An Evening with Nicole Flattery and Daisy Johnson at Blackwell’s

Compared to Miranda July by The Irish Times, Nicole Flattery hit headlines recently when Bloomsbury signed her up in a six-figure deal – they publish her first short story collection, Show Them A Good Time, on 21 March (already out with Stinging Fly in her native Ireland) and debut novel, Nothing Special (about two 18-year-old girls in New York who transcribe tapes at Andy Warhol’s Factory), in 2021. Bloomsbury publishing director Alexis Kirschbaum describes Nicole Flattery as “a thrilling talent” with “a long and impressive literary career” ahead of her – so catch her at the third event at the all-new Blackwell’s before she becomes one of the untouchables.

She’ll be reading from and chatting about Show Them A Good Time, described by ELLE magazine as “ten smart stories about dating, relationships and the absurdities of modern life”. Together, they explore “types” – men and women, and their assigned roles and meanings in modern society. Urgent and disorientating, several have appeared in literary journals (The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, The White Review, Winter Papers), and her work has also featured on BBC Radio 4 and in the forthcoming 2019 Faber anthology of new Irish writing. Her story Track won The White Review Short Story Prize in 2017 and she has been acclaimed by writing peers including Sally Rooney and Creative Tourist favourite Jon McGregor.

Nicole Flattery’s story Track won The White Review Short Story Prize in 2017 and she has been acclaimed by writing peers including Sally Rooney and Creative Tourist favourite Jon McGregor

Daisy Johnson is the author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection Fen and her short stories have won three awards since 2014: the Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize, the AM Heath Prize and the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her debut novel Everything Under was shortlisted for the most recent Man Booker Prize (she is the youngest nominee in the prize’s history) and was voted Blackwell’s Book of the Year 2018. American author Lauren Groff calls Daisy “a new goddamn swaggering monster of fiction” and Celeste Ng calls her stories “a howl – hauntingly written and full of unabashedly, refreshingly angry women”.

Daisy will also be talking about and reading some of her work, and the Centre for New Writing’s Kaye Mitchell will be hosting a Q&A with both authors – so come armed with questions. The ticket price includes a complimentary glass of wine or soft drink and you will be able to pick up special discounted copies (and get them signed) of Show Them A Good Time and Everything Under on the night.