Women's Stories in Contemporary Irish Fiction

Join three bestselling Irish contemporary fiction authors, Faith Hogan, Sheila Flanagan and Sophie White, as they explore the themes that define their work: resilience, relationships, personal transformation, and the rich tapestry of modern Irish life. The conversation will also delve into the changing face of women’s fiction, how these authors craft characters that readers around the world connect with so deeply, and how women's fiction continues to go from strength to strength. The authors join fellow author Edel Coffey in conversation.

This event takes place in The Chapel in the North Range of IMMA Venues.

Faith Hogan lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector. She is the author of 8 previous novels including the bestsellers The Guest House By The Sea and The Bookshop Ladies which was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards.

Sheila O'Flanagan is the author of over 30 bestselling books, including The Honeymoon Affair, which spent three months on the Irish bestseller list, What Eden Did Next, Three Weddings and a Proposal and The Missing Wife. She lives in Dublin with her husband.

Sophie White is a novelist, essayist and podcaster from Dublin. She is the author of seven books. Her first four books including Filter This (Hachette, 2019) and The Snag List (Hachette, 2022) have all been bestsellers and award nominees. Her fifth book, the bestselling memoir Corpsing (Tramp Press, 2021), was shortlisted for an Irish Book Award and the Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction. Her sixth book, Where I End (Tramp Press, 2022) was described as “brilliantly visceral” by the Guardian and “exquisite and disturbing, brutish and beautifully crafted” by The Irish Times. It won the Shirley Jackson Award for best novel. Her seventh book and fifth novel, My Hot Friend (Hachette, 2023) won the An Post Irish book Award for Popular Fiction. Her latest book, Such A Good Couple has just landed in shops. Sophie writes a weekly column ‘Nobody Tells You’ for the Sunday Independent LIFE magazine.

Edel Coffey is an Irish novelist and journalist. She has worked as an editor with the Irish Independent, and as a reporter and presenter with RTE Radio. She is a regular contributor to The Irish Times, and Books Editor with The Gloss magazine. Both of her novels have been number one bestsellers in Ireland and her debut novel Breaking Point won the An Post Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction Book Of The Year in 2022. Her third novel, In Glass Houses, will be published in February 2026.

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