Major award for south Mayo author

Claremorris native Frances Macken has been awarded the Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Award for her novel You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here, published by Oneworld Publications.

Dame Beryl Bainbridge (1932 - 2010) was a Liverpudlian author who penned eighteen novels, two collections of short stories, and copious reviews, articles, and essays.

She was awarded the Whitbread Award on two occasions, and nominated for the Booker prize on five occasions.

Her books centre on stories of psychological fiction set in working class England, and fictionalised accounts of historical events such as the sinking of the Titanic, the Crimean war, and Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition.

She was a truly inspiring creative.

Of her win, Frances said: “To be associated with someone so extraordinary feels very special.

"Beryl is going to be an inspiration to me from now and long into the future.”

You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here tells the tale of two precocious girls, Katie and Evelyn, who have grandiose dreams of becoming filmmakers and artists, but an all-consuming rivalry overshadows their friendship.

The book is the Waterstones ‘Irish Book of the Month’ across their stores in the UK.

You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here is the Waterstones ‘Irish Book of the Month’ across their stores in the UK.