The Word On The Street Blog

The longlist has been announced! I have always had a soft spot for this Irish literary award, mainly because I love everything and anything Irish — such a beautiful country! Warning: One week is not enough time to travel through this country, the greenery alone is enough to bewitch you for a week, let alone the many ruins and historical landmarks Ireland has to offer.

For example, and just try to tear your eyes away from it, Kylemore Abbey! This is the physical manifestation of Hogwarts for me. When I visited Ireland, I went on a tour through the Connemara and the tour ends at the Abbey. It was amazing to see because it actually just popped out of the Irish countryside. One minute there’s just mountains, the next there’s a castle. It was just breathtaking. It has had a long, tragic history, but most recently it was an actual working boarding school, those lucky kids. It just closed in June 2010 though so maybe not so lucky.

I swear this Ireland love fest is not a direct response to its recently announced financial troubles, this award just reminded me of both my love for the country and my desire to go back.

Anywho, there are many great Canadian authors gracing this year’s longlist including:

• The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood
• Galore, Michael Crummey
• Come, Thou Tortoise, Jessica Grant
• The Bishop’s Man, Linden Macintyre
• February, Lisa Moore

And that is just a taste test! Click here to see the whole longlist.

The reason I really love this award is that the nominees are chosen based on library recommendations from across the world in any language. Check out what Canadian libraries nominated what books here.

The shortlist will be announced on April 12, 2011.