What a year it has been!
Riding high on the success of 2019, we threw ourselves into 2020 with gusto, excited to share the year’s new books but as we all know too well, everything came to a standstill when COVID-19 came to Ireland in March. It was a terrifying time but like everyone else, we persevered and in the end, against all odds, 2020 has been our most successful year in our 50-year history, and it’s all thanks to our amazing authors, staff and the Irish book-selling community. All Irish publishers are indebted to our booksellers for the work they did to adapt to the massive challenges that lockdown brought, and to the readers who made the conscious choice to support Irish bookshops, publishers and authors.
We will be raising a glass to you this Christmas.
As we look, with hope, towards a more peaceful 2021, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone who bought a Merrion Press or Irish Academic Press book in 2020 and to all the talented people – the authors, designers, our publicist and sales team – who helped to get these wonderful books into readers’ hands. One book is very topical and if you haven’t already read it, perhaps you should over the holidays. There’s still time (maybe) to get it online.
Coping with Coronavirus
When COVID-19 arrived on our shores, and we were faced with the prospect of a prolonged lockdown, 2020 began to look very dark indeed for the book industry, and the psychological impact on the entire population was immediate. So when Dr Brendan Kelly, the prolific author of Hearing Voices: The History of Psychiatry in Ireland, approached us with the idea of Coping With Coronavirus: How to Stay Calm and Protect Your Mental Health we dropped everything and turned the project around in ten (very intense!) days. Initially conceived as an ebook, demand was so great that a print edition and audio book soon followed, with all author royalties going to the Irish Red Cross, who have been instrumental in helping the vulnerable during the pandemic.
Girls Play Too
Entering the world of children’s books this year was an exciting adventure, and we knew we were in safe hands with the amazing Jacqui Hurley! Girls Play Too: Inspiring Stories of Irish Sportswomen was an extraordinary commercial and critical success; it was the best-selling Irish children’s book in September, and was shortlisted for Best Children’s Book (Senior) in the An Post Irish Book Awards. Jacqui, and her all-female team of illustrators, created a beautiful and important book, that has been embraced by girls and boys of all ages. Girls Play Too gets the Tubridy seal of approval, and girls from Central Model School, Dublin, with the copies they received from Project FunDirection.
‘Burning Heresies is a tour de force. It is a fascinating journey narrated at warp speed, portraying events during the author’s journalistic career from 1979 to now with intermissions and reflections on earlier parts of the last century…Burning Heresies deserves a wide readership. It starkly illustrates that Kevin Myers has a voice that deserves to still be heard.’
Alan Shatter, Irish Independent
Winner of the An Post Irish Book Award for Best Irish-Published Book of the Year, Old Ireland in Colour has been nothing short of a publishing phenomenon for Merrion Press. Our fantastic author team of John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley have created a work of art that is resonating with people all over the world. The best-selling book in Merrion & IAP history by a country mile, at time of writing, Old Ireland in Colour is the No.1 bestseller in Ireland, across all genres – for the third time in four weeks! Special thanks to our wonderful designer Latte who excelled with a sumptuous design of John and Sarah-Anne’s amazing images and text. Thank you all!
Homan Potterton, 1946-2020
In December, we were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the wonderful and extraordinary Homan Potterton. Former Director of the National Gallery of Ireland and Editor of Irish Arts Review, Homan published his second memoir, Who Do I Think I Am?, with Merrion Press in 2017, and his debut novel, the delightful Knockfane, in 2019. Homan was simply a wonderful man, charming company, an exceptional wit, and, of course, a stunningly elegant writer. It was an honour to publish him, and he will be greatly missed by us all. We will always remember him with fondness when we revisit his books.
Old Ireland in Colour
Winner of the An Post Irish Book Award for Best Irish-Published Book of the Year, Old Ireland in Colour has been nothing short of a publishing phenomenon for Merrion Press. Our fantastic author team of John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley have created a work of art that is resonating with people all over the world. The best-selling book in Merrion & IAP history by a country mile, at time of writing, Old Ireland in Colour is the No.1 bestseller in Ireland, across all genres – for the third time in four weeks! Special thanks to our wonderful designer Latte who excelled with a sumptuous design of John and Sarah-Anne’s amazing images and text. Thank you all!