Mike McCormack (writer)
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Mike McCormack (born 1965) is an Irish novelist and short-story writer. He has published two collections of short stories, ''Getting It In the Head'' and ''Forensic Songs'', and four novels: ''Crowe's Requiem,'' '' Notes from a Coma'', ''
Solar Bones ''Solar Bones'' is a 2016 novel by Irish fiction writer Mike McCormack. The book is notable for featuring only a single sentence, with all events written as a recollection from the present. The novel's plot revolves around Marcus Conway, a m ...
'', and ''This Plague of Souls.'' He has won the
Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is administered by the Oscar Wilde ...
, the
Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...
, and the
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
. He was described as "a disgracefully neglected writer" early in his career, but the success of some of his later works and his tenure as a writing educator have brought him wide recognition today.


Life and education

McCormack was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. He grew up on a farm in
Louisburgh, County Mayo Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road access Louisburgh is located on the R335 regional roa ...
, and studied English and philosophy at the
University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
. He lives in Galway with his wife Maeve, where he works as a lecturer and director of the
University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
's MA in Creative Writing.


Career

McCormack's first short story collection, ''Getting It in the Head'', was published in 1996. It was awarded the
Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is administered by the Oscar Wilde ...
, awarded to Irish writers under the age of 40. In 1998, the collection was voted a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Notable Book of the Year. A story from the collection, "The Terms", was adapted into a short film directed by Johnny O'Reilly released in 2000. It won six awards, including Best Short Film at the
Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films (a.k.a. Palm Springs International ShortFest) held annually in Palm Springs, California is the largest film festival for short films in the United States. The Palm Springs International Festi ...
, the
Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The festival takes place each fall in the towns of Woodstock, Rosendale and Saug ...
, and the Chlotrudis Awards. The same story was adapted as a short film a second time in 2010, with director Jason LaMotte. It won awards at the
Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
and the
Action On Film International Film Festival The Action On Film International Film Festival, also known as the Action On Film Festival, was founded in 2004. It was held in California until 2017 when it moved to the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As a hub for many returning filmmake ...
. McCormack's first novel, ''Crowe's Requiem'', was published in 1998. In it, John Crowe, who suffers from the ageing disease
progeria Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or Hutchinson–Gilford progeroid syndrome (HGPS). A single gene mutation is responsible for causing progeria. The affected gene, known as lamin A ( ...
, escapes from his isolated rural childhood to the city, where he enters into a tumultuous relationship with a fellow student, which leads to him taking part in a risky medical trial. McCormack's second novel, '' Notes from a Coma'' (2006), is set in a floating prison, where the prisoners are kept in maintained comas. It was shortlisted for the Irish Book of the Year Award. In 2010,
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
in ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' described it as "the greatest Irish novel of the decade just ended". It took McCormack seven years to write the book. It is currently on the Senior Cycle reading list for Leaving Certificate English. In May 2016, Dublin publisher
Tramp Press Tramp Press is a publishing company founded in Dublin in 2014 by Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff. It is an independent publisher that specialises in Irish fiction. The company is named after John Millington Synge's tramp, a reference to the bold ...
published McCormack's third novel ''
Solar Bones ''Solar Bones'' is a 2016 novel by Irish fiction writer Mike McCormack. The book is notable for featuring only a single sentence, with all events written as a recollection from the present. The novel's plot revolves around Marcus Conway, a m ...
''. Set in rural Ireland, it follows the thoughts of a civil engineer, Marcus, and is unusual in being written as a single long sentence. It was named Novel of the Year and An Post Irish Book of the Year by the
Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...
. It went on to win the 2018
Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...
. In June 2018, the novel won the
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
of , the richest literary prize in the world for a single novel published in English. McCormack's fourth novel, ''This Plague of Souls'', was published in 2023. It describes a man returning to rural Ireland after a period in prison, to find his family house mysteriously empty. MacCormack was elected to
Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...
in 2018. In 2019, he was inducted into the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame.


Bibliography


Short fiction collections

* 1996 – ''Getting It in the Head'' * 2012 – ''Forensic Songs''


Novels

* 1998 – ''Crowe's Requiem'' * 2005 – '' Notes from a Coma'' * 2016 – ''
Solar Bones ''Solar Bones'' is a 2016 novel by Irish fiction writer Mike McCormack. The book is notable for featuring only a single sentence, with all events written as a recollection from the present. The novel's plot revolves around Marcus Conway, a m ...
'' * 2023 – ''This Plague of Souls''


See also

*
List of members of Aosdána This is a list of current and former members of Aosdána, an association of artists whose work is deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland. Details of membership Membership of Aosdána is based on a system ...


References


External links

* http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2005/0514/1115939702309.html
Mike McCormack reading his short story "Drink Drink Driving Heart Attacks" introduced by John Kenny
(video)
The Terms (2000)
at the
Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
* http://www.tramppress.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Mike 1965 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Aosdána members Irish male short story writers Writers from County Mayo Writers from Galway (city) Writers from London 21st-century Irish novelists Irish male novelists 21st-century Irish short story writers 21st-century Irish male writers Goldsmiths Prize winners