Carnegie Medal Nominations for Deirdre Sullivan and Polly Ho-Yen
November 2021
This year's Carnegie Medal nominations have been announced and include two of the Children's Book Agency's authors. Nominated for the 2022 prize are Deirdre Sullivan for Savage Her Reply and Polly Ho-Yen for How I Saved The World In A Week.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal aims to recognise books for children and young adults that create outstanding reading experiences through writing. The Carnegie Medal runs alongside the Kate Greenaway Medal, which similarly recognises books that create a great reading experience through illustration.
Each nominated book will now be read by members of the judging panel, with the longlist being announced on the 16th of February. The winners will eventually be announced on the 16th of June 2022.
Awards Success for Savage Her Reply
May 2021
Savage Her Reply, Deirdre Sullivan's dark, feminist retelling of the Irish "Children of Lir" legend, has won the KPMG 2021 Children's Books Ireland Award.
The winners were announced during a ceremony on 25th May 2021, which was shared online as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin.
Savage Her Reply out today
October 2020
Savage Her Reply, Deirdre Sullivan’s dark and feminist retelling of the Irish fairytale The Children of Lir is set for publication today.
Aife marries Lir, a king with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aife turns them into swans for 900 years. Retold through the voice of Aife, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, feminist and fierce, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.
Perfectly Preventable Deaths publishes today!
May 2019
Perfectly Preventable Deaths, by Deirdre Sullivan, is out today!
Sixteen-year-old twins Madeline and Catlin move to a new life in Ballyfrann, a strange isolated Irish town, a place where the earth is littered with small corpses and unspoken truths. A place where, for generations, teenage girls have gone missing in the surrounding mountains. As distance grows between the twins - as Catlin falls in love, and Madeline begins to understand her own nascent witchcraft - Madeline discovers that Ballyfrann is a place full of predators. And when Catlin falls into the gravest danger of all, Madeline must ask herself who she really is, and who she wants to be - or rather, who she might have to become to save her sister.
Perfectly Preventable Deaths is published by Hot Key Books, and has been described as 'the novel the recent Sabrina reboot wishes it could be'.
Congratulations, Deirdre!
Tangleweed & Brine wins CBI Book of the Year!
May 2018
Deirdre Sullivan, rising star in YA fiction, has won the CBI Book of the Year Award 2018 for her dark, feminist fairytale collection Tangleweed & Brine.
The judges said, "This remarkable book is a significant and timely contribution to Irish young-adult literature and feminist literature for young people. Deirdre Sullivan's simultaneously rich, delicate and stark text is powerfully enhanced by Karen Vaughan's haunting black and white illustrations.
Combining the timeless allure of dark fantasy with subversive explorations of female embodiment and systems of women's suffering and triumphs, this incisive, exquisite collection promises an enthralling and unsettling experience."
Congratulations, Deirdre!
Tangleweed and Brine wins BGE Award 2017
November 2017
We are so happy to announce that Deirdre Sullivan's dark, feminist fairy tale collection, Tangleweed and Brine, has won the Eason Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year at the BGE Irish Book Awards!
The beautiful collection is illustrated by Karen Vaughan and is published by Little Island Books.
Congratulations, Deirdre!
Needlework wins CBI Award 2017
May 2017
Deirdre Sullivan's powerful and poetic novel Needlework has won the Honor Award for Fiction at the CBI Book of the Year Awards 2017.
The judges said: 'Needlework by Deirdre Sullivan is a poetic and eloquent exploration of violation, abuse, neglect and advocacy of the transformative power of art. Starkly genuine and sincere, Sullivan’s powerful use of the metaphor of tattooing invites reflection about identity, difference, self-protection and self-invention. This searing yet delicate representation of adolescent experience will resonate deeply with teenagers and is a story that needs to be told and needs to be read.'
Congratulations Deirdre!
Deirdre Sullivan wins a White Raven
October 2016
Our YA author Deirdre Sullivan has been awarded a White Raven by the International Youth Library for her powerful and poetic novel, Needlework.
Each year the language specialists at the International Youth Library, in Munich, Germany, select newly published books from around the world that they consider to be especially noteworthy.
The White Raven label is given to books that deserve worldwide attention because of their universal themes and/or their exceptional and often innovative artistic and literary style and design.
Congratulations!
Publication Day for Perfectly Preventable Deaths sequel
September 2021
Precious Catastrophe, the sequel to Deirdre Sullivan's dark and compelling novel Perfectly Preventable Deaths, is out today. Published by Hot Key, the second book in this series follows the story of sisters Catlin and Madeline after the dramatic events of the first book.
Catlin and Madeline are extraordinary sisters, living extraordinary lives - in a place that seems entirely ordinary, but which in fact seethes with secrets, both sacred and sinister. Ballyfran is a village where, for centuries, people who are not quite human have gathered. Catlin has already fallen foul of one such creature - a dark, vicious predator who almost killed her - and only Madeline giving up a part of her own soul was able to bring Catlin back from the brink of death.
Now, the girls are making their strange new lives: Catlin, haunted by what happened to her, is isolated and bereft; Madeline is learning ancient magics under the tutelage of local wise woman Mamó. Learning that magic isn't mindfulness and hats. It's work - hard work. And Madeline knows she has to keep watch. On her sister. On the things that happen. Notice things before they start to happen. And before long, they do ...
Available in paperback from today!
Savage Her Reply wins An Post Irish Book Award
December 2020
Deirdre Sullivan's Savage Her Reply, a dark and feminist retelling of the Irish Children of Lir fairytale, has won the Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards.
The Irish Book Awards celebrate the diversity of the Irish literary scene, with the winners announced during a virtual ceremony on Noember 25th. The winners of each category are decided through a combination of public vote and a panel of judges, with an Irish Book of the Year also decided.
Congratulations to Deirdre on her well-deserved win!
Perfectly Preventable Deaths Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards
October 2019
Deirdre Sullivan’s Perfectly Preventable Deaths has been shortlisted for the 2019 Teen/Young Adult Irish Book Award.
Sixteen-year-old twins Madeline and Catlin move to a new life in Ballyfrann, a strange isolated Irish town, a place where the earth is littered with small corpses and unspoken truths. A place where, for generations, teenage girls have gone missing in the surrounding mountains. As distance grows between the twins - as Catlin falls in love, and Madeline begins to understand her own nascent witchcraft - Madeline discovers that Ballyfrann is a place full of predators. And when Catlin falls into the gravest danger of all, Madeline must ask herself who she really is, and who she wants to be - or rather, who she might have to become to save her sister.
The Irish Book Awards celebrate the diversity of the Irish literary scene, with the winners announced at a ceremony in Dublin on November 20th. Congratulations Deirdre!
Deirdre Sullivan Receives her Second White Raven
October 2018
Congratulations to Deirdre Sullivan, whose collection of feminist fairytales, Tangleweed and Brine, is a White Raven for 2018.
White Raven books are recommended by the International Youth Library and Deidre is among 200 authors from 59 countries whose books have been chosen for this. The catalogue for the White Raven books for 2018 will be launched at Frankfurt Book Fair and exhibited at Bologna Book Fair in 2019.
Tangleweed & Brine shortlisted for the CBI Book of the Year!
March 2018
The outstanding Tangleweed & Brine by super-YA-talent Deirdre Sullivan has been shortlisted for the CBI Book of the Year Award 2018!
CBI Book of the Year Awards are the leading children’s book awards in Ireland, past winners include Eoin Colfer and John Boyne.
Congratulations Deirdre!
Tangleweed and Brine - out now
September 2017
The outstanding collection of feminist fairytale re-tellings, by rising star Deirdre Sullivan is out today.
Deirdre's poetic and dark re-imagined tales include The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, along with some other lesser known stories. She carefully selected these stories as they had affected her more than others.
“Very early on in life, you are told if you do the right thing and behave a certain way, you’ll get the desired result. But in those tales, the characters did all the right things, yet they still didn’t get what they wanted and that felt realistic to me.”
Congratulations Deirdre!
Needlework nominated for CBI Book of the Year 2017
March 2017
We are so thrilled that Deidre Sullivan's Needlework has been nominated for a CBI Book of the Year Award 2017.
The CBI Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in the Republic of Ireland to writers and illustrators of books for children and young people. Previous winners include Eoin Colfer and John Boyne.
Congratulations Deirdre!