Jason Arthur
@jasonarthur.bsky.social
Associate Publishing Director at Granta Books. Late of the parishes of Routledge, Jonathan Cape, Vintage and William Heinemann.
Good to see @davetynan.bsky.social's We Used to Dance Here in @rickoshea.bsky.social's Best Books of 2025 list.
'Cracking, straight from the opening story...I rarely find a collection without a dud story somewhere - this is one of them.'
www.independent.ie/entertainmen...
'Cracking, straight from the opening story...I rarely find a collection without a dud story somewhere - this is one of them.'
www.independent.ie/entertainmen...
Rick O’Shea’s best books of 2025: Great reads you might have missed this year
I’m attempting to focus on books that you might not find in other end-of-year lists you’ve seen in the run up to Christmas – the ones that have possibly not gotten the spotlight and love they deserve.
www.independent.ie
December 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Good to see @davetynan.bsky.social's We Used to Dance Here in @rickoshea.bsky.social's Best Books of 2025 list.
'Cracking, straight from the opening story...I rarely find a collection without a dud story somewhere - this is one of them.'
www.independent.ie/entertainmen...
'Cracking, straight from the opening story...I rarely find a collection without a dud story somewhere - this is one of them.'
www.independent.ie/entertainmen...
‘Ireland’s short story writers are in a class of their own...One of the most remarkable in 2025 is the mysterious Liadan Ní Chuinn...Stories [that] resonate with an urgency for the reader to face history head-on’
Every One Still Here
Best Irish books of 2025
www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...
Every One Still Here
Best Irish books of 2025
www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...
Ignore the bestsellers — these are the Irish writers you should read
With the help of booksellers and festival directors, Aoife Barry picks the best of this year’s fiction, non-fiction and short stories
www.thetimes.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:29 AM
‘Ireland’s short story writers are in a class of their own...One of the most remarkable in 2025 is the mysterious Liadan Ní Chuinn...Stories [that] resonate with an urgency for the reader to face history head-on’
Every One Still Here
Best Irish books of 2025
www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...
Every One Still Here
Best Irish books of 2025
www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...
'Calling these stories intricately woven doesn’t do them justice...Wholly original, quietly disquieting short fiction.'
Starred Kirkus review of Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here.
⭐
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Starred Kirkus review of Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here.
⭐
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
EVERY ONE STILL HERE | Kirkus Reviews
The past is never far away in these debut stories about Irish intergenerational trauma.
www.kirkusreviews.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:04 AM
'Calling these stories intricately woven doesn’t do them justice...Wholly original, quietly disquieting short fiction.'
Starred Kirkus review of Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here.
⭐
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Starred Kirkus review of Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here.
⭐
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
'The collection of the year was undoubtedly Every One Still Here from the young Northern Irish writer Liadan Ní Chuinn...These stories are fiercely political & confronting, but also hum with the mysteries of life. They mark the arrival of a phenomenal new talent'
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
The best fiction of 2025
New novels from Ian McEwan and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a high-concept debut and remarkable short stories are just some of the best new titles of the year
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:38 AM
'The collection of the year was undoubtedly Every One Still Here from the young Northern Irish writer Liadan Ní Chuinn...These stories are fiercely political & confronting, but also hum with the mysteries of life. They mark the arrival of a phenomenal new talent'
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
'One of our most brilliantly eccentric novelists was on top form in this freewheeling farce...A fizzy comedy of 21st-century manners coupled with an intimate tale of family strife'
Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor
Daily Mail 'Best Fiction of 2025'
Bells jingled!
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...
Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor
Daily Mail 'Best Fiction of 2025'
Bells jingled!
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...
So which of these jingle your bells?
Want to find the perfect present for the book lover in your life? Our expert reviewers have done the work so you don't have to and picked out the best novels for readers of all tastes.
www.dailymail.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 4:45 PM
'One of our most brilliantly eccentric novelists was on top form in this freewheeling farce...A fizzy comedy of 21st-century manners coupled with an intimate tale of family strife'
Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor
Daily Mail 'Best Fiction of 2025'
Bells jingled!
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...
Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor
Daily Mail 'Best Fiction of 2025'
Bells jingled!
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...
Three mentions here for Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here:
‘The book of the year...short stories of uncanny depth and astonishing richness' Kevin Power
‘Has a raw power entirely its own’ @lucycaldwell.bsky.social
‘[A] standout’ Sarah Gilmartin
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
‘The book of the year...short stories of uncanny depth and astonishing richness' Kevin Power
‘Has a raw power entirely its own’ @lucycaldwell.bsky.social
‘[A] standout’ Sarah Gilmartin
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Books of the year 2025: Authors and critics pick their favourites
Roisín O’Donnell’s Nesting, Helen Garner’s How to End a Story and Liadan Ní Chuinn’s Every One Still Here are among the year’s top choices
www.irishtimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Three mentions here for Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here:
‘The book of the year...short stories of uncanny depth and astonishing richness' Kevin Power
‘Has a raw power entirely its own’ @lucycaldwell.bsky.social
‘[A] standout’ Sarah Gilmartin
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
‘The book of the year...short stories of uncanny depth and astonishing richness' Kevin Power
‘Has a raw power entirely its own’ @lucycaldwell.bsky.social
‘[A] standout’ Sarah Gilmartin
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
'Astonishing skill on display...Whoever they are, Liadan Ní Chuinn is a writer to watch.'
Every One Still Here chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Every One Still Here chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
The Observer’s books of the year 2025 | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
'Astonishing skill on display...Whoever they are, Liadan Ní Chuinn is a writer to watch.'
Every One Still Here chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Every One Still Here chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Yay! Nicola Barker (and TonyInterruptor) on the Gordon Burn Prize longlist! Lovely to see,
newwritingnorth.com/longlist-ann...
newwritingnorth.com/longlist-ann...
Longlist announced for the Gordon Burn Prize 2026 - New Writing North
An electrifying list of 12 books longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2026 was announced today (27 November 2025). The...
newwritingnorth.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Yay! Nicola Barker (and TonyInterruptor) on the Gordon Burn Prize longlist! Lovely to see,
newwritingnorth.com/longlist-ann...
newwritingnorth.com/longlist-ann...
A second prize shortlisting for @benpester.bsky.social after the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social. Whoop!
November 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
A second prize shortlisting for @benpester.bsky.social after the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social. Whoop!
So pleased to see @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project has been shortlisted for the Nero Debut Novel Award. Richly deserved.
November 20, 2025 at 12:12 PM
So pleased to see @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project has been shortlisted for the Nero Debut Novel Award. Richly deserved.
'This material might seem morbid, but the narrative remains playful, and the translation by Megan McDowell captures the book’s chatty tone and self-aware humour.'
Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez
Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez
'The cemetery was known as the mange-chair, the flesh-eater. The smell must have been obscene.'
Guy Stagg on a literary guide to cemeteries around the world
Guy Stagg on a literary guide to cemeteries around the world
A literary guide to cemeteries around the world
www.the-tls.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:57 AM
'This material might seem morbid, but the narrative remains playful, and the translation by Megan McDowell captures the book’s chatty tone and self-aware humour.'
Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez
Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez
'The vital function of @benpester.bsky.social’s weird office fiction is both to make us look askance at the way we organise & value work, & at the same time to prompt us to look for the contours of other possibilities in the strange & alienating spaces of contemporary labour'
Enjoyed this ⬇️
Enjoyed this ⬇️
New post on Ben Pester's 'The Expansion Project' and the contemporary office novel: lauriemcraeandrew.wordpress.com/2025/11/17/t...
The wrong angle, somehow: Ben Pester’s ‘The Expansion Project’
Tom Crowley – the central character of Ben Pester’s The Expansion Project – is having a bad day at the office. In fact, the badness has already started before he leaves the house, as he despairs at…
lauriemcraeandrew.wordpress.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM
'The vital function of @benpester.bsky.social’s weird office fiction is both to make us look askance at the way we organise & value work, & at the same time to prompt us to look for the contours of other possibilities in the strange & alienating spaces of contemporary labour'
Enjoyed this ⬇️
Enjoyed this ⬇️
So pleased to see Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor ('Strange & clever'), @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project ('That rare thing, unique') & @catherinelacey.bsky.social's The Möbius Book ('Thrilling') included in this 'Greatest Books of 2025' list.
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
The greatest books of 2025
Our critics review hundreds of books a year. Here are their favourites, from fiction and crime to memoir and history
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 1:04 PM
So pleased to see Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor ('Strange & clever'), @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project ('That rare thing, unique') & @catherinelacey.bsky.social's The Möbius Book ('Thrilling') included in this 'Greatest Books of 2025' list.
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
Very excited to go see Ira Sachs's Peter Hujar's Day, with Ben Wishaw as Hujar. Almost as excited as I am to be publishing @andrew-durbin.bsky.social's magisterial dual biography of Hujar & Paul Thek.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (April 2026)
THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (April 2026)
November 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Very excited to go see Ira Sachs's Peter Hujar's Day, with Ben Wishaw as Hujar. Almost as excited as I am to be publishing @andrew-durbin.bsky.social's magisterial dual biography of Hujar & Paul Thek.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (April 2026)
THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (April 2026)
‘A dark & lucid novel, offering not a satire of office life but a horrific riff on our inability to be fully present – at work or at home.’
The Expansion Project by @benpester.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/article/view...
The Expansion Project by @benpester.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Scope Creep
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
‘A dark & lucid novel, offering not a satire of office life but a horrific riff on our inability to be fully present – at work or at home.’
The Expansion Project by @benpester.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/article/view...
The Expansion Project by @benpester.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Very much looking forward to this. It's a solid shortlist with some exceptional novels. Of course, I hope @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project takes the prize tonight. But whichever way it goes, I'm so pleased Ben was shortlisted for what is my favourite book prize.
The waiting is nearly over! Our judges - Mark Haddon, Megan Nolan, @simonokotie.bsky.social, and @asack.bsky.social - have read, deliberated and decided.
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
November 5, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Very much looking forward to this. It's a solid shortlist with some exceptional novels. Of course, I hope @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project takes the prize tonight. But whichever way it goes, I'm so pleased Ben was shortlisted for what is my favourite book prize.
Nice to see Mariana Enriquez's A Sunny Place for Shady People picking up a World Fantasy Award (for Best Collection).
locusmag.com/2025/11/worl...
locusmag.com/2025/11/worl...
World Fantasy Awards Winners
The World Fantasy Awards winners for works published in 2024 were presented during the 2025 World Fantasy Convention, held October 30 – November 2, 2025 in Brighton, UK. The Life Achievement …
locusmag.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Nice to see Mariana Enriquez's A Sunny Place for Shady People picking up a World Fantasy Award (for Best Collection).
locusmag.com/2025/11/worl...
locusmag.com/2025/11/worl...
Reposted by Jason Arthur
'Combines aspects of classic horror such as Stephen King or Clive Barker, with elements more usually found in authors like Roberto Bolano or William Burroughs.'
#MarianaEnriquez' Our Share of Night is No 1 in The Quietus' 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
#MarianaEnriquez' Our Share of Night is No 1 in The Quietus' 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
October 31, 2025 at 9:00 PM
'Combines aspects of classic horror such as Stephen King or Clive Barker, with elements more usually found in authors like Roberto Bolano or William Burroughs.'
#MarianaEnriquez' Our Share of Night is No 1 in The Quietus' 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
#MarianaEnriquez' Our Share of Night is No 1 in The Quietus' 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
Pleased, but not entirely surprised, to see Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez at # 1 in this excellent list.
Authors Catriona Ward, Michael Cisco, Greg F. Gifune & Leila Taylor join tQ writers Sean Kitching and Mat Colgate to bring you what they consider to be the best novels, short stories and graphic novels in the genre
The 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st century so far…
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
The 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st century so far…
buff.ly/C4B49ZM
October 31, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Pleased, but not entirely surprised, to see Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez at # 1 in this excellent list.
'Absorbing blend of mystery, psychological confusion & corporate over-reach...Megan Nolan, one of the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social judges, described The Expansion Project as a “magnificently destabilising rendering of work life...Disturbing, funny & deeply odd”'
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Ben Pester Q&A: “Feeling weird is essential”
The 2025 Goldsmith Prize-shortlisted author on the pleasure of generational differences and the value of messy literature
www.newstatesman.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
'Absorbing blend of mystery, psychological confusion & corporate over-reach...Megan Nolan, one of the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social judges, described The Expansion Project as a “magnificently destabilising rendering of work life...Disturbing, funny & deeply odd”'
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
'A freeform – & very funny – play on everything from art & authenticity to cancel culture. Fans of [Nicola] Barker’s distinctive brand of literary comedy will not be disappointed. Newbies, welcome to the party.'
TonyInterruptor
www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainmen...
TonyInterruptor
www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainmen...
The Page-turners, Heartbreakers, and Big-Idea Books of Autumn 2025
The fall reads that everyone will be talking about
www.marieclaire.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 4:39 PM
'A freeform – & very funny – play on everything from art & authenticity to cancel culture. Fans of [Nicola] Barker’s distinctive brand of literary comedy will not be disappointed. Newbies, welcome to the party.'
TonyInterruptor
www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainmen...
TonyInterruptor
www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainmen...
Reposted by Jason Arthur
My huge face in the New Statesman today
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
@grantabooks.bsky.social @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
@grantabooks.bsky.social @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
Ben Pester Q&A: “Feeling weird is essential”
The 2025 Goldsmith Prize-shortlisted author on the pleasure of generational differences and the value of messy literature
www.newstatesman.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:16 AM
My huge face in the New Statesman today
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
@grantabooks.bsky.social @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
@grantabooks.bsky.social @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here
‘Extraordinary’ Guardian
‘Astonishing’ Sunday Times
‘Phenomenal’ Observer
‘Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail
‘Deserves to be considered among the best Irish books of the 21st century’ Irish Times
‘Phenomenal' Lucy Caldwell
'A properly exciting writer' Max Porter
‘Extraordinary’ Guardian
‘Astonishing’ Sunday Times
‘Phenomenal’ Observer
‘Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail
‘Deserves to be considered among the best Irish books of the 21st century’ Irish Times
‘Phenomenal' Lucy Caldwell
'A properly exciting writer' Max Porter
BIG NEWS 📚🎉
We couldn't be happier to see this year's shortlist for 2025 An Post Irish Book Awards!
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year: Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn (The Stinging Fly Press)
You can vote now
www.irishbookawards.ie/nominee/ever...
We couldn't be happier to see this year's shortlist for 2025 An Post Irish Book Awards!
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year: Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn (The Stinging Fly Press)
You can vote now
www.irishbookawards.ie/nominee/ever...
October 24, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here
‘Extraordinary’ Guardian
‘Astonishing’ Sunday Times
‘Phenomenal’ Observer
‘Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail
‘Deserves to be considered among the best Irish books of the 21st century’ Irish Times
‘Phenomenal' Lucy Caldwell
'A properly exciting writer' Max Porter
‘Extraordinary’ Guardian
‘Astonishing’ Sunday Times
‘Phenomenal’ Observer
‘Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail
‘Deserves to be considered among the best Irish books of the 21st century’ Irish Times
‘Phenomenal' Lucy Caldwell
'A properly exciting writer' Max Porter