Author Michael Magee
The winner of the John McGahern Prize for debut book of Irish fiction (2023) has been named as Michael Magee for his book Close to Home.
Now in its fifth year, the prestigious prize was established by the University’s Institute of Irish Studies to promote new Irish fiction and to celebrate the memory of one of Ireland’s greatest masters of prose fiction, John McGahern (1934-2006).
Magee will read from his winning book and be presented with his £5,000 prize at the Liverpool Literary Festival in the Eleanor Rathbone Building on Saturday 5 October at 11.30am.
Close to Home was chosen from a shortlist picked by esteemed author and former Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, Colm Tóibín.
Commenting on the winning entry Colm Tóibín said: “Close to Home by Michael Magee has an astonishing narrative energy; the rhythms of the sentences and lines of dialogue are powerfully managed. It is the story of a young man’s struggle to live in a society that is haunted by violence and maimed by the present as much as the past. But it is also a novel about love and friendship, with many scenes created with great tenderness and tact.
“Close to Home offers us a new and memorable portrait of a young protagonist, caught between innocence and experience, as imagined by a supremely talented writer.”
Professor Peter Shirlow, Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, remarked, “We are delighted and honoured to continue our association with new Irish writing and with the McGahern name. It is clear that, in Michael Magee, we have an important and compelling voice at the start of what will doubtless be a brilliant writing life.”
Close to Home, Winner of the Nero Debut Fiction Award 2023, is a moving work of fiction about two-working class brothers navigating masculinity in post-conflict Belfast.
Michael Magee will discuss his book with Dr Niall Carson, the Joint Patronage Lecturer in Modern Irish Literature at the Institute of Irish Studies on Saturday 5 October at 11.30am. Tickets are free, but please sign up to attend and view the full programme for the Liverpool Literary Festival here: John McGahern Annual Book Prize | Liverpool Literary Festival | University of Liverpool.
You can read the Irish Times article about Close to Home here.