Lucy Sweeney Byrne's first short story collection Paris Syndrome (2019, Banshee Press), was met with critical acclaim and shortlisted for a number of awards. Her second collection, Let's Dance (2024, Banshee Press), is due for publication in October. Lucy’s short fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in The Dublin Review, The Stinging Fly, Southword, AGNI, Litro, Grist, 3:AM magazine, and numerous other literary outlets. She also writes book reviews for The Irish Times.
Current publication:
In her latest collection of dark, hilarious and provocative short stories, Lucy Sweeney Byrne explores women on the brink - of love, of joy, of disaster - with her signature wit, insight and daring. A newlywed grapples with the chasm that has opened up between her and her husband on the subject of children. A young mother tries to eke out a life for her family on an island named for a dead man, unaware of the psychic toll that is taken on her by the land and sea. And a woman at a drug-fuelled house party ruminates on the dark past she shares with one of the guests. In Let's Dance, Lucy Sweeney Byrne, in her signature hypnotic prose, explores subjects such as physicality, identity and disillusionment. Utilising forms ranging from flash fiction to novella, Let's Dance is a glittering display of fiction's ability to probe, startle and entertain.
Praise:
There are tremors of a young Bret Easton Ellis in the drug-fuelled central story of this stylish collection [...] the writing is sharp and the darkness is frequently lit up by mordant, piercing humour' - The Irish Times
Shortlisted for the Kate O'Brien Award 2020
Shortlisted for the John McGahern Annual Book Prize 2019
Shortlisted for the Dalkey Literary Awards Emerging Writer category 2020
Longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2020
Shortlisted for the Butler Literary Award 2020
'Full of vitality and precision, and so rawly funny - this is a fabulous debut.' - Kevin Barry
'A feisty portrayal of the bleakness of modern life, full of fruitless longing, misplaced knowing and black irony.' - Sara Baume
'Gripping and beautiful, Paris Syndrome is spiced with the tang of many places, but it's through the territory of the human soul that it ventures most bravely. It doesn't just give you the world, it presents a universe.' - Gavin Corbett
'With its tone of appalled hilarity, its roving portraiture of twentysomething lostness, and its narrator's youthfully cruel perceptions - often turned squarely on herself - Paris Syndrome is an addictive, keeps-you-up-till-the-birds-are-singing read.' - Rob Doyle
'Fearless and wryly funny, the stories in Paris Syndrome are a finely calibrated mix of rage and wonder.'- Danielle McLaughlin
'Harrowing and hilarious in equal measures - and often, somehow, at the same time - Paris Syndrome is an unforgettable portrait of millennial womanhood.' -Paul Murray
