“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Thursday, October 20, 2011

On ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL Being Short-Listed For The Irish Book Awards

Strange days, indeed. As all Three Regular Readers (right) will be aware, I posted a piece a couple of weeks back about how difficult it was going to be to scrape onto the short-list for the Irish Book Awards, given that the competition this year is a right royal buggery. If I’m entirely honest, I wrote that piece for myself - I was getting a bit carried away with the reviews that were coming in (see left), and was starting to believe that maybe I was entitled to a short-list nomination. Except then I copped myself on, had a good hard look at all the other Irish crime titles published this year, and conceded that I’d be very fortunate indeed to make any kind of short-list.
  But lo! The day has come, and there’s ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL nestling snugly on said list. Which is all kinds of wonderful, not least because a year or so ago I was planning to self-publish AZC, this on the basis that I couldn’t get a publisher to touch it with a barge-pole, and the only love was coming from the readers of this very blog.
  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not losing the run of myself - a short-list nomination is exactly what it is, and no more. But there’s a wealth of truth in the hoary old cliché about how it’s lovely just to be nominated, and I’m certainly buzzing on that right now. And not just for myself, or for the book itself, but for everyone who believed in it despite all the negative vibes (and there’s a very good chance that that means you, yes, YOU!); and I’m especially delighted for Liberties Press, and particularly Sean O’Keeffe, who was imaginative and brave enough to publish AZC.
  Where do we go from here? Well, we’re off to the Irish Book Awards event on November 17th, for starters, and that should be a ton of fun, not least because I’ll get to hook up with all the other nominees (and I’ll be giving you the full short-list in due course, because the actual award is opened up to public voting once the short-lists are announced, as I understand it). Anyway, for now I’m just pleased as punch to be right here, right now, enjoying the moment and high on the improbability of it all. See you all back in the real world, tomorrow …

27 comments:

Rick Ollerman said...

I'll say "Congratulations!" anyway!

Sean Patrick Reardon said...

Congrats! Doing a jig in my cube for you (not a pretty site, more like Herman Munster, than Michael Flatley)

Arlene said...

This is awesome Declan. Totally awesome. Fingers crossed.

Declan Burke said...

Much obliged,folks. I'm quietly buzzing on the good vibes over here ...

Cheers, Dec

John McFetridge said...

Congratulations, well-deserved, Declan, really well-deserved.

Marleen said...

Congratulations and good luck. A well deserved nomination if you ask me.

Stuart Neville said...

Congrats, Dec! At the very least you'll get a nice dinner out of it. :)

John Connolly said...

Congrats, Declan, and well deserved. Don't order the chicken...

@Ruby_Barnes said...

Brill, Dec. Absolute cool!

Cheers

Ruby (lying low after my namesake won the Booker prize. Who is he, anyway?)

T.S. O'Rourke said...

Nice one, Dec!

Brian McGilloway said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brian McGilloway said...

Congratulations Dec and best wishes for the award. Very well deserved!

lil Gluckstern said...

Just great. Enjoy the buzz. It's an amazingly clever book, gave me great pleasure.

Gerard Brennan said...

Fantastic news, man. Award nominated... not too shabby at all.

Best

gb

Rob Kitchin said...

Right, where's the nearest bookies? This might be worth a punt. Congrats and good luck.

Alan Griffiths said...

Congrats, Dec and good luck.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Couldn't happen to a more deserving person. Good luck!

Jane Casey said...

It's an honour to be in the same category! And it is a good dinner... looking forward to seeing you on the night. Probably as you scamper up to the podium unfurling a lengthy acceptance speech...

Glenna said...

Congratulations!! Very well deserved I think.

adrian mckinty said...

Brilliant news but I knew it was a masterpiece all along. In fact I think I may have an email or to prove it.

Naomi Johnson said...

WAY cool!

seana graham said...

Excellent news. And thanks for taking a moment to show me in my blue hat, which I think looks very stylish.

But don't forget to take a moment to thank Karlsson. After all, it's his book as much as it is yours.

Dana King said...

I was traveling yesterday and missed this, or I would have sent these well-deserved and hard earned congratulations sooner. Kudos to you, sir, and good luck.

Paul D Brazill said...

Great. Well deserved!

Richard L. Pangburn said...

Yippee! Now might be a good time to point out, that notices such as this nomination lead to other nominations to other awards. It's contagious, this momentum.

William Ryan said...

You're too modest to mention the cheers and applause when you're name was read out - you were a very popular choice. Honoured to be on the same list!

Anonymous said...

Noooo! Seana might be pleased, but I really am not looking my best. Can I send you a better picture?