Manilla Press clinches Women's Prize Discoveries shortlistee Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin's début 

Bonnier Books UK imprint has pre-empted for Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin’s “captivating” debut exploring "family, grief, queer identity, and the legacy of the Catholic Church in Ireland". 

Publisher Sophie Orme acquired world all-language rights to Ordinary Saints from Cara Lee Simpson at PFD. Publication is slated for spring 2025. 

Trinity College, Dublin-educated Ní Mhaoileoin has worked as a journlist, content creator and communications consultant prior to her writing career. Ordinary Saints won the PFD Queer Fiction prize and was shortlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize Discoveries award in 2022.

The book focuses on Jay, who was brought up in a devout household in Ireland and is now living in London with her girlfriend. She is determined not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, "she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself…” 

Orme said: “I love this fresh and captivating debut which shines a light on some of the lesser-known aspects of Catholicism while telling a familiar tale of growing apart from the family that raised you. A brilliant exploration of grief, love and loyalty, moving effortlessly between two timelines, Ordinary Saints gripped and moved me. It marks the arrival of a distinctive and exciting new voice.”