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The Christmas lights on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork. Photograph: Getty Images Links and Hooks or a Lack Thereof: A new short story by Lisa McInerney
  • Lisa McInerney

It is nine days before Christmas, and on Oliver Plunkett Street two women are window-shopping

Burning the bed: a short story by Patrick Chapman Burning the bed: a short story by Patrick Chapman
  • Patrick Chapman

Caroline and Stephen mark the end of their relationship by burning their bed on the beach

Snow Globe: A new short story by Danielle McLaughlin Snow Globe: A new short story by Danielle McLaughlin
  • Danielle McLaughlin

A harassed artist’s installation critiquing the Irish property market causes a bit of a storm

The Little Statue: Christmas at the Cross Part II The Little Statue: Christmas at the Cross Part II
  • Maeve Murphy

A victim of domestic violence copes with a difficult Christmas in London

How to Build a Space Rocket by Roisín O’Donnell How to Build a Space Rocket by Roisín O’Donnell
  • Roisín O’Donnell

The An Post Irish Book Awards Short Story of the Year for 2018

Rent and Bills by Emma Flynn: Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition winner Rent and Bills by Emma Flynn: Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition winner
  • Emma Flynn

A young woman reflects on the price she pays for her relationship with a wealthy man

Waiting, a new short story by Mel O’Doherty Waiting, a new short story by Mel O’Doherty
  • Mel O’Doherty

Longlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award, a tale of bullying and parental love

The Cage, a short story by Tony Wright The Cage, a short story by Tony Wright

A tale of alienation and isolation by the former guitarist of ASIWYFA

Cupcake’s Story, by Jac Shreeves-Lee Cupcake’s Story, by Jac Shreeves-Lee
  • Jac Shreeves-Lee

From her debut collection, Broadwater, a story about the immigrant experience in London

Viscera, a new short story by Dearbhaile Houston Viscera, a new short story by Dearbhaile Houston
  • Dearbhaile Houston

A trip to Athens forces a woman to confront the truth about her relationship

The Translator’s Funeral, a new short story by Rónán Hession The Translator’s Funeral, a new short story by Rónán Hession
  • Rónán Hession

Part of the New Irish Writing series

Family News, a short story by Naoise Dolan Family News, a short story by Naoise Dolan
  • Naoise Dolan

A woman must move in with her sister and niece in this new work by the Exciting Times author

An Encounter, a new short story by Niamh Campbell An Encounter, a new short story by Niamh Campbell
  • Niamh Campbell

Summer Fiction: A story by the winner of the 2020 Sunday Times Audible award and author of This Happy

Grace Jones by Irenosen Okojie, winner of AKO Caine Prize for African Writing Grace Jones by Irenosen Okojie, winner of AKO Caine Prize for African Writing
  • Irenosen Okojie

Sidra lost her family to a fire. Years later, she works as a Grace Jones impersonator

Who’s-Dead McCarthy, a new short story by Kevin Barry Who’s-Dead McCarthy, a new short story by Kevin Barry
  • Kevin Barry

12 Stories of Christmas, day 9: ‘Con McCarthy was our connoisseur of death. He was its most knowing expert’

The Lost Generation, a short story by Rosemary Jenkinson The Lost Generation, a short story by Rosemary Jenkinson
  • Rosemary Jenkinson

Past and present collide at a school reunion when a woman meets up with a lost love

Away Game, a story by John O’Donnell Away Game, a story by John O’Donnell
  • John O'Donnell

Getting caught out on a trip away forces a man to think of home

Hills like Hemingway’s, a short story by Lauren Foley Hills like Hemingway’s, a short story by Lauren Foley
  • Lauren Foley

A ferry full of Irish women crosses the Irish Sea

You've read Cat Person, now read this Irish bad-sex short story You've read Cat Person, now read this Irish bad-sex short story
  • Louise Nealon

'What Feminism Is': the 2017 Séan Ó Faoláin Competition winning piece by Louise Nealon

Home, Sisters: Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition 2019 winner Home, Sisters: Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition 2019 winner
  • Emma Devlin

Emma Devlin’s story was chosen by judge Sara Baume

Settling, a short story by Jan Carson Settling, a short story by Jan Carson
  • Jan Carson

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 11: From The Glass Shore: Short Stories by Woman Writers from the North of Ireland

Garlic Fingers by EM Reapy Garlic Fingers by EM Reapy

Ten stories have been selected for the shortlist in our short story competition, Legends of the Fall. We will publish two per day this week and reveal the winner on Friday

The Cold God of Bad Luck, a short story by Colin Barrett The Cold God of Bad Luck, a short story by Colin Barrett
  • Colin Barrett

This tale of a consumingly selfish person and her family’s very Irish kind of purgatory is from The Broken Spiral anthology in aid of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

Let’s Go Kill Ourselves, a short story by Colin Barrett Let’s Go Kill Ourselves, a short story by Colin Barrett
  • Colin Barrett

Taken from ‘Stinging Fly Stories’, an anthology edited by Sarah Gilmartin and Declan Meade to mark 20 years of The Stinging Fly. It launches in Dublin tonight

Malachi dreams in a cupboard, a short story by June Caldwell Malachi dreams in a cupboard, a short story by June Caldwell
  • June Caldwell

Room Little Darker author’s contribution to Doire Press’s Galway Stories: 2020 anthology

What good is love?, a short story by Jill Crawford What good is love?, a short story by Jill Crawford
  • Jill Crawford

An old friend coming to stay spells trouble for a couple’s fragile relationship

The Lexicon of Babies, a short story by Sinéad Gleeson The Lexicon of Babies, a short story by Sinéad Gleeson
  • Sinéad Gleeson

A parable on parenthood by the author of the award-winning essay collection, Constellations

The Palace, a short story by Cathy Sweeney The Palace, a short story by Cathy Sweeney
  • Cathy Sweeney

A sickness is spreading in the kingdom as a couple’s relationship comes under strain

Natterbean, a short story by June Caldwell Natterbean, a short story by June Caldwell

Book Club: From ‘Room Little Darker’, a Dublin taxi driver handles a tricky fare

The Lamb by Andrea Carter: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year The Lamb by Andrea Carter: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year
  • Andrea Carter

A short story from Counterparts (Stinging Fly) by the author of the Inishowen Mysteries

Balloon Animals by Laura-Blaise McDowell: on Writing.ie Short Story of the Year shortlist Balloon Animals by Laura-Blaise McDowell: on Writing.ie Short Story of the Year shortlist
  • Laura-Blaise McDowell

This story was first published in Still Worlds Turning, published by No Alibis Press

Mother, May I by Amy Gaffney: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Mother, May I by Amy Gaffney: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year
  • Amy Gaffney

A graduate of UCD’s creative writing MA, Amy Gaffney co-edited The HCE Review

A Real Woman by Orla McAlinden: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year A Real Woman by Orla McAlinden: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year

The story was first published in the author’s short story collection, Full of Grace

Sparing the Heather by Louise Kennedy: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Sparing the Heather by Louise Kennedy: shortlisted for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year
  • Louise Kennedy

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 8: Bloomsbury will publish her debut collection, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac, in 2021

Parrot by Nicole Flattery: Writing.ie Short Story of the Year winner Parrot by Nicole Flattery: Writing.ie Short Story of the Year winner
  • Nicole Flattery

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 1: A short story by award-winning author of Show Them A Good Time

Deus Absconditus, a short story by Mary Costello Deus Absconditus, a short story by Mary Costello
  • Mary Costello

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 6: By the award-winning author of Academy Street, The China Factory and The River Capture

Transatlantic Railroad, a short story by Mary M Burke Transatlantic Railroad, a short story by Mary M Burke

12 Stories of Christmas, Day 4: In the lead-up to the 1992 abortion referendum, a pregnant Irish student is shipped off to the States to give birth and have her baby adopted

Locksmiths, a short story by Wendy Erskine Locksmiths, a short story by Wendy Erskine
  • Wendy Erskine

Three women connected by blood are divided by more than just a generation gap

Yan Ge short story: Looking for the Japanese Yan Ge short story: Looking for the Japanese
  • Yan Ge

12 stories of Christmas, Day 5: a story about a missing boy conjures up memories

Scenes from an Empty Attic,  by Rosemary Jenkinson Scenes from an Empty Attic, by Rosemary Jenkinson
  • Rosemary Jenkinson

12 Stories of Christmas: Day 2 – from the collection Aphrodite’s Kiss

At the Dungeon, a short story by Danielle McLaughlin At the Dungeon, a short story by Danielle McLaughlin
  • Danielle McLaughlin

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 4: A trip to a London tourist attraction proves disturbing in unexpected ways

Nothing to Declare, a short story by John Boyne Nothing to Declare, a short story by John Boyne
  • John Boyne

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 8: An old resentments boil over when two brothers from the same litter meet again by chance

Berlin, a short story by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne Berlin, a short story by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
  • Eilis Ni Dhuibhne

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 7: A young Irish couple get an unexpected – and unrequested – extra member for their family

Storks, a short story by Nuala O’Connor Storks, a short story by Nuala O’Connor
  • Nuala O'Connor

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 6: Caitríona needs a holiday break with her partner, but her past catches up with her. Illustration by Jane Webster

Mountainy Men, a short story by Martina Evans Mountainy Men, a short story by Martina Evans
  • Martina Evans

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 5:Two children fend for themselves when their father takes to the drink and their mother to the bed

The Possibility of Snow, a short story by Louise Nealon The Possibility of Snow, a short story by Louise Nealon
  • Louise Nealon

12 Stories of Christmas, day 12: A love story by the winner of the Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition

Day after day, a short story by Ruth McKee Day after day, a short story by Ruth McKee
  • Ruth McKee

‘It’s a love letter and a dying letter. He has surpassed himself’

Summer fiction: A City of the Past, by Kathleen MacMahon Summer fiction: A City of the Past, by Kathleen MacMahon
  • Kathleen MacMahon

A new short story by Kathleen MacMahon, author of This Is How it Ends and The Long, Hot Summer

Two Damsons, a short story by P Kearney Byrne Two Damsons, a short story by P Kearney Byrne
  • P Kearney Byrne

P Kearney Byrne has twice been longlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award and is working on a novel and a collection of short stories

‘The Little Black’, a short story by John Connell ‘The Little Black’, a short story by John Connell
  • John Connell

‘The vet was an elderly man and had a stale, spent smell about him’

Same same but different, a short story by Anne Hayden  Same same but different, a short story by Anne Hayden
  • Anne Hayden

A young woman, bereft since the death of her twin, tries to forge a new, singular identity

‘Psychobabble’ by Caoilinn Hughes, winner of The Moth Short Story Prize 2018 ‘Psychobabble’ by Caoilinn Hughes, winner of The Moth Short Story Prize 2018
  • Caoilinn Hughes

Judge Kevin Barry: ‘It’s both poignant and very funny, emotional yet sardonic’

‘Postcards are a Thing of the Past’ by Tracey Slaughter, The Moth Short Story Prize runner-up ‘Postcards are a Thing of the Past’ by Tracey Slaughter, The Moth Short Story Prize runner-up
  • Tracey Slaughter

Judge Kevin Barry: ‘It could be described almost as a kind of erotic travelogue’

‘Standard Deviation’ by Caoilinn Hughes: third place in The Moth short story prize ‘Standard Deviation’ by Caoilinn Hughes: third place in The Moth short story prize
  • Caoilinn Hughes

Kevin Barry: ‘the story of an odd encounter, it feels very close-in but it’s mysterious too’

All Bones, a short story by Mia Gallagher All Bones, a short story by Mia Gallagher
  • Mia Gallagher

Taken from her new collection ‘Shift’, a slowly developing portrait of a photographer

Buck Mad, a short story by P Kearney Byrne Buck Mad, a short story by P Kearney Byrne
  • P Kearney Byrne

Longlisted for Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award: a frank tale of a gay relationship by an award-winning Irish writer

The Boat, a short story by John Connell The Boat, a short story by John Connell
  • John Connell

This story set during the War of Independence was inspired by a true-life incident from the author’s home village

Lipstick, a short story by Meghan Helms Lipstick, a short story by Meghan Helms
  • Meghan Helms

Out of Ireland summer fiction series: a mother dealing with drought and a missing son

The Great Blue Open, a short story by Ethel Rohan The Great Blue Open, a short story by Ethel Rohan
  • Ethel Rohan

The latest instalment in the Out of Ireland summer fiction series

Mum’s the Word: A short story by Philip MacCann Mum’s the Word: A short story by Philip MacCann
  • Philip MacCann

The latest instalment in our summer fiction series Out of Ireland

Eternity, a short story by Arja Kajermo Eternity, a short story by Arja Kajermo
  • Arja Kajermo

The Out of Ireland summer fiction series continues

Split or Steal (I give that you might give): a short story by Giovanni Frazzetto Split or Steal (I give that you might give): a short story by Giovanni Frazzetto
  • Giovanni Frazzetto

Out of Ireland summer fiction: this is the third of eight short stories in our series

Anakana Schofield short story: Strawberry Plants and Cabbages Anakana Schofield short story: Strawberry Plants and Cabbages
  • Anakana Schofield

Out of Ireland summer fiction: The world turns inwards on a girl and her mother

Exterior Paint, a short story by Kit de Waal Exterior Paint, a short story by Kit de Waal
  • Kit de Waal

Malcolm X inspires a West Indian to declare his love. This story is taken from Protest: Stories of Resistance, in which 20 authors re-imagine key moments of British protest

The art of revenge, a short story by Martin Malone The art of revenge, a short story by Martin Malone
  • Martin Malone

Love, hatred, compassion and cruelty interplay in this story from ‘This Cruel Station’

The Collectors, a short story by Jaki McCarrick The Collectors, a short story by Jaki McCarrick
  • Jaki McCarrick

An unusual relationship develops between a kidnapper and his victim

Tell Me Something About Your Wife Tell Me Something About Your Wife
  • Karen Perry

12 Tales for Christmas - Day 12: A new short story by Karen Perry, whose fourth novel is Can You Keep a Secret?

Boxing Day, a short story by David Park Boxing Day, a short story by David Park
  • David Park

12 Tales for Christmas - Day 6: A father drives his son to visit his mother by the sea on the day after Christmas

Yellow, a flash fiction by Nuala O’Connor Yellow, a flash fiction by Nuala O’Connor

A couple strives for a child

Mr Salary – a short story by Sally Rooney Mr Salary – a short story by Sally Rooney
  • Sally Rooney

Mr Salary was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG short story award

Yan Ge short story: The writer who lives in a suitcase Yan Ge short story: The writer who lives in a suitcase
  • Yan Ge

A short story by one of China’s most promising writers, who now lives in Dublin. A young woman’s retreat from her polluted city takes a surreal turn

The Boatman, a short story by Billy O’Callaghan The Boatman, a short story by Billy O’Callaghan
  • Billy O'Callaghan

The 2016 Costa Short Story Award runner-up by Cork author, whose debut novel The Dead House is due out in May

Dirty Little Fishes, a short story by Jess Kidd Dirty Little Fishes, a short story by Jess Kidd
  • Jess Kidd

12 Tales for Christmas - Day 9: A young Irish girl in London accompanies her mother on visits to a dying woman in this Costa Short Story Award winning tale

Reprisal, a short story by Helena Mulkerns Reprisal, a short story by Helena Mulkerns
  • Helena Mulkerns

Taken from her debut collection, Ferenji, this powerful and evocative story set in Kabul captures the tension of working in a war zone

Cold Cards, a short story by Gene Kerrigan Cold Cards, a short story by Gene Kerrigan
  • Gene Kerrigan

This story is from Trouble Is Our Business: New Stories by Irish Crime Writers. Kerrigan is a leading journalist and won the UK Crime Writers Association award in 2012

Poison, a short story by Lucy Caldwell Poison, a short story by Lucy Caldwell
  • Lucy Caldwell

Taken from the Belfast author’s acclaimed debut collection, Multitudes, it is a tale of master and pupil, transgression and guilt

What I did on my summer holidays, by Paul McVeigh What I did on my summer holidays, by Paul McVeigh
  • Paul McVeigh

The short story written 15 years ago that was the genesis for The Good Son, July’s Irish Times Book Club choice

Paper and Ashes, a short story by William Wall Paper and Ashes, a short story by William Wall
  • William Wall

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 10: A bereaved woman with an urn encounters a tramp after she is mugged

World Refugee Day: The Lorry Driver’s Tale, as told to Chris Cleave World Refugee Day: The Lorry Driver’s Tale, as told to Chris Cleave
  • Chris Cleave

‘If immigration is a horror film then Calais is the scene where the zombies are massing.’ A celebrity journalist goes along for the ride with a lorry driver but all is not as it seems

Grace, a short story by Sam Coll Grace, a short story by Sam Coll

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 3: A cover version of James Joyce’s short story from the collection Dubliners 100

Anus – Black Sun, a short story by Rob Doyle Anus – Black Sun, a short story by Rob Doyle

In this extract from This is the Ritual, viewing an unusual porn film is transmuted into an intimation of sublime geometry, astronomy, black holes and galaxy clusters

Cyprus Avenue, a short story by Lucy Caldwell Cyprus Avenue, a short story by Lucy Caldwell
  • Lucy Caldwell

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9: An exile’s difficult annual return home to Belfast for Christmas this year proves different

How to Learn Irish in Seventeen Steps, by Roisín O’Donnell How to Learn Irish in Seventeen Steps, by Roisín O’Donnell
  • Roisín O’Donnell

12 Stories of Christmas - Day 12: A short story from Wild Quiet, Roisín O’Donnell’s debut collection

All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris
  • Thomas Morris

A holiday read - The 12 Stories of Christmas, Day 12: the poignant but funny tale with a twist of a Welsh stag party in Temple Bar, from January’s Irish Times Book Club author

New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne
  • Eílís Ní Dhuibhne

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 11: A touching account of living with loss

Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle
  • Alan McMonagle

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 10: a long, hot summer

Lane In Stay, a short story by Eimear Ryan Lane In Stay, a short story by Eimear Ryan
  • Eimear Ryan

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 9: How a widow deals with her grief

Colm Tóibín short story: The Journey to Galway Colm Tóibín short story: The Journey to Galway
  • Colm Toibin

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 8: Bad news from the front

Going, a short story by Belinda McKeon Going, a short story by Belinda McKeon
  • Belinda McKeon

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 7: A daughter copes with bad news

‘We’ve Got Each Other and That’s a Lot’, a short story by Jan Carson ‘We’ve Got Each Other and That’s a Lot’, a short story by Jan Carson
  • Jan Carson

A holiday read – 12 Days of Stories, Day 6: a mis-spent youth

Kevin Barry short story: Roethke In The Bughouse Kevin Barry short story: Roethke In The Bughouse
  • Kevin Barry

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 5: a famous poet suffers a breakdown on Inisbofin

Dead Hens for Broken Eggs by Sara Baume Dead Hens for Broken Eggs by Sara Baume
  • Sara Baume

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 4: A young woman lives on the edge

Let’s Say I Am, a children’s short story by Richard Jones Let’s Say I Am, a children’s short story by Richard Jones
  • Richard Jones

A holiday read – 12 Days of Stories, Day 3: a prize-winning mouse’s tale

The wise man, a short story by Donal Ryan The wise man, a short story by Donal Ryan
  • Donal Ryan

A holiday read - 12 Days of Stories, Day 2: A seasonal love story

The Coast of Wales, a short story by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne The Coast of Wales, a short story by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
  • Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

A holiday read – 12 Days of Stories, Day 1: A beautiful and moving meditation on grief

All the Dead Birds by Danielle McLaughlin All the Dead Birds by Danielle McLaughlin
  • Danielle McLaughlin

Hennessy Emerging Fiction winner: Dancing, or beginning to Dance by Sara Baume Hennessy Emerging Fiction winner: Dancing, or beginning to Dance by Sara Baume

Ontario, a short story by Colin Barrett Ontario, a short story by Colin Barrett
  • Colin Barrett

A short story that segues into an analysis of why it couldn’t be finished. ‘It’s either quasi/meta/auto fiction or a pseudo-nonfictional piece,’ the author says. ‘In a roundabout way, it is very much about the nature of inspiration’

Subscriber Only

Pollock accepts ageing as an inevitable part of life, to be handled as sympathetically as possible. Steele sees it as a condition not unlike an illness, which can be “cured”. File photograph: Getty Images The Book About Getting Older and Ageless: Two takes on ageing
Author Una Mannion, author of A Crooked Tree A Crooked Tree: A colourful, classic coming-of-age tale
Hermann Goering,  Prince Auguste-Guillaume, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels in Berlin. Photograph: Keystone-France/ Gamma-Rapho via Getty Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance: Role of the nobility in Nazi Germany

Short stories

The Christmas lights on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork. Photograph: Getty Images Links and Hooks or a Lack Thereof: A new short story by Lisa McInerney
Aidan Gillen and Gina McKee in the 2003 film adaptation of Burning the Bed by Patrick Chapman Burning the bed: a short story by Patrick Chapman
Photograph: Getty Images Snow Globe: A new short story by Danielle McLaughlin

The Books Podcast

The Irish Times Books Podcast - Darran Anderson, author of Inventory The Irish Times Books Podcast - Darran Anderson, author of Inventory 33:48
The Irish Times Books Podcast The best crime fiction of 2019 The Irish Times Books Podcast The best crime fiction of 2019 40:49
The Irish Times Books Podcast Remembering Maeve Binchy The Irish Times Books Podcast Remembering Maeve Binchy 35:01
The Irish Times Books Podcast Danielle McLaughlin The Irish Times Books Podcast Danielle McLaughlin 33:47

The Book Club

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Fighting Words 2020 Roddy Doyle introduces head-turning young Irish writing
 

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1 Marianne Faithfull performing at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in November 2016. Photograph: Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images Marianne Faithfull on nearly dying of Covid-19: ‘My lungs are still not okay. I need oxygen’

2 Inauguration: crowds normally gather in Washington, DC, from dawn. Joe Biden will be happy if only a handful of people show up to his swearing-in as the 46th president of the United States. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration: Where can I watch, and what are the key moments?

3 Goat Girl: All-male groups ‘are going to see the world quite differently to a band with a non-binary person and three women’ ‘Our history with Ireland, lots of English people just don’t know it’

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Book reviews

Author Una Mannion, author of A Crooked Tree A Crooked Tree: A colourful, classic coming-of-age tale
Hermann Goering,  Prince Auguste-Guillaume, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels in Berlin. Photograph: Keystone-France/ Gamma-Rapho via Getty Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance: Role of the nobility in Nazi Germany
James Ball argues that “online power structures mirror almost exactly the offline power structures which preceded them”. File photograph: Getty Images The System: how the internet works and what is wrong with it
Joe Armstrong: “Religion demands the submission of the mind, heart, will and body to man-made rules and a man-made god […] but submission is the opposite of personal adult maturity, thinking and deciding for oneself.”Photograph: Alan Betson In My Gut I Don’t Believe by Joe Amstrong: under the eye of the Catholic Church
Allen W Dulles and Senator Theodore F Green discussing the  unrest in Iraq in July 1958. Photograph: ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Baseless: An indelible portrait of the CIA’s institutional derangement

New poetry

Bernard Loughlin, who ran the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig in Co Monaghan from 1981 to 1999 Poem of the week: Before It Happened
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Dermot Bolger Poem of the week: Making Things Happen by Dermot Bolger
Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. Might some of these names figure in the final 12?
Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture
 
Roddy Doyle’s Fighting Words Celebrating 10 years of young Irish writing
 

Brought to Book

Thomas Enger: I would love to pick the brain of the Bible’s author about how to get away with all those completely unrealistic scenes and still sell millions ‘Writing is a good way to process what’s going on in your own life’
Kate Hamer: I find Edna O’Brien an absolutely extraordinary writer – her work is so lucid and accomplished it’s almost like she’s recasting a vision. Photograph: Mei Williams Kate Hamer Q&A: ‘Write the story that is burning inside you’
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