The Irish Literary Times

‘I think of tone as a kind of force field around the character that has agency over the narrative’

‘That evening I left the book on the bar table, stealing furtive glances at it, trying to fence off fear – the way a new mother might eye her firstborn, the strange creature in the crib at the end of her hospital bed. Thinking... Jesus, what have I done?’

Mary Costello’s tribute to the author who inspired her: ‘she is in person, like her writing, open and trusting, searingly honest, gleeful, mischievous too’

Short story: Mary Costello’s story for our This Means War series marking the centenary of the start of the first World War

This month we've been reading Mary Costello's debut novel Academy Street, so invited her into studio to meet some book club readers and discuss her book

For the Irish Times Book Club author, inspiration can strike anywhere, but as often as not it’s behind the wheel en route to Galway

Mary Costello’s debut novel is an intimate portrait of one Irish immigrant’s life.

Debut novel, the story of an Irish girl who emigrates from Galway to 1960s New York, won the Eason Novel of the Year prize and made Costa and EU Prize for Literature shortlists

Mary Costello, one of Ireland’s most promising literary talents, has signed with Canongate Books after a heated UK auction. Francis Bickmore, Publishing Director at Canongate acquired Costello’s debut novel,Academy Street, as part of a three book deal with Simon Trewin at WME. Bickmore bought UK and Commonwealth Rights (ex. Canada and ANZ) in Academy Street, a second novel and Costello’s debut story collection, The China Factory. Canongate will publish Academy Street in hardback in November 2014. Australian rights to Academy Street were bought by Michael Heyward at Text and North American rights were bought at auction by Mitzi Angel at FSG through Jay Mandel at WME’s New York office. Academy Street is the heart-rending and evocative story of one woman’s life spanning four decades. Played out against the backdrop of American life over forty years, Academy Street resonates with the rhythms of memory and of home, as well as those of America's greatest city. It tells an intimate story about…