Irish author Colin Barrett is among the four authors who have claimed a top prize in the Nero Book Awards, taking home the debut fiction for his novel Wild Houses.

Set in Co Mayo, the novel is a dark comedy which tells the story of a small Irish town through absurdist crime caper, while also describing a pitch-black story about the callous criminal underworld. It has been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024.

The Irish-Canadian author has previously published the short story collections Young Skins in 2013 and Homesickness in 2022 – the former featuring Calm With Horses, which has since been adapted into a film starring Cosmo Jarvis, Barry Keoghan and Niamh Algar.

OUR 2024 NERO BOOK AWARDS CATEGORY WINNERS 🤩🤩

Huge congratulations to @AdamLeslie1974, @ColinBarrett82, @LondonBessie and @SophieElmhirst 🎉

Find out more about each winning book by clicking here: https://t.co/tIcVp4SAWm

— Nero Book Awards (@nerobookawards) January 14, 2025

Speaking of Wild Houses’s award nominations to Hot Press in October, Barrett candidly commented: “You hope the book gets reviewed and you hope it will get good reviews. But anything beyond that, it wouldn’t be something I’d think about much.

“With the Booker Prize longlisting, it really was a complete surprise," he continued. "I wasn’t even sure if my publishers had submitted it, and I hadn’t asked them. And if they had and it hadn’t been longlisted, it would’ve been irrelevant.”

Other authors who claimed a top prize in the Nero Book Awards include Adam S Leslie in the fiction category for Lost in the Garden, Sophie Elmhirst’s Maurice and Maralyn, which was named nonfiction winner and Liz Hyder, who was awarded the prize in the children’s fiction category for The Twelve, illustrated by Tom De Freston.

The winner of the overall prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on 5 March.