‘Stunned’ Irish author Louise Kennedy grateful to be awarded ‘unique’ literary award
2027 is shaping up to be a big year for Louise Kennedy, who has just been awarded a ‘unique and very generous’ literary award.
The Irish author, whose debut novel Trespasses has been translated into more than twenty languages, has been named as the 2027 IPUT Writer-in-Residence at Wilton Park.
The award provides a year-long residency in a refurbished Georgian apartment and a generous stipend, enabling the recipient to live and write in Dublin – talk about a dream prize for a writer!
Louise, who is currently based in Sligo, will move to Dublin for the year to become the third Writer-In-Residence, succeeding Patrick McCabe in 2026 and inaugural recipient, Naoise Dolan in 2025.
The apartment itself sounds perfect to let the ideas flow and to come up with a great story, with inspiration all around.
It includes a writer’s study, with views across Wilton Park towards the Grand Canal and the statue of Patrick Kavanagh, and it is adjacent to Mary Lavin Place, the first public square in Ireland named in honour of an Irish woman writer.
Add in the fact that the apartment is in a neighbourhood long associated with Dublin’s literary life and often known as Baggotonia, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that 2028 might see a new release from Louise for us to dive into.
The second part of the IPUT Writer-in-Residence accolade, which is selected by a committee chaired by Colm Tóibín, is a generous stipend, which makes it one of the most valuable literary awards in Ireland.
Commenting on her award, Louise said: ‘I am stunned to be awarded this unique and incredibly generous residency.
‘Wilton Park is a vibrant, exciting new community in a gorgeous corner of Dublin and I can hardly believe I’ll get to spend a whole year writing there.
‘I’m so very grateful to IPUT and everyone involved in the selection process. Bring on January!’
Colm added: ‘Louise Kennedy is rightly admired for the emotional accuracy with which she creates characters and scenes, for the energy and honesty in her writing, and for the originality of her narrative voice. It is marvellous that she is, as a guest of IPUT, coming to live and work beside the Grand Canal.’
Since releasing her debut novel, Trespasses, in 2022, Louise, who spent almost thirty years working as a chef before launching her writing career, has seen great success.
Trespasses won the Eason Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards in 2022 and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction among other achievements.
It was also adapted into a Channel 4 television series in 2025, starring actors including Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson.
Louise’s second novel, Stations, was published in 2026 to widespread acclaim.
It has been shortlisted in two categories at the 2026 An Post Irish Book Awards, as well as making the nominees for Waterstones’ Book Of The Year. Congratulations, Louise!
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