We look forward to hosting the launch of Sharon Guard’s new novel, The Silence of October. A novel set in contemporary Dublin, it tells three interwoven tales of loss, change, and the complexities of love. Opening remarks on the night will be made by Juliana Adelman, author of The Grateful Water. Join us in celebrating this new release from the author of Assembling Ailish .
All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.
Attendance is free but booking is essential.
PRAISE FOR THE SILENCE OF OCTOBER
“Sharon proves with this new novel that she is a writer of immense power and elegance, gifted with a deep understanding of human nature, and a sublime ability to give language to loss and love and all of our complexities, sentence after extraordinary sentence.” - Donal Ryan
“An immensely involving and beautifully written novel from a terrific storyteller” - Joseph O’Connor
“ The Silence of October is a deeply felt examination of love and grief; there are so many forms of both in this moving and often sharply funny book. Lifelong expectations are not only thwarted but profoundly derailed, the sources of self-worth shattered, and every relationship, human, animal, material and artistic, is questioned. This is a searingly honest account of what it means to love” - Elaine Garvey.
“Powerful, lyrical and captivatingly vivid storytelling from a gifted writer” - Ferdia Mac Anna
“Beautifully written, Sharon Guard’s new novel is an insightful commentary on how we ‘perform’ in our daily lives in an effort to avoid truths we’re afraid of. This is a magnificent book which reminds us that the shadows of the past are never too far away and often it is those buried secrets which continue to shape us. Set in contemporary Dublin, it brings us into the world of family trauma, the pettiness of academic politics and the persistence of snobbery based on social class. A must read.” - Eoin Devereaux
“Sharon Guard has an extraordinary gift for illuminating the quiet moments that define our lives. This deeply moving novel explores grief, loneliness, forgiveness, and second chances with honesty, sensitivity, and grace. It stayed with me long after I turned the final page.” - Orla Mackey
ABOUT
SHARON GUARD lives in Dublin. She graduated with a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick in January 2024. Her creative work has appeared in New Irish Writing , SWERVE magazine, The Ogham Stone and the Washing Windows anthologies. She won the Molly Keane Creative Writing Award in 2020 for a story called ‘Fishing’, and her story ‘Artifice’ was shortlisted for the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Competition in 2024. She has been long and short listed for other competitions and publications and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2023. She was one of twelve writers selected for the Irish Writers Centre Evolution Programme in 2025/2026. Her debut novel, ‘Assembling Ailish’, was published in February 2025 and shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award 2026. Her novel ‘The Silence Of October’ is published Poolbeg Press in September 2026. [Author Photo: Conor Horgan]
JULIANA ADELMAN is a writer and assistant professor of history at Dublin City University. She is the author of The Grateful Water , a historical crime novel set in nineteenth-century Dublin. She has also published two nonfiction history books, numerous articles and produced several podcasts.