Photo by Lisa Brownlee about the author
Sebastian Barry
Playwright, Poet, and Award-winning Author of The Secret Scripture and On Canaan's Side
Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955. His plays include The Steward of Christendom and The Pride of Parnell Street and his novels are The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty, Annie Dunne, A Long Long Way and The Secret Scripture. A Long Long Way was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and the Dublin International Impac Prize, and was the Dublin: One City One Book for 2007. The Secret Scripture won the 2008 Costa Prize for Best Novel and Overall Book of the Year, the Irish Book Awards Best Novel, the Independent Booksellers Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and it was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Barry lives in Wicklow, Ireland with his wife and three children.
Press Links
On Canaan’s Side Review
MacLeans
"On the Wrong Side of the New Ireland"
The New York Times Book Review
Sebastian Barry Discusses On Canaan's Side
Penguin Group (USA)
Must Reads: On Canaan's Side
The Daily Beast
Interview with Sebastian Barry
CBS News
Review of On Canaan's Side
New York Journal of Books
Review of On Canaan's Side
Star Tribune
Review of On Canaan's Side
The Washington Post
An Interview with Sebastian Barry
The Man Booker Prize
"Emerald blues"
The Economist
Review of Booker Prize longlisted On Canaan's Side
The Guardian
Review of Booker Prize longlisted On Canaan's Side
The Telegraph
Review of On Canaan's Side
Financial Times
Review of On Canaan's Side
Publishers Weekly
Review of On Canaan's Side
The Independent
Review of On Canaan's Side
The Telegraph
Review of On Canaan's Side
The Guardian
"Secrets and Lives"
Salon
"Ordinary Madness"
The New York Times Book Review
"Not all knives and axes"
The Guardian
"Old Battles Are Burnished by Time"
The New York Times
"'I do remember terrible dark things...'"
The Telegraph
"The Unputdownables"
O, The Oprah Magazine
"Fools And Madmen"
New Statesman
"Twice-told tales"
The Boston Globe
"Ireland's past is another country"
The Observer
Review of The Secret Scripture
Barnes & Noble Review
Review of The Secret Scripture
The Guardian
"Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture: it's not flawed – it's a gem"
The Telegraph
Sebastian Barry Reads from On Canaan's SideSebastian Barry Reads from On Canaan's Side
CloseFeatured Book
On Canaan's Side
“Sebastian Barry's fifth novel is a lyrical evocation of trauma and exile, bearing a seemingly endless series of potent images.”
—Alex Clark, Guardian
“Imbued with sorrow, joy, tenderness and also moments of great humour, On Canaan's Side is a luminously beautiful story that well deserves its place on the Booker longlist, and beyond.”
—Leyla Sanai, Independent on Sunday
Speaking Topics
- On Canaan's Side
- The Secret Scripture
- A Long Long Way
- Annie Dunne
- The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty
Please contact us for booking requirements and availability.