Megan Nolan Explained

Birth Place:	County Waterford, Ireland
Occupation:	Journalist, novelist
Notable Works:	Acts of Desperation (2021)

Megan Nolan (born 1990)^[1] is an Irish journalist, and author from County Waterford. Her debut novel, Acts of Desperation,^[2] was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize^[3] and was one of the four awardees of the 2022 Betty Trask Award for debut novels.

Biography

Nolan's father Jim Nolan was a theatre director and founder of the Red Kettle theatre company based in Waterford.^{[4] [5]} She studied film studies and French at Trinity College Dublin, but dropped out before completion of her studies.^[6]

She has written essays and literary criticism for the New Statesman. In 2018, she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that detailed how she had come to hate England and English people.^[7] She subsequently moved from London to New York City.

Acts of Desperation was a Betty Trask Awardee for debut novels in 2022.^[8] Ordinary Human Failings was shortlisted for the 2023 Gordon Burn Prize for "books that push boundaries, cross genres or otherwise challenge readers’ expectations",^{[9] [10]} as well as for the 2024 Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the "difficult second novel" that follows an author's literary debut.^[11]

Awards

Award!Result!Ref

2021	Acts of Desperation	Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award	—		^[12]
2022		Betty Trask Award	—		^[13]
		Dylan Thomas Prize	—		^[14]
2023	Ordinary Human Failings	Gordon Burn Prize			^[15]
		Nero	Fiction		^[16]
2024		Orwell Prize for Political Fiction			^[17]

Bibliography

• Book: Nolan, Megan . . . 2021 . 9780316429856 . 1st hardcover . 288 . none . 2 . Megan Nolan.
• Book: Nolan, Megan . Ordinary Human Failings . . 2023 . 9781787332508 . 1st hardcover . none . 2 . Megan Nolan.
• Book: Nolan . Megan . Windswept Baby . Pettifer . Amy . Chingonyi . Kayo . Turner . Luke . Biddle . Lucy . Underwood . Jack . Bethan Lloyd Worthington . 2018 . 9781789260342 . Lloyd Worthington . Bethan . none . 2 . Megan Nolan . Kayo Chingonyi . Luke Turner (artist).

External links

• • Anthony Cummins, "Interview | Megan Nolan: 'People say you shouldn’t do an issues novel, The Guardian, 6 January 2024.

Notes and References

1. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19607931.Megan_Nolan
2. Web site: Feigel . Lara . March 3, 2021 . Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan review – learning to say no . TheGuardian.com.
3. Web site: Diverse and global voices dominate the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220203223930/https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2021/02/diverse-and-global-voices-dominate-the-longlist-for-the-swansea-university-dylan-thomas-prize-.php . 2022-02-03 . 2022-02-04 . . en-GB.
4. Web site: Brennan . Marjorie . October 24, 2022 . Book interview: Megan Nolan on discovering one of Waterford's best-known authors . IrishExaminer.com.
5. Web site: Clark . Alex . February 26, 2021 . Megan Nolan: 'When I think back, the way I drank was crazy. Everyone I knew did it' . TheGuardian.com.
6. Web site: McGrath . Maedhbh . July 8, 2023 . Megan Nolan: 'In England, you're supposed to hate someone who has a tiny bit more than you' . Independent.ie.
7. Web site: Nolan . Megan . October 18, 2018 . I Didn't Hate the English — Until Now . 2024-02-07 . . en-GB.
8. https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/betty-trask-prize-awards/ "The Betty Trask Prize | Past Winners"
9. Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist . . Creamer . Ella . 2024-01-25.
10. News: Lane . Harriet . 2024-02-04 . A Dead Child, Too Much Booze and a Family in Crisis . 2024-03-03 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
11. Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award. The Bookseller. Melina. Spanoudi. 30 May 2024. 19 June 2024.
12. Web site: team . Code8 . Past Years . 2024-02-08 . Young Writer of the Year Award . en-GB.
13. Web site: May 11, 2022 . Irish writers short-listed for the 2022 Society of Authors Awards . Books Ireland Magazine.
14. Web site: 2022-02-03 . Here is the longlist for the 2022 Dylan Thomas Prize. . 2024-02-08 . Literary Hub . en-US.
15. News: Creamer . Ella . 2024-01-25 . Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist . 2024-02-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
16. News: Creamer . Ella . 2023-11-21 . Paul Murray and Fern Brady shortlisted for inaugural Nero awards . 2024-02-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
17. Web site: 2024-06-11 . Orwell Prizes 2024 shortlists announced . 2024-06-24 . Books+Publishing.