Longford Author John Connell shortlisted for Irish Book Award

Longford author John Connell has made the shortlist for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024.

Now in its 19th year, the An Post Irish Book Awards celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible.

‘Twelve Sheep: Life Lessons from a Lambing Season’ follows on from ‘The Cow Book’ and ‘The Running Book’ with the same eclectic blend of history, philosophy and nature with which the author has struck a chord with readers across the globe.

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“It’s been a really amazing year,” John told the Leader as news of his nomination for the WHSmith Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2024 came through.

“This book took three years. It was a lot of work and a lot of thinking. I’m just really so delighted to be nominated. It was a great feeling to find out and to know that people responded to the book.

“I mean, it was in the bestseller list for a couple of months, and it was the number one bestseller, but it’s a whole other thing when it’s nominated for a prize,” he said.

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The award nomination of John Connell’s Twelve Sheep: Life Lessons from a Lambing Season follows upon a successful US launch: “We were only over a few days, but it went well.

“America was great, it was a whirlwind. We were there for a week, we met the Consulate General of New York, the Irish Consulate General, and met with people from Board Bia who gave us a picture of how Irish food is perceived in America.”

The US unveiling of Twelve Sheep attracted a few overseas Longford people: “We had the launch with Conor Hammersley from Columbia University. There were a few Longford heads there, which was great. And the reviews have been really good, and Amazon put in another order for books, so it’s selling, which is great.”

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If you would like to vote for John’s book in the An Post Irish Book Awards 202 you can go to www.irishbookawards.ie