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Mike McCormack (writer)

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Mike McCormack
McCormack at the 2017 Gothenburg Book Fair
McCormack at the 2017 Gothenburg Book Fair
Born1965 (age 59–60)
London, England
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
EducationEnglish and Philosophy
Alma materUniversity College Galway (UCG)
Notable worksNotes from a Coma, Solar Bones
Notable awardsRooney Prize for Irish Literature
1996

Goldsmiths Prize
2016

International Dublin Literary Award
2018

Mike McCormack (born 1965) is an Irish novelist and short-story writer. He has published two collections of short stories, Getting It In the Head and Forensic Songs, and four novels: Crowe's Requiem, Notes from a Coma, Solar Bones, and This Plague of Souls. He has won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the International Dublin Literary Award. He was described as "a disgracefully neglected writer"[1][2] early in his career, but the success of some of his later works and his tenure as a writing educator have brought him wide recognition today.[3]

Life and education

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McCormack was born in London.[4] He grew up on a farm in Louisburgh, County Mayo, and studied English and philosophy at the University of Galway.[5][3]

He lives in Galway with his wife Maeve, where he works as a lecturer and director of the University of Galway's MA in Creative Writing.[6][2][3]

Career

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McCormack's first short story collection, Getting It In the Head, was published in 1996. It was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, awarded to Irish writers under the age of 40.[7] In 1998, the collection was voted a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.[8] A story from the collection, "The Terms", was adapted into a short film directed by Johnny O'Reilly released in 2000. It won six awards, including Best Short Film at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, the Woodstock Film Festival, and the Chlotrudis Awards.[9] The same story was adapted as a short film a second time in 2010, with director Jason LaMotte. It won awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Action On Film International Film Festival.[10]

In 2006, McCormack's second novel, Notes from a Coma was shortlisted for the Irish Book of the Year Award.[8] In 2010, John Waters in The Irish Times described it as "the greatest Irish novel of the decade just ended".[1] It took McCormack seven years to write the book.[5] It is currently on the Senior Cycle reading list for Leaving Certificate English.

In May 2016, Dublin publisher Tramp Press published McCormack's third novel Solar Bones. The book was unusual in that it was written as a single sentence (albeit a long one, that spans about 270 pages).[11] The book was named Novel of the Year and An Post Irish Book of the Year by the Irish Book Awards.[12][13] The novel went on to win the 2018 Goldsmiths Prize.[14] In June 2018, the novel won the International Dublin Literary Award of €100,000, the richest literary prize in the world for a single novel published in English.[11]

McCormack's fourth novel, This Plague of Souls, was published in 2023.[15][16]

MacCormack was elected to Aosdána in 2018.[17] In 2019, he was inducted into the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame.[8]

Bibliography

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Short fiction

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  • 1996 - Getting It In the Head
  • 2012 - Forensic Songs

Novels

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Core selves go missing in high-tech celeb world". The Irish Times. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Taking risks, challenging publishers, and earning readers". The Irish Times. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Fox, Killian (11 November 2023). "Mike McCormack: 'If I've one gift as a writer, it's patience'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. ^ "A Real Heart Stopper". Transcript Review. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b McKeon, Belinda (13 May 2005). "Metaphysics gets a Mayo accent". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 May 2005.
  6. ^ "English, Media and Creative Arts: Mr Mike Mc Cormack". University of Galway. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Former Rooney Prize Winners". Rooney Prize. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "University of Galway Lecturer and Graduate Honoured at Hennessy Literary Awards". University of Galway. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  9. ^ "The Terms (Short 2000)". IMDB. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  10. ^ "The Terms (Short 2010)". IMDB. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  11. ^ a b Cain, Sian (13 June 2018). "Mike McCormack wins €100,000 International Dublin literary award with one-sentence novel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. ^ "An Post Irish Book of the Year Previous Winners". Irish Book Awards. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Solar Bones named Irish Book of the Year 2016". The Bookseller. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Goldsmiths Prize: Single sentence novel wins £10,000 award". BBC News. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  15. ^ "World of marvels". The TLS. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  16. ^ "This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack review – a mysterious homecoming". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  17. ^ Kelly, Aoife (13 June 2018). "Mike McCormack wins €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award for Solar Bones". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 13 June 2018. Sheila Pratschke, Chair of the Arts Council said, "Mike has a long relationship with the Arts Council, through our residency programmes, bursary awards and, most recently, through his appointment to Aosdána, and we have known for many years that he is a writer of astonishing talent."
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