Murray's The Bee Sting named Irish Book of Year

Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting (Hamish Hamilton) has been named the winner of the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year 2023.  

The book was among six shortlisted titles competing for the accolade, all of which were category winners at the A Post Irish Book Awards. Murray’s book also won the Eason Novel of the Year. 

Murray was revealed as the overall winner during a one-hour television special on RTÉ One hosted by Oliver Callan. Madeleine Keane, chair of the judging panel, said: "The Bee Sting was the judges’ unanimous choice as the An Post Book of the Year. Paul Murray is an exceptional contemporary Irish novelist as evidenced in his fine body of work, culminating in this dazzling achievement. The Bee Sting is a bravura feat — a wildly funny, tragic giant of a novel with a symphony of compelling voices. Murray evokes Ireland’s complexities and vagaries while taking in vital universal themes of love, greed, desire and disappointment. Along with my fellow judges, I am very proud to see it crowned the most outstanding book of 2023."