"Longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing
Winner of the Children's Books Ireland Awards
Con O’Neill is stuck in a world of brutal gang violence, sectarian vendettas and personal tragedy. The lack of opportunities for him and the rest of his gang is all too apparent. No money. No prospects. A social design that entraps inhabitants of Treacle Towns up and down the country.
Connor is desperate to get away, to find another life where he can experience happiness and fulfilment. When he stumbles upon the new world of slam poetry, Con senses a glimmer of hope - a hope that might just lead to his escape from Treacle Town.
But it won’t be easy."
"Bloomsbury presents Stealing Happy, written and read by Brian Conaghan
Loan shark Chick Lennon is notorious around Sonny Gilmour's way, and not for anything good.
So when Sonny discovers his mum has borrowed money from Chick to pay the rent, he finds himself in need of the quickest of get-rich-quick schemes.
With the help of best mate Jonah and quiet genius Carolina Swift, he hatches a plot – to pay back what Mum owes using Chick's own ill-gotten gains. It's not a fool-proof plan, and it's not helped by Sonny's Tourette's making him blurt out 'ROB CHICK LENNON!' at the top of his lungs every time things get dicey.
But with his dad suffering from long Covid and his mum already struggling to cope, Sonny knows it's down to him to keep his family out of Chick's clutches ... P 2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC C 2025 Brian Conaghan"
"Bloomsbury presents Swimming on the Moon by Brian Conaghan, read by Corrina Buchan.
Twelve-year-old Anna’s parents are going through a rough patch, but Anna can’t let them split up. Not when it might mean living apart from Anto, her twin brother. Anto might be a boy, and he might not speak (except using Lego bricks), and he might carry a coat hanger about like it's his closest friend, but that doesn’t stop the two of them being like peas in a pod. It’s a twin thing, and nobody’s going to separate them.
So Anna hatches a plan: get the whole family on a plane to Italy. Her parents have always been happiest on holiday. How can they fail to fall back in love at a swanky hotel with an actual pool to swim in and everything!
But when Anna discovers more about why her family has grown apart, suddenly a happy holiday in Italy seems about as likely as swimming on the moon … C 2023 Brian Conaghan P 2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Bloomsbury presents The M Word by Brian Conaghan, read by Caroline Guthrie.
Moya. The M Word. Whisper it. Conceal it. But, please, never mention it …
Maggie Yates tells her best mate Moya everything.
She tells her about Mum losing her job – how Mum’s taken to crying in secret. She even tells her about her foolproof plan to cheer Mum up: find her a fella with cash to splash.
Moya’s with her every step of the way. I’ll help, she smiles. Though you're surfing a rainbow if you think someone like that exists round here.
But at the back of her mind Maggie knows that Mum's crying is more than sadness. That there are no easy fixes. And that she shouldn’t be speaking to Moya any more. Because Moya died months ago.
An unforgettable novel about grief and healing from Costa Children’s and Irish Book Award-winner Brian Conaghan P 2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC C 2019 Brian Conaghan"
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