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New Island signs debut Irish author Seán Farrell in two-book deal
New Island has signed literary editor and debut Irish author Seán Farrell in a two-book deal. Aoife K Walsh, commissioning editor, and Djinn Von Noorden, publisher, have acquired Ireland, UK and Commonwealth English-language rights (excluding Canada) from literary agent Marianne Gunn O’Connor at the Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary, Film & TV Agency for Farrell’s debut novel Frogs for Watchdogs (spring 2025) and world rights (excluding North America) for his second book, The Best Boy in the World (2027). Audio rights for Frogs for Watchdogs have been sold to Bolinda.
Frogs for Watchdogs is a “quintessentially Irish debut”, told in the voice of a wild boy with “a ferocious imagination who will stop at nothing to protect his family from the darkness on the edges of their unstable rural life”.
Farrell is a well-known literary editor and has worked with some of the biggest Irish authors in recent years, including Nuala O’Connor, Kevin Curran, Estelle Birdy and Adrian Duncan, among others.
Farrell said: “I’m very happy to be working with New Island – their attention to detail is extraordinary. They’ve given me rigorous editorial support and it’s a bonus to feel part of the production process as well. This level of engagement seems to be increasingly rare in the publishing industry these days; for me, it underlines the importance of independent publishing, not just for the reader, but for the writer as well.”
Walsh said: “It’s rare that a literary talent like Seán Farrell’s comes to an Irish publisher so primed and ready to be published. There is something undeniable about Seán’s writing and we fell for it in the first sentences. Frogs for Watchdogs, as a love letter to the bewildering joy and wary safety of blended families, beautifully explores the profound bonds of love they can create. And The Best Boy in the World deftly tackles the devastating effects of pursuing an idea of manhood. We will absolutely relish bringing these two stories to readers over the coming years.”
