Well, this is quite the start to the year! In an announcement this morning from the Man Booker Prize, it was confirmed that Irish publishers will now be eligible to enter with immediate effect. This is fantastic news for Irish publishers, and comes as a direct result of the support of the Man Booker and UK publishers for the writing and publishing come out of Ireland.

In the Irish Times today, Martin Doyle writes about how this came together.

Publishing Ireland, the Irish Publishers Association, expands on that here.

Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Man Booker Prize comments: “We’re delighted to support Irish publishers and the writers whose work they bring into the world. So much exciting new fiction is being written and published concurrently in Ireland and the UK that we felt it was only right to acknowledge and honour that.”

This changes everything!