“You’re never alone with a book, are you? ” Jeanette Winterson
Sue Divin’s Runaway Road is a riveting and moving story of family, second chances and belonging, and Gráinne O’Brien’s lyrical verse novel Solo explores a teenager’s journey from heartbreak to healing and harmony.
Set in the cross-border Derry and Donegal area along the spectacular Wild Atlantic Way, in Runaway Road , a crime goes wrong forcing two young siblings go on the run. Raised in care, Ezra and Evie are used to feeling invisible. Now they have to become invisible for real. Funny and compelling, Runaway Road explores difference, longing and belonging with compassion and wit.
On the outside of her twin brothers’ intense relationship, classical musician Daisy in Solo leans towards her parents, particularly her father, for support. At school, she has one close friend and a life filled with musical performance. But her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, leaving Daisy disconnected from her one true love, music. How can she rediscover inner strength and find harmony again?
Sue’s short stories, flash fiction and poetry have been published in The Caterpillar, Her Other Language anthology, The Honest Ulsterman, The Bangor Literary Journal, Splonk, North West Words and The Bramley. Her debut novel, Guard Your Heart, was shortlisted for the 2019 Caledonia Novel Award. With a background in community relations, her writing often touches on diversity and reconciliation in contemporary Northern Ireland.
Gráinne is a writer and bookseller based in Limerick. She writes for children and adults and loves weaving classic and traditional ideas through writing about the modern world. She is the founder of Rontu Literary Service and a founder of Silver Apples Magazine. Solo won An Post Irish Book Awards’ International Education Services Teen & YA Book of the Year 2025.