An Post Irish Book Awards Book of The Year 2023

The Bee Sting

The An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year 2023 was The Bee Sting by Paul Murray which was announced during a one-hour television special presented by Oliver Callan on RTÉ One on 6th December.

2023 An Post Irish Book Awards winners announced!

We are thrilled to announce this year’s winners of the An Post Irish Book Awards 2023 who received their awards at the opulent Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner in The Convention Centre, Dublin. The event marked the pinnacle of what has been a sensational year for Irish literature. With twenty-one categories spanning the entire generic spectrum, and celebrated literary names such as Liz Nugent , Mark O’Connell, Sophie White, Paul Murray, Katriona O’Sullivan, Colin Walsh and Sarah Binchy among the winners, the An Post Irish Book Awards once again showcased the wealth and depth of Irish literary talent.

On 6th December, Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting was revealed as the winner of the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year 2023 during a one-hour television special on RTÉ One hosted by Oliver Callan. The book was among six shortlisted titles competing for the accolade, all of which were category winners at the 2023 An Post Irish Book Awards and were chosen on the principle of the highest number of votes secured during the shortlist voting process across all categories. Murray’s book won the Eason Novel of the Year at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards Gala Dinner..

Scroll through all of this year's category winners below

TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book of the Year
Dubray Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Bookstation Lifestyle Book of the Year
Cookbook of the Year
Eason Sports Book of the Year, in association with Ireland AM
Bookselling Ireland Biography of the Year
The Last Word Listeners' Choice Award
Specsavers Children's Book of the Year (Junior)
Specsavers Children's Book of the Year (Senior)
International Education Services Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year, in honour of John Treacy
An Post Irish Bookshop of the Year
Foras na Gaeilge Irish Language Fiction Book of the Year Award
Writing.ie Short Story of the Year
Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year
National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the Year
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year
Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year
Eason Novel of the Year
Listowel Writers' Week Poem of the Year

Some Key Dates for your Diary

31st July

Submissions Close

19th October

Shortlist Launch at the EXO Building

22nd November

Winners Announced at The Convention Centre Dublin

6th December

An Post Irish Book of the Year TV show on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player

An Post Irish Book of the Year Logo 2023

An Post Irish Book of the Year Nominees 2023

You can rewatch the An Post Irish Book of the Year TV Show on the RTÉ Player.

VOTERS WANTED

All voters will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five €100 National Book Tokens vouchers. Voting closes at 5pm 9th November.

Explore the latest updates from the An Post Irish Book Awards

DEATH OF A LEGEND - Charlie Bird 1949-2024

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray named the An Post Irish Book of the Year 2023
An Post Irish Book of the Year Nominees 2023: Gender, Hope and Heart with Eimear Ryan
An Post Irish Book of the Year Nominees 2023: Poverty and Choice with Katriona O'Sullivan

New Voices: The An Post Writing Prize

A new award category with writers from the Irish-based Ukrainian community invited to submit their original entries this year

Some kind words from guests and friends of the An Post Irish Book Awards

"The An Post Irish Book Awards took a fantastic campaign and reimagined it for an online world. The buy-in from all partners was clear to see, and the results were very good. Well done!"

Ivan O'Brien

Managing Director, The O'Brien Press

"Really fantastic media campaign this year, I thought, the APIBAs really were everywhere."

Joseph O'Connor

Award Winning Author

"You do an amazing job with these Awards and it’s so exciting for everyone involved with books in Ireland – the Awards have really added so much energy, excitement and debate."

Dr Marian Thérèse Keyes

Senior Executive Librarian, dlr LexIcon and Reader Development

“It was a wonderful night for Irish Authors and Irish Books and shows the literary talent that is in Ireland right now!”

Maire Logue

Festival Manager, Listowel Writers’ Week

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Learn about our Judging Process

The An Post Irish Book Awards are different in character from conventional literary awards where winners attract the subjective approval of a jury normally comprising 3-5 judges. To decide fifteen awards in this way would be impractical and inimical to our aim to canvass the widest possible sector of the reading public.

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