Donal Ryan Q&A
In this Man Booker 2018 longlist interview, Donal Ryan tells us how his novel From a Low and Quiet Sea was inspired by real-life events
Donal Ryan
Donal Ryan is a writer and lecturer from County Tipperary
His novel The Spinning Heart won the Guardian First Book Award, the EU Prize for Literature (Ireland), and Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards; it was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and was voted ‘Irish Book of the Decade’. From a Low and Quiet Sea was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2018. A former civil servant, Donal lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. He lives with his wife Anne Marie and their two children just outside Limerick City.
All nominated books
Donal Ryan captures the language and spirit of rural Ireland in this dark, witty and technically daring portrait of small-town life
Donal Ryan’s three carefully crafted portraits of three differently damaged men, tied together with tender skill and compassion
