IRISH NOVELIST AND BROADCASTER FRANK DELANEY, AUTHOR OF THE “NEW YORK TIMES” BESTSELLER, “IRELAND: A NOVEL”

NYS Writers Institute, February 11, 2009
5:30 p.m. Reading | New York State Museum,
Carole Huxley Auditorium, Albany

CALENDAR LISTING:
Frank Delaney, Irish fiction writer and broadcaster, author of the “New York Times” bestseller, “Ireland: A Novel” (2005), will speak about his new novel, “Shannon” (2009), Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. in the New York State Museum, Carole Huxley Auditorium, in downtown Albany. The event is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and the Friends of the New York State Library, and is free and open to the public.

PROFILE
Frank Delaney, veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster, is the author of the “New York Times”bestseller, “Ireland: A Novel”(2005), a fictionalized retelling of the myths and historical traditions of his native land. “Publishers Weekly” said, “A sprawling, riveting read, a book of stories melding into a novel wrapped up in an Irish history text…. The stories utterly captivate ...in this rich and satisfying book.” The “Washington Post” reviewer said, “History, legend, memory and myth come seamlessly together in Frank Delaney’s wonderfully engaging new novel….”

Set in the 1920s, Delaney’s newest novel is “Shannon”(February 10, 2009), the story of a troubled American priest who returns to the Ireland of his ancestors to heal his wounded spirit, only to be caught up in a bloody civil war. “Kirkus Reviews” called it, “A rousing tale of forbidden love, civil war, horrible death and other things Irish…. a fine adventure in storytelling. A well-crafted, satisfying work of historical fiction, as are all of Delaney’s novels; respectful of the facts while not cowed by them, and full of life.”

“Shannon” is the first in a planned series of novels by Delaney that will track Irish history through the course of the 20th century. A forthcoming novel on the hard-fought Irish General Election of 1932 is due to be published in February of 2010.

Delaney’s earlier books include the novel “Tipperary”(2007), the true life sea saga, “Simple Courage”(2006), the literary travelogue, “A Walk to the Western Isles: After Boswell and Johnson” (1993), and the bestselling travel guide, “James Joyce’s Odyssey: A Guide to the Dublin of Ulysses” (1981).

“Tipperary” is the narrative of a high-born Anglo-Irish doctor, Charles O’Brien, who has the good fortune to meet, treat and fundamentally alter the lives of such pivotal figures as Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, and Charles Stewart Parnell. The “USA Today” reviewer said, “Delaney vividly brings the legends and volcanic history of his native land to life…. And in O’Brien, Delaney has created a hero it would be hard not to love.”

“Simple Courage” is the true story of the S. S. Flying Enterprise, a freighter knocked onto its side by two rogue waves during a violent North Atlantic storm in the winter of 1951. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain said of “Simple Courage,” “Frank Delaney has written a completely absorbing, thrilling and inspirational account of a disaster at sea…. [Delaney] reveals the essence and power of all true courage– a stubborn devotion to the things we love.”

In an interview that aired on St. Patrick’s Day of 2007, NPR’s Scott Simon proclaimed Delaney, “the world’s most eloquent man.”

The event is cosponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library.