Literary prize winners June 2010

Orange prize for new writers 2010
As Zimbabwe breaks free of British colonial rule, young Lindiwe Bishop encounters violence at close hand when her white neighbour is murdered. But this is a domestic crime, apparently committed by the woman's stepson, Ian, although he is released from prison surprisingly quickly. Intrigued, Lindiwe strikes up a covert friendship with the mysterious boy next door, until he abruptly departs for South Africa. Years later, Ian returns to find Lindiwe has been hiding her own secret. It is to bring them closer together, but also test a relationship already contending with racial prejudice and the hostility of Lindiwe's mother. And as their country slides towards chaos, the couple's grip on happiness becomes ever more precarious. Vividly evoking the traumatic history of a nation once brimming with promise, THE BOY NEXT DOOR tells an engrossing, unpredictable story of love against the odds, and of the shadows cast by the past.
Orange prize for fiction 2010
"The Lacuna" is the heartbreaking story of a man's search for safety of a man torn between the warm heart of Mexico and the cold embrace of 1950s McCarthyite America. Born in the U.S. and reared in Mexico, Harrison Shepherd is a liability to his social-climbing flapper mother, Salome. Making himself useful in the household of the famed Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and exiled Bolshevik leader Lev Trotsky, young Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution. A violent upheaval sends him north to a nation newly caught up in World War II. In the mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina he remakes himself in America's hopeful image. But political winds continue to throw him between north and south, in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach - the lacuna - between truth and public presumption. A gripping story of identity, loyalty and the devastating power of accusations to destroy innocent people, "The Lacuna" is as deep and rich as the New World.
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2010
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2010 Winner was announced on Thursday 17th June: The Twin, a debut novel by Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker, won the prestigious prize. The Award is organized by Dublin City Libraries, on behalf of Dublin City Council and sponsored by IMPAC, an international management productivity company.
The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker - Translated by David Colmer.
When his twin brother dies in a car accident, Helmer is obliged to return to the small family farm. He resigns himself to taking over his brother's role and spending the rest of his days 'with his head under a cow'. After his old, worn-out father has been transferred upstairs, Helmer sets about furnishing the rest of the house according to his own minimal preferences. 'A double bed and a duvet', advises Ada, who lives next door, with a sly look. Then Riet appears, the woman once engaged to marry his twin. Could Riet and her son live with him for a while, on the farm?"The Twin" is an ode to the platteland, the flat and bleak Dutch countryside with its ditches and its cows and its endless grey skies. Ostensibly a novel about the countryside, as seen through the eyes of a farmer, "The Twin" is, in the end, about the possibility or impossibility of taking life into one's own hands. It chronicles a way of life which has resisted modernity, is culturally apart, and yet riven with a kind of romantic longing.

Upcoming events in Sligo Libraries!

Date: Tuesday 1st June 2010
Time: 8pm
The GIY ( Grow it Yourself) organisation are meeting in Sligo Central Library. This Group, chaired by Niall McAlister,was formed so that organic farmers and like minded plant and vegetable enthusiasts had a forum where they could voice their opinions. It allows all to share their knowledge base with each other regarding growing your own foodstuffs. If interested in joining this group please ring Sligo Central Library on 071 9111675.

Date: 31st May – 4th June 2010 - Anti racism week
Story telling sessions on Tuesday 1st June 2010. Sligo Central Library 10.00am – 1.00pm.

Date: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays every week.
Time: Please see below
FAS and Sligo Libraries have relaunched the popular computer classes and workshops and are scheduled for Sligo Library branches as follows;
Mondays 9.45am - 11.15am & 11.15am to 12.45pm: Local Studies & Reference Library, Bridge Street, Sligo.

Wednesdays 10.00am -11.30am & Thursdays 6.00pm – 8.00pm: Central Library, Stephen Street, Sligo.
Fridays 10.00am - 11.30am: Tubbercurry Community Library, Humbert Street, Tubbercurry, Co.Sligo

Please contact us on 071 9111675 or email us at sligolib@sligococo.ie if you would like further details.

The Cathach Volume II & Schools writing competition update

The Cathach, Sligo County Libraries online magazine, is in the process of compiling its material for the second edition, due for release later in the year. Its aim is to showcase quality new writing in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. While honouring the literary traditions of Sligo and the Northwest, The Cathach will feature work from both new and established writers throughout Ireland and abroad. At a time when many smaller literary magazines are facing difficulties, The Cathach aims to provide a vital outlet for the best contemporary writing along with visual content, making new work freely available to a vast online readership around the world. View The Cathach by visiting http://www.sligolibrary.ie/ and clicking on the relevant link. The closing date for submission for the second issue of The Cathach was Friday 14th May 2010 and as such is now closed. If you have missed this deadline please keep in regular touch with this website to see when the submission date for Volume III is delcared.
County Sligo Library Service and The Sligo Champion also invited submissions for the 2010 Second Level Schools Writing Competition where there was both a junior & senior section. Entries were in both the form of poetry and short story. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in all of the categories. Deadline for all entries was 5pm on Friday May 14th 2010 thus this competiton is now closed. Winning entries will be published in a special section of The Sligo Champion in Autumn 2010.

Date: Wednesday 21st April 2010. Time: 11 to11.45am and 12 to 12.45pm
Bord Gais Energy "READISCOVER Your local Library" week. Story telling in Sligo Central Library facilitated by Danielle Allison. Please ring us on 071 9111675 or email us at sligolib@sligococo.ie for more information.