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Victoria Kennefick Shortlisted for Dalkey Literary Festival Emerging Writer of the Year

We're delighted to announce that Victoria Kennefick has been shortlisted for the Emerging Writer Award at the Dalkey Literary Awards for her collection Eat or We Both Starve!

The winners of the 2022 ‘Novel of the Year’ and ‘Emerging Writer’ Awards, with a prize fund of €30,000, will be announced at the festival on 18th June.

The ten shortlisted authors include five established Irish literary favourites in the ‘Novel of the Year’ category and five up-and-coming writers across a range of genres who have been nominated for the ‘Emerging Writer’ award. The shortlisted titles in the 2022 Dalkey Literary Awards are:

Novel of the Year: April in Spain by John Banville, Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, Nora by Nuala O’Connor, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, and White City by Kevin Power

Emerging Writer: A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion, Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding, Eat Or We Both Starve by Victoria Kennefick, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy, and Unsettled by Rosaleen McDonagh.

Speaking about the Dalkey Literary Awards shortlist announcement, Neil Freshwater, CEO Zurich Insurance plc said: “The addition of the Dalkey Literary Awards to the Festival and celebrating the literary talent of the Irish people, is something we are very proud to support. We look forward to June this year when we will be able to applaud the winners in person in Dalkey. Congratulations to the shortlisted authors and our thanks to the Nominating Panel and Judges.”

Congratulations to Victoria, and all the other shortlisted writers! Find out more on the festival website.

Victoria Kennefick's daring first book, Eat or We Both Starve, draws readers into seemingly recognisable set-pieces - the family home, the shared meal, the rituals of historical occasions, desire - but Kennefick forges this material into new shapes, making them viable again for exploring what it is to live with the past - and not to be consumed by it.

Rebecca Goss writes: 'Victoria Kennefick writes with a fresh urgency, giving us poems that are honest and fearless. She once said: "Poetry has saved my life, made my life. Reading and writing it have taught me bravery and discipline." Kennefick is unafraid to explore bereavement, sex and the female body in her poetry. She writes with a visceral originality. Her poems are rich with physical sensations. She is able to find beauty in the big subjects like sorrow and desire, offering us the finest, most startling details. Her identity as a young Irish woman is hugely important to her, something she explores with intelligence and candour. I have always felt there is nothing Victoria could not tackle. The scope in her work is exhilarating.'

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News Victoria Kennefick Shortlisted for Dalkey Literary Festival Emerging Writer of the Year Thursday, 28 Apr 2022 We're delighted to announce that Victoria Kennefick has been shortlisted for the Emerging Writer Award at the Dalkey Literary Awards for her collection Eat or We Both Starve! The winners of the 2022 ‘Novel of the Year’ and ‘Emerging Writer’ Awards, with a prize fund of €30,000, will be announced at the festival on 18th June. The ten shortlisted authors include five established Irish literary favourites in the ‘Novel of the Year’ category and five up-and-coming writers across a range of genres who have been nominated for the ‘Emerging Writer’ award. The shortlisted titles in the 2022 Dalkey Literary Awards are: Novel of the Year: April in Spain by John Banville, Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, Nora by Nuala O’Connor, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, and White City by Kevin Power Emerging Writer: A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion, Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding, Eat Or We Both Starve by Victoria Kennefick, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy, and Unsettled by Rosaleen McDonagh. Speaking about the Dalkey Literary Awards shortlist announcement, Neil Freshwater, CEO Zurich Insurance plc said: “The addition of the Dalkey Literary Awards to the Festival and celebrating the literary talent of the Irish people, is something we are very proud to support. We look forward to June this year when we will be able to applaud the winners in person in Dalkey. Congratulations to the shortlisted authors and our thanks to the Nominating Panel and Judges.” Congratulations to Victoria, and all the other shortlisted writers! Find out more on the festival website. Victoria Kennefick's daring first book, Eat or We Both Starve, draws readers into seemingly recognisable set-pieces - the family home, the shared meal, the rituals of historical occasions, desire - but Kennefick forges this material into new shapes, making them viable again for exploring what it is to live with the past - and not to be consumed by it. Rebecca Goss writes: 'Victoria Kennefick writes with a fresh urgency, giving us poems that are honest and fearless. She once said: "Poetry has saved my life, made my life. Reading and writing it have taught me bravery and discipline." Kennefick is unafraid to explore bereavement, sex and the female body in her poetry. She writes with a visceral originality. Her poems are rich with physical sensations. She is able to find beauty in the big subjects like sorrow and desire, offering us the finest, most startling details. Her identity as a young Irish woman is hugely important to her, something she explores with intelligence and candour. I have always felt there is nothing Victoria could not tackle. The scope in her work is exhilarating.' Next Item	Share this... Quick LinksCarcanet Celebrates 50 Years!Anvil Press Poetry Aspects of Portugal Carcanet Classics Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Carcanet Poetry Fyfield Books Lintott Press Little Island Press Lives and Letters OxfordPoets PN Review Sheep Meadow Press The Carcanet Blog PN Review 265: Editorial read more Patrick Worsnip: On Translating Saba read more In the Quaker Hotel: Helen Tookey read more Caroline Bird: Rookie read more PN Review 264: Editorial read more The Lascaux Notebooks: Philip Terry read more
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