The Van was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1991.

Roddy Doyle is the author of 11 novels, numerous short stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He has also written several books for children and contributed to a variety of publications including The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Metro Eireann and several anthologies. He won the Booker Prize in 1993, for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Doyle has written for the stage and his plays include Brownbread and Guess Who’s Coming For The Dinner. He co-adapted with Joe O’Byrne his novel The Woman Who Walked into Doors and he co-wrote with Bisi Adigun a new version of The Playboy of the Western World. 

He also wrote the screenplays for The Snapper, The Van, Family, and When Brendan Met Trudy, and co-wrote the screenplay for The Commitments. He lives and works in Dublin.

Set in Dublin in the early 1990s, The Van follows Jimmy Sr and Bimbo, two old friends who are down on their luck and short of options. Fuelled by beer and desperation, they decide that selling fish and chips might be the best way to make some fast cash. Bimbo buys a beat-up, old fast-food van and recruits Jimmy Sr as his wingman. The pair go into business just as World Cup fever sweeps the city. Not everything goes exactly to plan, however…