The Butler Literary Award
The Butler Literary Award was initiated in 1962
by Patrick and Aimee Butler of St Paul, Minnesota, and continued until 2002
when the award was temporarily halted. The award was for a deserving Irish
author in English or Irish. In 2018 the Irish American Cultural Institute
(IACI) revived the award and changed its focus to emerging literary writers in
Ireland. It is offered every two years.
The 2022 Butler Literary Award will be for what
the judges deem the best first publication by an Irish writer in any literary
form, or a first publication in a new form by an already published writer, in
the period between 1 August 2020 and 30 June 2022.
This year’s judges are Wendy Erskine, short
story writer; Dr. Eibhear Walshe,
novelist, critic, and Director of Creative writing, University College Cork; and
Helen Meany, journalist and arts consultant.
The judging panel is chaired by Catherine
Marshall, curator and art historian, and member of the Board of Directors of the
IACI.
The award for $2,000, it is hoped, will be of benefit
to emerging Irish writers in terms of critical recognition, publicity, and
financial aid.
The judges have shortlisted nine titles for the
2022 Butler Literary Award. They are as follows:
Ana Maria Crowe
Serrano, In the Dark, Turas Press, 2021
Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times, Orion, 2021
Olivia
Fitzsimons, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop, John Murray, 2022
Victoria Kennefick,
Eat Or We Both Starve, Carcanet, 2021
Roisin Kiberd, The Disconnect, Profile Books, 2021
John Patrick
McHugh, Pure Gold, New Island Books, 2021
Kerri Ní Dochartaigh, Thin
Places, Canongate, 2021
Megan Nolan, Acts of Desperation, Jonathan Cape,
2021
Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Auguries
of a Minor God, Faber & Faber, 2021
Commenting on the shortlist, the judges said that they
were struck by the wealth of talent among emerging writers in Ireland at
present, writing in all forms, from essays to memoirs, poetry, novels, and the
short story. “The calibre of writing was so high that we decided to have an
expanded shortlist this year. We think that this list showcases the
originality, literary playfulness, depth, and verve that made the selection
process a pleasure.”
The selection includes two poetry collections, one from
Victoria Kennefick, exploring history, religion, food, and the body, and the
other from Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, offering her ambitously inventive reflections
on global politics, exile, and love. John Patrick McHugh’s short-story
collection, set in an island community, is full of exuberant energy and black humor.
There are four novels, two that explore aspects of contemporary sexual politics,
relationships, and identity from the perspectives of young women, by Naoise Dolan
and Megan Nolan; a compelling historical novel set in the Spanish Civil War by
Ana Maria Crowe Serrana, and an excavation of family secrets in rural Northern
Ireland by Olivia Fitzsimons. Sparkling personal essays by Roisin Kiberd and an
intense fusion of memoir and nature- writing by Kerri ní Dochartaigh complete
the list.
The winner of the Award will be announced, in
tandem with the biannual O’Malley
Visual Art Award at a reception at the University of Limerick (Home of the
O’Malley Art Collection) on Wednesday September 28th 2022.
The judging panel for the O’Malley Visual Arts Award of €5,000 was made
up of Sean Lynch, artist curator and writer, Johanne Mullan, curator, Irish
Museum of Modern Art and Helena Tobin, Curator and director, South Tipperary
Arts Centre, Clonmel. The panel was convened and chaired by Catherine Marshall
on behalf of the IACI.
