories there are mercurial lovers and illicit affairs from Dublin to Paris, Delhi to Barcelona. And at the centre of it all is the unclothed body: in bedrooms, in art, and in and out of love. The Irish Times recently hailed the book as ‘a memorable achievement’.

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Pádraig Ó Baoighill
Páidi Láidir Mac Culadh agus Gaeltacht Thír Eoghain
The story of the native speakers of Tyrone in the early part of the 20th century is recalled in this 120,000 word book.
Published by Coiscéim

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Ulick O'Connor
The Kiss - New and Selected Poems and Translations
Poet and playwright Ulick O'Connor's new collection, published by Salmon, was launched by Merlin Holland, grandson of playwright Oscar Wilde.

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Mairead O’Driscoll
Where the Heart is
This title, Mairead’s third novel, was published by Poolbeg Press in August 2008.

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Lissa Oliver
Nero
The Last Caesar

Forced by a power-hungry Mother to exchange childhood for politics, Nero was driven into a life he never wanted. At fourteen he addressed the senate; at fifteen presided over major court cases; and at sixteen became emperor of Rome. Adored by the people, revered by foreign statesmen, but loathed by his peers, Nero ended his short life as a sad and lonely outcast. A modern story set in an ancient world.

Publisher: Georgian Rose Press
@ €8.
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Lissa Oliver
Gala Day

Pete Allen is a jockey desperate to regain the glory days of his youth and it seems trainer Sebastian Churchill can offer him the chance he needs. But does that chance come with a price tag… and can Pete ultimately afford the cost? An explosive thriller exposing the thin line between success and corruption

Publisher: Georgian Rose Press
@ €8.
ISBN 978-0953416745

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Jack Scoltock
The Meltin’ Pot (From wreck to discovery to salvage)
The story of a girl and her mother who in 1942 sailed out into the dangerous waters of Lough Foyle and helped rescue American airmen from a crashed B-17 bomber. With 160 pages and more than 100 photos the book is published by The History Press (Tempus Publishing)- ISBN 0752447254.

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Jack Scoltock
Challenge of the Red Unicorn
Published by www.virtualtales.com
Jack’s latest work is described as a fantasy about a young Irish boy.
the ebook is available online.
Cover art by Justine Scoltock.
website
----------------------------------------- 89

Patrick Semple
A Narrow Escape
This is a second poetry collection.
Published by Stonebridge @ € 14.95
Available from the author at: 49 Richmond Park, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
ISBN 1-902410-37-8

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Kate Thompson
A Creature of the Night
Kate Thompson's new book for teenage readers was published in June and has been getting rave reviews on both sides of the Irish Sea.

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Marilyn Taylor
17 Martin Street
A new historical novel (for 10+) set, like the award-winning Faraway Home, in the 1940s.
In Portobello, Dublin’s colourful ‘Little Jerusalem’, Christians and Jews live side by side. We follow neighbours Ben Byrne and Hetty Golden, and their quest, despite conflict between their families, to rescue a young Jewish refugee fleeing the Nazi terror, on the run from Irish immigration authorities.
Published by The O'Brien Press

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Patrick Taylor
An Irish Country Series
Concurrently with the Tom Doherty and Associates, New York publication of the third book in this series, An Irish Country Christmas, Brandon Press of Dingle released the first, the New York Times and Canadian best-seller An Irish Country Doctor.
Brandon will publish the second, An Irish Country Village in 2009.
For detail, see the website

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Nuala Woulfe
Chasing Rainbows

Chasing Rainbows was barely released when bookshops started to re-order, according to the author. Those who have a cherised copy of Chasing Rainbows will know that Nuala writes about real people who find themselves in funny situations. She is more an ‘earthy’ than a ‘sentimental ’ women’s writer - although she likes to think Chasing Rainbows still has a lot of tender moments.

Publisher: Poolbeg
@ €15.99

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Phil Young
In a place apart
Published by Wordsonthestreet
@ €11.99.
ISBN 0-95526-049-3
A novel spanning three generations
of women.
In a Place Apart deals with love, loss and a sense of belonging.
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email: Irish Writers' Union here