Jan Carson – författare

**WINNER of the EU Prize for Literature**'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES'Gripping, affecting, surprising. I inhaled it' LISA MCINERNEY 'Captivating, intelligent and courageous' IRISH TIMES'Spectacular. At once grittily real, wildly magical and insanely alluring - a siren-song of a novel.' DONAL RYAN'Jan Carson seems to have invented a new Belfast in this gripping, surprising, exhilarating novel.' RODDY DOYLE'Blew me away with its power, anger and wit.' JOSEPH O'CONNOR Dr Jonathan Murray fears his new-born daughter is not as harmless as she seems. Sammy Agnew is wrestling with his dark past, and fears the violence in his blood lurks in his son, too.The city is in flames and the authorities are losing control. As matters fall into frenzy, and as the lines between fantasy and truth, right and wrong, begin to blur, who will these two fathers choose to protect?Dark, propulsive and thrillingly original, this tale of fierce familial love and sacrifice fizzes with magic and wonder.

When several children from the same village start succumbing to a mysterious illness, the quest to discover the cause has devastating and extraordinary consequences.'Absolutely MAGNIFICENT: dark, witty, charming. I LOVED it.' MARIAN KEYES 'Utterly absorbing' LISA MCINERNEY'Heart-rending, hilarious . . . it's a belter' LOUISE KENNEDY'Blistering...glorious...written from the guts and from the heart.' LUCY CALDWELL'An original and exciting work that's equal parts terrifying, hilarious and memorable.' SUNDAY TIMESIt is late June in Ballylack. Hannah Adger anticipates eight long weeks' reprieve from school, but when her classmate Ross succumbs to a violent and mysterious illness, it marks the beginning of a summer like no other.As others fall ill, questions about what - or who - is responsible pitch the village into conflict and fearful disarray. Hannah is haunted by guilt as she remains healthy while her friends are struck down. Isolated and afraid, she prays for help.Elsewhere in the village, tempers simmer, panic escalates and long-buried secrets threaten to emerge.Bursting with Carson's trademark wit, profound empathy and soaring imagination, The Raptures explores how tragedy can unite a small community - and tear it apart. At its heart is the extraordinary resilience of one young girl. As the world crumbles around her, she must find the courage to be different in a place where conforming feels like the only option available.Darkly funny, highly inventive and deeply moving, The Raptures is an unmissable novel of 2022.

‘Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too — you never know where she's going to take you next, so reading her is always an adventure. Exactly how it should be.’ LISA MCINERNEY, author of THE GLORIOUS HERESIES'Pure magic, funny, sharp, heartbreaking, the short form at its absolute best. Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists. - DONAL RYAN author of HEART BE AT PEACE------In sixteen sparkling stories, Jan Carson introduces us to worlds and characters that feel real enough to touch. All of life is here: the thrill of growing up, the grief when youth is over; first love, mature love, parenthood and loss - all shot through with profound compassion, warm wit, and boundless imagination.In 'A Certain Degree of Ownership', a distracted couple on a beach fail to notice their baby crawl perilously towards the sea. In 'Troubling the Water', a rumour spreads at a public swimming pool and chaos ensues. In 'Fair Play' a dishevelled father loses his two sons in an adventure park.Every so often, an irresistible suggestion of the other world will surprise and delight, reaffirming Carson as a thrillingly original and audacious talent, and making Quickly, While They Still Have Horses the perfect introduction for readers new to her work.

'Profoundly imagined characters, spiced with the off-kilter and deliciously mad . . . a work of great empathy and imagination' THE IRISH TIMESThe season's just begun at Seacliff Caravan Park, but none of the residents are having a good time. Frankie is haunted by his daughter's death. Vidas, homeless and far from Lithuania, seeks sanctuary in an abandoned caravan. Anna struggles to shake off the ghost of her overbearing mother. Kathleen struggles to accept her daughter for who she is. Malcolm, a failed illusionist, makes one final attempt to reinvent himself. Agatha Christie-obsessed Alma faces her toughest case yet as she tries to help them all find what they've lost.With trademark wit and playfulness, in this stunning linked short-story collection Jan Carson explores complex family dynamics, ageing, immigration, gender politics, the decline of the Church and the legacy of the Troubles. The Last Resort firmly places Carson as one of the most inventive and daring writers of her generation.'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES

A piece of land that should not exist; a community established on unstable ground with dreams of utopia. For readers who love literary fiction with a dark imaginative twist, the haunting new novel from the winner of the European Prize for Literature.'One of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting‘Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness___In 1958, a politician proposes a plan so absurd it should have remained a footnote in history: drain the largest lake in Ireland to create new land. In Jan Carson's dazzling vision, the plan goes ahead...It’s summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago, formed over fifty years ago, are facing eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak around the islands will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in decades.Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children, following their father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a chance to reinvent themself, to be free of the prejudices and history of the mainland. But perhaps this utopia wasn’t all that it seemed.Marion and Robert-John have grown accustomed to their haunted existence on the Ark, monitoring the mysterious Far Side, where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. How will they cope when they lose everything they've ever known. And will the Ark ever let them go...For fans of the eerie tenderness of Our Wives Beneath the Sea or the political hauntings of Mariana Enriquez, this is the real world made strangely new._____‘Her best book yet’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson]' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples‘No one writes like Jan Carson... Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace.’ Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too... reading her is always an adventure.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times

A piece of land that should not exist; a community established on unstable ground with dreams of utopia. For readers who love literary fiction with a dark imaginative twist, the haunting new novel from the winner of the European Prize for Literature.'One of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting‘Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness___In 1958, a politician proposes a plan so absurd it should have remained a footnote in history: drain the largest lake in Ireland to create new land. In Jan Carson's dazzling vision, the plan goes ahead...It’s summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago, formed over fifty years ago, are facing eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak around the islands will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in decades.Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children, following their father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a chance to reinvent themself, to be free of the prejudices and history of the mainland. But perhaps this utopia wasn’t all that it seemed.Marion and Robert-John have grown accustomed to their haunted existence on the Ark, monitoring the mysterious Far Side, where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. How will they cope when they lose everything they've ever known. And will the Ark ever let them go...For fans of the eerie tenderness of Our Wives Beneath the Sea or the political hauntings of Mariana Enriquez, this is the real world made strangely new._____‘Her best book yet’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson]' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples‘No one writes like Jan Carson... Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace.’ Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too... reading her is always an adventure.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times

Read the debut short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures, now updated with a new bonus story.'Jan Carson is a born storyteller' Lisa McInerneyA floating six-year-old tethered to the backyard fence; two siblings watching their parents argue inside a greenhouse; a human statue who’s lost the ability to move; a support group for the haunted: the characters in Children’s Children are all falling apart in their own peculiar ways.Told in Jan Carson’s distinctive voice, her debut short story collection contains absurdist, darkly humorous and heartbreaking stories which explore the concept of legacy, and the impact of one generation upon the next.--PRAISE FOR JAN CARSON:'These stories are pure magic, funny, sharp, heartbreaking, the short form at its absolute best. Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' DONAL RYAN, author of Heart, Be at Peace'Story after story glints with the strange, hard magic of the North . . . I adored them.' LUCY CALDWELL, author of These Days'Jan Carson's stories are by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, heartwarming - but always surprising' ERIC NGUYEN, author of Things We Lost to the Water'Jan Carson is one of the most original voices I’ve read in years . . . I am truly in awe of this collection' TANIA JAMES, author of The Tusk That Did the Damage'What an enormous pleasure it is to read Jan Carson. Each short story is masterful, brilliantly inventive and moving. Every page reveals the mark of an extraordinary original and gifted writer' KARL GEARY, author of Montpelier Parade

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by LitHub, The Millions, and Our Culture From a deeply talented (The New York Times Book Review), award-winning writer comes an alternate history of Northern Irelands recent past where the last remaining residents of a haunted archipelago face imminent eviction from their home.In 1958, a politicians ludicrous proposal to create a seventh county for Northern Ireland by draining Lough Neaghthe largest lake in Irelandwas, quite understandably, never implemented. In Few and Far Between, Jan Carson imagines a timeline in which the scheme proceeded. When an archipelago emerges from the receding water, a utopian community establishes itself on the islands, hoping to escape the prejudices and dangers of Troubles-era Northern Ireland. As children in the 1970s, Marion and Robert-John Connolly moved to The Ark with their mercurial father, a prominent anthropologist studying this unique community. When the novel opens in 2017, the siblings are among the final few inhabitants. Sheltered from modernity, they work as the Arks caretakers, monitoring the mysterious Far Side islands where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. A devastating algae outbreak is slowly destroying the landscape they love, but government plans to deal with the crisis by flooding the lough would force them back to the Mainland for the first time in fifty years. When a young anthropologist arrives for field research, the Connollys wonder if this ambitious academic might be the answer to all their problems. Can they keep the Ark from revealing too much of its past? Written with dark humor and a distinctive Northern voice, Few and Far Between is a novel about family and memory, toxic masculinity and modern womanhood, and the legacy of trauma that offers an illuminating look into the history of a complex place.

'Profoundly imagined characters, spiced with the off-kilter and deliciously mad . . . a work of great empathy and imagination' THE IRISH TIMESThe season's just begun at Seacliff Caravan Park, but none of the residents are having a good time. Frankie is haunted by his daughter's death. Vidas, homeless and far from Lithuania, seeks sanctuary in an abandoned caravan. Anna struggles to shake off the ghost of her overbearing mother. Kathleen struggles to accept her daughter for who she is. Malcolm, a failed illusionist, makes one final attempt to reinvent himself. Agatha Christie-obsessed Alma faces her toughest case yet as she tries to help them all find what they've lost.With trademark wit and playfulness, in this stunning linked short-story collection Jan Carson explores complex family dynamics, ageing, immigration, gender politics, the decline of the Church and the legacy of the Troubles. The Last Resort firmly places Carson as one of the most inventive and daring writers of her generation.'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES

**WINNER of the EU Prize for Literature**'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES'Gripping, affecting, surprising. I inhaled it' LISA MCINERNEY 'Captivating, intelligent and courageous' IRISH TIMES'Spectacular. At once grittily real, wildly magical and insanely alluring - a siren-song of a novel.' DONAL RYAN'Jan Carson seems to have invented a new Belfast in this gripping, surprising, exhilarating novel.' RODDY DOYLE'Blew me away with its power, anger and wit.' JOSEPH O'CONNOR Dr Jonathan Murray fears his new-born daughter is not as harmless as she seems. Sammy Agnew is wrestling with his dark past, and fears the violence in his blood lurks in his son, too.The city is in flames and the authorities are losing control. As matters fall into frenzy, and as the lines between fantasy and truth, right and wrong, begin to blur, who will these two fathers choose to protect?Dark, propulsive and thrillingly original, this tale of fierce familial love and sacrifice fizzes with magic and wonder.

When several children from the same village start succumbing to a mysterious illness, the quest to discover the cause has devastating and extraordinary consequences.'Absolutely MAGNIFICENT: dark, witty, charming. I LOVED it.' MARIAN KEYES 'Utterly absorbing' LISA MCINERNEY'Heart-rending, hilarious . . . it's a belter' LOUISE KENNEDY'Blistering...glorious...written from the guts and from the heart.' LUCY CALDWELL'An original and exciting work that's equal parts terrifying, hilarious and memorable.' SUNDAY TIMESIt is late June in Ballylack. Hannah Adger anticipates eight long weeks' reprieve from school, but when her classmate Ross succumbs to a violent and mysterious illness, it marks the beginning of a summer like no other.As others fall ill, questions about what - or who - is responsible pitch the village into conflict and fearful disarray. Hannah is haunted by guilt as she remains healthy while her friends are struck down. Isolated and afraid, she prays for help.Elsewhere in the village, tempers simmer, panic escalates and long-buried secrets threaten to emerge.Bursting with Carson's trademark wit, profound empathy and soaring imagination, The Raptures explores how tragedy can unite a small community - and tear it apart. At its heart is the extraordinary resilience of one young girl. As the world crumbles around her, she must find the courage to be different in a place where conforming feels like the only option available.Darkly funny, highly inventive and deeply moving, The Raptures is an unmissable novel of 2022.

‘Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too — you never know where she's going to take you next, so reading her is always an adventure. Exactly how it should be.’ LISA MCINERNEY, author of THE GLORIOUS HERESIES'Pure magic, funny, sharp, heartbreaking, the short form at its absolute best. Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists. - DONAL RYAN author of HEART BE AT PEACE------In sixteen sparkling stories, Jan Carson introduces us to worlds and characters that feel real enough to touch. All of life is here: the thrill of growing up, the grief when youth is over; first love, mature love, parenthood and loss - all shot through with profound compassion, warm wit, and boundless imagination.In 'A Certain Degree of Ownership', a distracted couple on a beach fail to notice their baby crawl perilously towards the sea. In 'Troubling the Water', a rumour spreads at a public swimming pool and chaos ensues. In 'Fair Play' a dishevelled father loses his two sons in an adventure park.Every so often, an irresistible suggestion of the other world will surprise and delight, reaffirming Carson as a thrillingly original and audacious talent, and making Quickly, While They Still Have Horses the perfect introduction for readers new to her work.

From the award-winning author of The Raptures and The Fire Starters, a magically surreal novel about history, identity and redemption'A stunningly original novel... one of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson] does' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples‘Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness‘Her best book yet’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow___It’s summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago are facing imminent eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in fifty years.Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children in the 1970s, following their mercurial father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a utopia, a chance to be free of the prejudices and history of Troubles era Northern Ireland. But perhaps this utopia wasn’t all that it seemed.Marion and Robert-John have grown accustomed to their haunted existence on the Ark, monitoring the mysterious Far Side, where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. How will they cope with a new life on the Mainland? Is it possible to leave the past behind? And will the Ark ever let them go..._____‘No one writes like Jan Carson. Surreal times call for surreal stories, and Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace.’ Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too — you never know where she's going to take you next, so reading her is always an adventure.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times

Read the debut short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures, now updated with a new bonus story.'Jan Carson is a born storyteller' Lisa McInerneyA floating six-year-old tethered to the backyard fence; two siblings watching their parents argue inside a greenhouse; a human statue who’s lost the ability to move; a support group for the haunted: the characters in Children’s Children are all falling apart in their own peculiar ways.Told in Jan Carson’s distinctive voice, her debut short story collection contains absurdist, darkly humorous and heartbreaking stories which explore the concept of legacy, and the impact of one generation upon the next.--PRAISE FOR JAN CARSON:'These stories are pure magic, funny, sharp, heartbreaking, the short form at its absolute best. Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' DONAL RYAN, author of Heart, Be at Peace'Story after story glints with the strange, hard magic of the North . . . I adored them.' LUCY CALDWELL, author of These Days'Jan Carson's stories are by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, heartwarming - but always surprising' ERIC NGUYEN, author of Things We Lost to the Water'Jan Carson is one of the most original voices I’ve read in years . . . I am truly in awe of this collection' TANIA JAMES, author of The Tusk That Did the Damage'What an enormous pleasure it is to read Jan Carson. Each short story is masterful, brilliantly inventive and moving. Every page reveals the mark of an extraordinary original and gifted writer' KARL GEARY, author of Montpelier Parade

No Vacancy is a short collection of micro-fiction inspired by Jan Carson's various (and numerous) hotel visits of recent years. Whether it's winning ownership of the Isle of Man in a game of pool or decoding the messages of a one-eyed man in Norwich, each story features Carson's ethereal wit and surreal set-ups, written in her distinct style. The book features illustrations by Rory Jeffers.

New fiction by: Suad AldarraCaleb Azumah NelsonJan CarsonElaine FeeneyOona FrawleySinéad GleesonAnna Jean HughesCaleb KlacesNaomi KrügerHenrietta McKerveyPaul McVeighMary MorrissyNuala O'ConnorChris Wright To live with dementia is to develop extraordinary and various new ways of being – linguistically, cognitively and practically. The storyteller operates similarly, using words and ideas creatively to reveal a slightly different perspective of the world.In this anthology of fourteen new short stories, commissioned by Jan Carson and Jane Lugea, some of the best contemporary writers from Ireland and the UK powerfully and poignantly explore the depths and breadth of the real dementia experience, traversing age, ethnicity, class and gender, sex and consent. Each writer’s story is drawn from their own personal experience of dementia and told with outrageous and dark humour, empathy and startling insight. Here are heroes and villains, tricksters and saints, mothers, fathers, lovers, friends, characters whose past has overshadowed their present and characters who are making a huge impact on the world they currently find themselves in. They might have dementia, but dementia is only a small part of who they are. They will challenge, frustrate, inspire and humble you.Above all, these brilliant pieces of short fiction disrupt the perceived notions of what dementia is and, in their diversity, honesty and authenticity begin to normalise an illness that affects so many and break down the stigma endured by those living with it every day. Find out more about the AHRC-funded research project based at Queen's University Belfast, from which this anthology has emerged: www.blogs.qub.ac.uk/dementiafiction/

Each day of 2015 Jan Carson wrote a short story on the back of a postcard and mailed it to a friend. Each of these tiny stories was inspired by an event, an overheard conversation, a piece of art or just a fleeting glance of something worth thinking about further. In this collection of highlights, Carson presents a panoramic view of contemporary Belfast – its streets, coffee shops, museums and airports – through a series of small but perfectly formed snapshots of her home.

Each day of 2015 Jan Carson wrote a short story on the back of a postcard and mailed it to a friend. Each of these tiny stories was inspired by an event, an overheard conversation, a piece of art or just a fleeting glance of something worth thinking about further. In this collection of highlights, Carson presents a panoramic view of contemporary Belfast – its streets, coffee shops, museums and airports – through a series of small but perfectly formed snapshots of her home.

In 2015, suffering from a dreadful case of writer’s block, novelist and short story writer Jan Carson set herself the challenge of spending an entire year writing short pieces of microfiction on postcards and mailing these to friends around the world. When 2016 ended, she found it impossible to stop writing postcard stories. The stories in this collection represent the best of some five hundred postcard stories Jan has written since.

In 2015, suffering from a dreadful case of writer''s block, novelist and short story writer Jan Carson set herself the challenge of spending an entire year writing short pieces of microfiction on postcards and mailing these to friends around the world. When 2016 ended, she found it impossible to stop writing postcard stories. The stories in this collection represent the best of some five hundred postcard stories Jan has written since.

Belfast, im Sommer 2014. Überall in der Stadt entfachen Protestanten riesige Freudenfeuer zu Ehren des englischen Königs William von Oranien, der einst das katholische Irland besiegte. Die Lage eskaliert, als ein Video viral geht, in dem ein maskierter »Firestarter« dazu aufruft, die Stadt in Schutt und Asche zu legen. Sammy Agnew ahnt, dass sein Sohn Mark dahintersteckt, denn er kennt die Faszination zerstörerischer Gewalt aus der eigenen Jugend. Längst hat er dem Hass abgeschworen, aber er spürt, dass er nie völlig davon loskommen wird. Soll er seinen Sohn an die Polizei ausliefern, um zu vermeiden, dass die Situation vollends aus dem Ruder läuft? Verzweifelt bittet er den Arzt Jonathan Murray um Rat. Der jedoch befindet sich selbst in einer fatalen Lage. Er fürchtet, seine Tochter könnte allein mit ihrer Stimme Leben zerstören … Mit »Firestarter« hat Jan Carson einen außergewöhnlichen Roman über Nordirland geschrieben, humorvoll und bewegend, schonungslos und doch voller Magie. Aber sie erzählt auch eine universale Geschichte über Selbstbehauptung und Verantwortung – in einer Welt, die einmal mehr zu entgleisen droht.