Along with every other arts project affected by the Covid 19 public health crisis, the awards trustees will review all our planned activities in the coming months. Be assured that we will be discussing a range of options and possible outcomes with sponsors and key stakeholders in the coming weeks. Until such time as we can see a clear path ahead – dependent on applicable government and health authorities guidelines – we intend to proceed with the customary schedule of stages and key dates. Accordingly, we will be opening for submissions from June 30th and publishers are invited to submit titles in the normal manner on the awards website at this time.

The shortlist launch is currently scheduled for October 22nd and the Awards Ceremony for November 25th but, undoubtedly, these may be affected in some way by future developments under the phased withdrawal from lockdown. We will update regularly at this website, but do please sign up to the official IBA newsletter to stay informed. We very much anticipate and hope we will be able to stage the 2020 Awards in, at least, some manner and look forward to promoting the vast array of new Irish writing talent this Autumn.