2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the Irish Book Awards, and five years since Bord Gais Energy became headline sponsors, bringing with them financial security and the potential for the awards to grow into the opulent occasion they are now. In the Awards’ first year, a group “no larger than one you might see at a suburban dinner party” according to the Awards’ website, gathered in a Dun Laoghaire Yacht Club to congratulate John Banville, Brian Dillon and Kate Thompson. For the last number of years, with the help of Bord Gais, the Awards’ annual Gala dinner accommodates upwards of five hundred people; writers embrace each other as old friends while media crews soak up the atmosphere. The guest list has been graced with Taoiseachs and Nobel Laureates, not to mention almost all of the greatest writers in the country today.

This is not some stuffy literary occasion however; there is an enthusiastic, red carpet feel to the event. Speaking about the awards, Paul Howard, the creator of Ross O’Carroll- Kelly, said that it was a great chance to meet other writers outside of work: “You’re all dressed up for a night out and there’s a lovely meal and you can have some fun.”

The shortlisted books, announced in the beginning of November, feature both established and upcoming authors. The “Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)” shortlist includes category titans such as Derek Landy, Eoin Colfer and John Boyne, alongside relative newcomers Louise O’Neill and Shane Hegarty. Speaking to Tn2, Hegarty, whose novel Darkmouth: Worlds Explode, the second in his series about a young and reluctant Legend Hunter, talked about his delight to be considered alongside such huge figures of the literary scene, and of the improving image children’s fiction has in this country “I think a lot of us are past the point where we see kid’s writing as secondary to adult’s writing.” The selection of books shortlisted really serves to show the quality of writing. Every one of those could be read I think and enjoyed as much by an adult as any kid. […] I think the level, just in terms of the quality of the writing for young people is so high now, and I feel privileged to be in a category that shows that.”

Certainly children’s fiction in Ireland has punched well above its weight in recent years, with the work of Darren Shan, Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy and many others achieving international acclaim and success. Newer successes such as Hegarty’s Darkmouth series show that there is no halt to the country’s tremendous output in fiction aimed at a younger audience, but their relative minority every year on the shortlists compared to more established names must be noted. This is a problem across almost every category.

The same names grace the shortlists of the Irish Book Awards year after year in several categories- not just the children’s category. In some respects, the awards can be seen as an exclusive writer’s club; though difficult to be shortlisted and nominated the first time, once you’re in, you’re in. While it is important to recognise continued achievement, it is very easy for stagnation to kick in when the same authors are being nominated year in and year out, while newer writers are left on the side-lines, choked out by the regulars. This repeat annual nomination has led to a sense of expectation among some authors.

“You know in your head you’re waiting for the call like,” explained Paul Howard in the official promotional video for the 2015 awards, “you’re waiting for the phone call to say you’re on the list this year”. This repeat headline act of authors at the top of most categories begs the question: are the awards a false representation of the literary scene, whose exponential success has come from their financial partnership with Bord Gais instead of any great surge in the quality of Irish literature?

Another problem in taking the Irish Book Awards as an accurate sample and representation of modern Irish literature is the insistence, year after year, of performing a publisher’s roll call in the shortlists. With the exception of Gill & Macmillan, no publishers are repeated in each category of the shortlists. Are we to believe that every other publisher in the country produces only one book worth noting each year? Scrolling down the shortlists recalls to the mind the “everyone’s a winner!” events from primary school sports days. It’s a small country, and as one journalist told tn2: “it’s a lot easier to make enemies than friends in this industry”. By adhering to a standard of unrealistic fairness where everybody gets a pat on the back, no small amount of doubt is thrown upon the accuracy of the Awards’ shortlists.

The one category where new writers don’t have to compete with established giants is “Newcomer of the Year”. Featuring debut writers backed by smaller, often more adventurous publishers, the category gives readers the best impression of the current literary scene. There is a freshness to the category that the rest of the awards lack, however it is still plagued by the same problem of artificially equal representation among publishers. Regardless of this, the category allows Ireland’s newest wave of talent – the “post- crash stars”, as the Guardian referred to them – to shine.

Strong writers fill this year’s shortlist, all of them female. Anne Enright, talking to the Guardian, spoke of “a confidence in female voices that I haven’t seen ever before – a hugely important thing. Traditionally, Irish writing has been about breaking silences. The biggest silence has continued to be about the real lives of women”. One only has to look at Louise O’Neill’s examination of the realities of rape in small town Ireland in Asking for It, or walk the post-crash streets of Dublin with Caitriona Lally’s main character Vivian in Eggshells to hear these silence-breaking voices.

Speaking to Tn2, Lally talked with delight about being shortlisted. “[It’s] still a shock. It came out of the blue, I presumed Eggshells was going to die a slow gradual death and then both the Irish Times Book Club Choice and the shortlisting came all at once.”

There is a growing level of excitement and innovation in the Irish literary scene. Numbers attending book launches are up. A generation of post- Tiger writers are exploring and dissecting the current state of their country with gusto. The Irish Book Awards’ tenth anniversary, despite certain flaws, promises to be a spectacular occasion that will simultaneously venerate the established greats, while welcoming new bright young things into the limelight. It is unquestionably an exciting time to be an Irish writer.

Read our full interview with Caitriona Lally here.