Fiction Group Booklist

Solas Nua's Fiction Book Group meets on the second Monday of every month.

The Solas Nua Fiction Book Group started in 2005, at the Love Café on U street. With the arrival of the pandemic in spring 2020, meetings moved to Zoom, where they remain, for now. The mission of the fiction group has always been a focus on contemporary Irish writing and new, up-and-coming writers.  Activities go beyond monthly discussions of a book, the group regularly collaborates with the Solas Nua team, giving valuable input into programming ideas.

There is no membership, anyone is free to join!

Find out about Solas Nua's Nonfiction Book GroupPoetry Book Group, and Classics Book Group.

Click on this link to join the Zoom session


2024

  • January 8 - Paul Lynch, Prophet Song (2023)
  • February 12 - Joseph O'Connor, My Father's House (2023)
  • March 11 - Sebastian Barry, Old God's Time (2023)
  • April 8 - Louise Kennedy, The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac: Stories (2021)
  • May 13 - Colin Walsh, Kala (2023)
  • June 10 - Mike McCormack, This Plague of Souls (2023)

Previous Fiction Book Group Index

2023

  • January 9 - Colin Barrett, Homesickness
  • February 13 - Louise Kennedy, Trespasses
  • March 13 - Michelle Gallen, Factory Girls
  • April 10 - Brian McGilloway, The Last Crossing
  • May 8 - Bernard MacLaverty, Blank Pages and Other Stories
  • June 12 - Claire Keegan, Foster
  • July 10 - Emma Donoghue, Haven
  • August 14 - Donal Ryan, Queen of Dirt Island
  • September 11 - Disha Bose, Dirty Laundry
  • October 9  - Michael Magee, Close to Home
  • November 13 - Elaine Feeney, How to Build a Boat
  • December 11 - Adrian Duncan, The Geometer Lobachevsky

2022

  • January 10 - Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You: A Novel (2021)
  • February 14 - Jan Carson, Fire Starters (2019)
  • March 14 - Jo Spain, With Our Blessings (2015)
  • April 11 - Billy O'Callaghan, Life Sentences (2021)
  • May 9 - Kevin Barry, That Old Country Music (2021)
  • June 13 - Mary Costello, The River Capture (2021)
    One reason for selecting this is that the main character is obsessed with James Joyce’s Ulysses and there are frequent references to Ulysses. 2022 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ulysses to it seems apt. Read the Guardian review.
  • July 11 - Ciarán McMenamin, The Sunken Road (2021)
  • August 8 - Lisa McInerney, The Rules of Revelation (2022)
  • September 12 - Stuart Neville, The House of Ashes (2021)
  • October 10 - Audrey Magee, The Colony (2022 Booker Prize long list)
  • November 14 - Niall Williams, A History of the Rain
  • December 12 - Sara Baume, Seven Steeples

2021

  • January 11 - Melatu Uche Okorie, This Hostel Life (2019)

  • February 8 - Helen Cullen, The Dazzling Truth (2020)

  • March 8 - Editor Lisa Frank, Galway Stories (2013)

  • April 12 - Anna Burns, Little Constructions (US 2020)

  • May 10 - Ruth Gilligan, The Butcher's Blessing (US Nov 2020)

  • June 14 - Conor O'Callaghan, We Are Not in the World (Feb 2021)

  • July 12 - Adrian Duncan, A Sabbatical in Leipzig (US April 2021)

  • August 9 - View Source: A digital anthology of Irish writing - Available here (2021)

  • September 13 - Michelle Gallen, Big Girl, Small Town (2020)

  • October 11 - Rónán Hession, Leonard and Hungry Paul (2019)

  • November 8 - Kathleen MacMahon, Nothing but Blue Sky (2020)

  • December 13 - Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These (2021)

2020

  • January 13 - Danny Denton, The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow

  • February 10 - Michael Hughes, Country

  • March 9 - Wendy Erskine, Sweet Home

  • April 13 - Paul McVeigh and Lisa Frank (editors), The Belfast Stories

  • May 11 - Nicole Flattery, Show Them a Good Time

  • June 8 - Colum McCann, Apeirogon

  • July 13 - Alan McMonagle and Lisa Frank - Editors, Galway Stories 2020 - Galway Stories: 2020 is available from the publisher Doire Press

  • August 10 - Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times

  • September 14 - Adrian Duncan, Love Notes from a German Building Site

  • October 12 - Elaine Feeney, As You Were

  • November 9 - Glenn Patterson, Where we Are Now

  • December 14 - Caoilinn Hughes, The Wild Laughter

2019

  • January 14 - Anna Burns, Milkman

  • February 11 - Paul Lynch, Grace

  • March 11 - Bernard MacLaverty, Midwinter Break

  • April 8 - Kit de Waal, The Trick to Time

  • June 10 - David Park, Traveling in a Strange Land

  • July 8 - Julian Gough, Connect

  • August 12 - Elizabeth Reapy, Red Dirt

  • September 9 - Caoilinn Hughes, Orchid and the Wasp

  • October 14 - Nick Laird, Modern Gods

  • November 11 - Kevin Barry, The Night Boat to Tangiers

  • December 9 - Lucy Caldwell (editor), Being Various: New Irish Short Stories

2018

  • January - Claire Mc Gowan - The Lost

  • February 12 - Deirdre Madden (Ed.) - All Over Ireland (short stories)

  • March 12 - Oona Frawley - Flight

  • April 9 - Karl Geary - Montpelier Parade

  • May 14New Writing From Ireland, Irish Book Day book available at Solas Nua events

  • June 11 - Sebastian Barry, Days Without End

  • July 9 - Alan McMonagal - Ithaca

  • August 13 - Neil Hegarty - Inch Levels

  • September 10 - Lisa McInerney, The Blood Miracles

  • October 8 - Sally Rooney, Conversation with Friends

  • November 12 - Donal Ryan, From a Low and Quiet Sea

  • December 10 - Sally Rooney, Normal People

2017

  • January 9 - Paul McVeigh, The Good Son

  • February 13 - Lia Mills, Fallen

  • March 13 - Glenn Patterson, Gull

  • April 10 - Mike McCormack, Solar Bones

  • May 8 - Danielle McLaughlin, Dinosaurs on Other Planets

  • June 12 - The Stinging Fly, New Writers-New Writing (2017 Book Day)

  • July 10 - Sara Baume, Spill Simmer Falter Wither

  • August 14 - Lucy Caldwell, Multitudes

  • September 11 - Nuala Ni Chonchuir, The Closet of Savage Mementos

  • October 9 - Claire-Louise Bennet, Pond

  • November 13 - Conor O'Callaghan, Nothing on Earth

  • December 11 -  Donal Ryan - All We Shall Know

2016

  • January 11 - Kevin Curran, Beatsploitation (Excerpt in Here's the Story)

  • February 8 - Gavin McCrea, Mrs. Engels

  • March 14 - No meeting

  • April 11 - Anne Enright: The Green Road

  • May 9 - Kevin Barry, Beatlebone

  • June 13 - In the Wake of the Rising, Solas Nua/Stinging Fly

  • July 11 - Caitrioina Lally, Eggshells (An excerpt is in Here's the Storydownload below)

  • August 8Belinda McKeon, Tender (rescheduled from March)

  • September 12 - Paul Lynch, Red Sky in Morning

  • October 10 - Jan Carson, Children's Children

  • November 14 - Lisa McInerney, The Glorious Heresies

  • December 12 - Evelyn Conlon, Not the Same Sky

2015

  • January 12 - Sebastian Barry, The Temporary Gentleman

  • February 9 - Jan Carson, Malcolm Orange Disappears

  • March 9 - Darragh McKeon, All That is Solid Melts Into Air

  • April 13 - Eimear McBride, A Girl is a Half Formed Thing

  • May 11 - Solas Nua's Irish Book Day publication, Here's the Story (download)

  • June 8 - Mary Costello, The China Factory (Short Stories)

  • July 13 - Michael Farrell, Life Here Below: Stories

  • August 10 - Colin Barrett, Young Skins (Short Stories)

  • September 14 - Adrian McKinty & Stuart Neville (Editors), Belfast Noir(Short Stories)

  • October 12 - Roddy Doyle: The Guts

  • November 9 - Kevin Curran, Beatsploitation (Excerpt in Here's the Story) - Rescheduled for January, 2016

  • December 14 - Gavin McCrea, Mrs. Engels - Rescheduled

2014

  • February 10 - Stuart Neville, Ratlines

  • March 10 - With My Lazy Eye by Julia Kelly

  • April 14 - Solas Nua's Irish Book Day publication What's the Story?

  • May 12 - Kathleen MacMahon, This is How It Ends

  • June 9 - Michele Forbes, Ghost Moth

  • July 14 - Gavin Corbett, This is the Way

  • August 11 - Claire Kilroy, The Devil I Know

  • September 8 - Aidan McKinty, Cold Cold Ground

  • October 13 - David Park, The Truth Commissioner

  • November 10 - Benjamin Black, Holy Orders

  • December 8 - Donal Ryan, The Thing About December