Wild Quiet

Roisín O’Donnell was born in Sheffield with family roots in Derry. Her debut novel Nesting was awarded Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2025. Her stories have been anthologised in The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, Fugue, Young Irelanders, and Unthology. She has been shortlisted for several international prizes, such as the Cúirt New Writing Prize, the Pushcart Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Brighton Prize. She lives in Co. Meath in Ireland.

“A beautiful collection from an interesting new author who handles space and time - those two bugbears of the short story writer - with uncanny ease, fluidity and absolute grace.”— SUNDAY INDEPENDENT“O’Donnell’s collection undeniably adds to the relatively small number of texts attempting to push beyond the historical whiteness of Irish literature. The collection also challenges us to consider what exactly we mean by ‘Irish’; by ‘foreign’; by ‘other.”— IRISH INDEPENDENT“These refreshingly different stories concentrate mainly on outsiders in society, and those feeling dislocation. Using elements of magical realism, they radiate charm.”— Irish Examiner“From the current powerhouse of Irish fiction New Island Books comes the arrestingly brilliant Wild Quiet written by the supremely talented Roisin O’Donnell who blows up the competition with her debut anthology; where every story is wonderfully crafted and delicately executed making ‘Wild Quiet’ a ride you’ll never want to forget.”— Storgy Magazine“When you read Wild Quiet… you will place a few hours of your life in the splendid company of a master storyteller.”— Writing.ie“This diverse, highly enjoyable collection comes from one of Ireland’s strongest new voices.”— Books Ireland“A heartfelt and surprising collection.”— Bookmunch