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 Group, Poetry 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)
July 8 - Megan Nolan, Ordinary Human Failings (2023)
August 12 - Noel O'Regan, Though The Bodies Fall (2023)
September 9 - Paul Murray, The Bee Sting (2023): Part I Sylvias pp. 1-333
October 14 - Paul Murray, The Bee Sting (2023): Part II The Clearing pp. 335-643
November 11 - Quickly, While They Still Have Horses by Jan Carson (2024)
December 9 - Traveling in a Strange Land by David Park (2018)
January 13 - Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson (2024)
February 10 - Long Island by Colm Toíbin (2024)

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 14 - New 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 8 - Belinda 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