McSweeney to voice O'Donoghue's YA debut

"Derry Girls" star and "The Great Pottery Throw Down" presenter Siobhán McSweeney is to narrate the audiobook edition of Caroline O’Donoghue’s dark and supernatural contemporary YA debut All Our Hidden Gifts for Walker Books.

All Our Hidden Gifts was released in audio format earlier this month, published by W F Howes in partnership with Walker Books. The original deal for two titles from O’Donoghue including audio rights was brokered by Walker Books publisher Denise Johnstone-Burt and Bryony Woods at The Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary Agency. 

Bought in a high-speed pre-empt before The Bologna Book Fair in 2019, All Our Hidden Gifts saw rights sold in 10 languages within six weeks of acquisition. The sequel, The Gifts That Bind Us, publishes in February 2022, with the audio edition to follow soon after. The final instalment in the trilogy is slated for spring 2023. Readers can expect a "gripping conclusion" to the supernatural drama, which follows a group of Irish teenagers with remarkable gifts and a spirit summoned from the tarot deck.

“I first met Siobhán while interviewing her for the Irish Independent and was so instantly captivated by her that I knew I had to find a way to work with her again," O’Donoghue  said. "Aside from her obvious acting chops, we’re both from Cork, and we both attended the same school–which I drew on a lot for both Kilbeg and St Bernadette’s, the school Maeve attends. Siobhán was my first choice and I’m thrilled she said yes.”

Johnstone-Burt added, “We know just how important getting the audio right on our titles is which is why we are absolutely delighted that W F Howes has secured such a significant actor as Siobhán McSweeney for this very special book. We are thrilled to be building on the runaway success of the print edition of All Our Hidden Gifts by reaching an even wider audience with this audio publication.”