Northern Ireland has become a hotspot for Literature, the names of Seamus Heaney, C.S Lewis, Michael Longley, and Brian Friel will certainly ring a bell for most, but are you familiar with the names and faces of the present and future of Northern Irish Literature and what inspires them?
1.Martin Waldell
Martin Waldell, a Children’s Author for 6 decades, working with world renowned illustrators, creating charming children’s books perfectly suited for bedtime that appeal to not just the kids, but the parents too. It’s more than likely you’ve heard of his work, or even read it, but what do you know about him?
Born in 1941, Belfast, Northern Ireland, originally aspiring to be a football player, he became an author of 272 books. He started his career in literature by writing comedic thrillers, one such being made into a Film, Orlty (1969), starring Tom Courtenay and Romy Schnider. But inspired by a childhood love for animals and nature found in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, he soon found his path into children’s fiction in the late 1960s.
His love for sports also found its way into his work, with the book series Napper, published in 1981, a perfectly exciting work still today relatable to the forever football-mad kids, just like Waldell himself. He was awarded the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 2004 for his dedication to his work in Children’s Literature.
2.Susannah Dickey
Susannah Dickey, a Young Author originally from Derry who now resides in London. In her career so far, she has written two novels, and four poetry pamphlets, earning herself an Eric Gregory Award, given to a select collection of poets under 30, and the PEN Heaney Prize for her poetry debut, ISDAL, an exploration of the obsession with true-crime in today’s popular culture.
Her work explores the depths of language that can be explored in poetry, diving deep into the seas of semantics and symbolism. And, with her Prose, a considerably existential look on early adulthood, womanhood, and maturity explored through mysterious coming of age stories, such as her Tennis Lessons. In an interview with journalist Madeline Knowles of NB Magazine, Susannah Dickey said “I write poetry because I “love what language can do, when we choose to see what it can “do. I think I still write prose “because I hate myself.” Her view of the dualities of passion and occupation, and her candid and emotiveness that appears inseparable to her work.
An interesting insight into the nature of a writer, her unique view lends her work a fascinatingly candid element. For those looking for a darker read, Susanah Dickey is certainly an eligible candidate.
3.Jan Carson
Originally from Ballymeana, Jan Carson now resides in East Belfast. She works in the community as an Arts Facilitator, with a focus on art engagement for older communities and those living with dementia, whilst continuing to write her prose. She has written three novels, three short story collections, and two micro-fiction books. Notable titles of Carson’s you may have noticed in your recent browse of your local bookshop include Malcolm Orange Disappears, and The Fire Starters.
Her work has wide appeal, being translated into 15 different languages, and earning her the EU Prize For Literature, and the Kitschies Prize for Speculative Fiction in 2019. Most recently, Jan Carson has been working with Queen’s University Belfast on their Dementia Fiction project, exploring how dementia is represented and accounted for in literature.
As part of her work on the project as Outreach Officer and as a co-author and editor of A Little Unsteadily Into The Light, featuring other authors, including two emerging writers of the Queen’s led writing workshop. She devotes her time to uplifting unsung and up incoming voices.
Jan Carson is not only a prominent voice that you should be watching out for in terms of her own work, but also a voice that is with an expert hand, lifting up the next generation of Northern Irish writers to come.
4.Dara McNulty
For those interested in the natural world Dara McNulty, a young autistic Biographer and Naturalist from Ards, might be up your street. McNulty’s work explores the physical landscape of contemporary Northern Ireland and what it means to grow up here.
Only 17, amidst his A-levels, the troubles of schoolyard bullying and struggles with autism, when his first book was published in May, 2020, detailing his escape into nature. He is the youngest person ever to receive a RSPB medal and a Literary Prize.
His second memoir, “Wild Child”, published in May 23, 2023, is an enthralling piece of informative children’s non-fiction. He breathes a unique perspective on the world into his writing, with a vividness and fascination for nature, he depicts an inspirational escape into the natural world.
For those who want to encourage an interest in local nature in their children, or even in themselves, McNulty’s work may just be your new Mount Helicon. Now in his mid-twenties with two books under his belt, McNulty is a voice to look out for in the upcoming years.
It’s vital to support the voices of our literary future here in Northern Ireland. These talented writers are only a glimpse into the diverse perspectives and enthralling stories that can be found in Northern Ireland. The stories in the bookshelves of Belfast and beyond appear endless, let’s not lose sight of the faces behind the titles.