Dublin City Council has announced that Nora: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce by Nuala O’Connor is the One Dublin One Book choice for 2022, following on from Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession in 2021.
“I’m honoured and humbled that Dublin City Council has chosen Nora as its One Dublin One Book read for 2022, the Ulysses centenary year,” Nuala O’Connor, author of Nora, said.
“I imagine Nora Barnacle would be as pleased as I am to see her contribution to the life and work of James Joyce celebrated in this way. I’m a proud Dub and this wonderful opportunity has me really looking forward to engaging with library users and readers, all over my home city, in 2022.”
One Dublin One Book aims to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a designated book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year.
This annual project is a Dublin City Council initiative, led by Dublin City Libraries, and encourages reading for pleasure. The initiative is also funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Speaking about this year’s chosen book, Dublin City Librarian, Mairead Owens, says “Every year we choose a book that we hope will capture the imaginations of the people of Dublin, of all ages and walks of life, and I know that Nora will prove a rewarding reading experience for all who engage with One Dublin One Book 2022.
“For the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, it’s important for us to honour the contemporary writers Joyce has inspired, as well as the woman who inspired him. We look forward to working with Nuala O’Connor to create a programme of events next April that we hope will encourage many discussions and conversations.”
A new One Dublin One Book edition of Nora (New Island Books) will be available to borrow from all public libraries nationwide and to buy from all good book shops.
A full programme of events will be announced in April 2022 to accompany the reading initiative.