Megan Nolan
{{short description|Irish journalist and novelist (born 1990)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1990}}
| birth_place = County Waterford, Ireland
| occupation = Journalist, novelist
| notable_works = Acts of Desperation (2021)
}}
Megan Nolan (born 1990) is an Irish author and journalist known for introspective fiction and polemic essays. She gained critical prominence after releasing her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, concerning complexities of desire and self-doubt through the lens of a young woman navigating a tumultuous relationship. It was well-received and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, receiving a Betty Trask Award in 2022. Her following novel, Ordinary Human Failings, which follows the investigation into the death of a young British girl, the daughter of an immigrant family serving as a scapegoat, was shortlisted for a number of awards. These works explore psychological and structural forces that shape families, communities, and romances.
Biography
Nolan's father – Jim Nolan – was a theatre director and founder of the Red Kettle Theatre Company based in Waterford.{{Cite web |last=Brennan |first=Marjorie |date=24 October 2022 |title=Book interview: Megan Nolan on discovering one of Waterford's best-known authors |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40990469.html |website=IrishExaminer.com}}{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Alex |date=26 February 2021 |title=Megan Nolan: 'When I think back, the way I drank was crazy. Everyone I knew did it' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/26/megan-nolan-when-i-think-back-the-way-i-drank-was-crazy-everyone-i-knew-did-it |website=TheGuardian.com}} She studied film studies and French at Trinity College Dublin, but dropped out before completion of her studies.{{Cite web |last=McGrath |first=Maedhbh |date=8 July 2023 |title=Megan Nolan: 'In England, you're supposed to hate someone who has a tiny bit more than you' |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/megan-nolan-in-england-youre-supposed-to-hate-someone-who-has-a-tiny-bit-more-than-you/a301364983.html |website=Independent.ie}}
She has written essays and literary criticism for the New Statesman.{{Cite web |last=Feigel |first=Lara |date=3 March 2021 |title=Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan review – learning to say no |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/03/acts-of-desperation-by-megan-nolan-review-learning-to-say-no |website=TheGuardian.com}} She subsequently moved from London to New York City.{{fact|date=May 2025}}
Acts of Desperation won a Betty Trask Award for debut novels in 2022.[https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/betty-trask-prize-awards/ "The Betty Trask Prize | Past Winners"], The Society of Authors. Retrieved 19 June 2024. Ordinary Human Failings was shortlisted for the 2023 Gordon Burn Prize for "books that push boundaries, cross genres or otherwise challenge readers' expectations",{{Cite journal |title=Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist |journal=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/25/gordon-burn-prize-announces-electric-shortlist |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2024-01-25}}{{Cite news |last=Lane |first=Harriet |date=2024-02-04 |title=A Dead Child, Too Much Booze and a Family in Crisis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/books/review/ordinary-human-failings-megan-nolan.html |access-date=2024-03-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/novels-by-isabella-hammad-and-ayobami-adebayo-vying-for-the-10k-encore-award|title=Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award|magazine=The Bookseller|first=Melina|last=Spanoudi|date=30 May 2024|access-date=19 June 2024}}
Awards
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !!Work !! Award !! Category !! Result !! Ref | ||
| 2021
| rowspan="3" |Acts of Desperation |Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award || — || {{sho}} | ||
|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2" |2022
| Betty Trask Prize and Awards || Betty Trask Award || {{won}} | ||
| Dylan Thomas Prize | — | {{nom|Longlisted}} |
| rowspan="2" |2023
| rowspan="4" |Ordinary Human Failings |Gordon Burn Prize || — || {{sho}} | ||
| Nero Book Awards | Fiction | {{sho}} |
| rowspan="2" |2024
|—|| {{sho}} | | ||
| Orwell Prize
|Political Fiction |{{sho}} |
Bibliography
- {{Cite book |last=Nolan |first=Megan |author-mask=2 |title=Acts of Desperation |publisher=Random House |year=2021 |isbn=9780316429856 |edition=1st hardcover |page=1–288 |ref=none}}
- {{Cite book |last=Nolan |first=Megan |author-mask=2 |title=Ordinary Human Failings |publisher=Jonathan Cape |year=2023 |isbn=9781787332508 |edition=1st hardcover |ref=none}}
- {{Cite book |last1=Nolan |first1=Megan |url=https://villagebooks.co/products/sheep-print |title=Windswept Baby |last2=Pettifer |first2=Amy |last3=Chingonyi |first3=Kayo |last4=Turner |first4=Luke |last5=Biddle |first5=Lucy |last6=Underwood |first6=Jack |publisher=Bethan Lloyd Worthington |year=2018 |isbn=9781789260342 |editor-last=Lloyd Worthington |editor-first=Bethan |ref=none |author-mask=2 |author-link3=Kayo Chingonyi |author-link4=Luke Turner (artist)}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- Anthony Cummins, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/06/megan-nolan-people-say-you-shouldnt-do-an-issues-novel-gordon-burn-prize-nero-fiction-award "Interview | Megan Nolan: 'People say you shouldn’t do an issues novel{{'"}}], The Guardian, 6 January 2024.
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Irish women writers
Category:Writers from Waterford (city)
Category:21st-century Irish journalists
Category:Irish women novelists
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