Just Announced: Novelist Frank Delaney to Preview Work-in-Progress at 2008 Festival

Internationally bestselling novelist Frank Delaney has just joined the line-up for this year’s Fall for the Book. Delaney will not only discuss his first two highly praised works of historical fiction — Ireland and Tipperary — but will also offer festival attendees a sneak peek at the eagerly awaited third volume, Shannon, set for publication in March 2009.

Delaney’s first book in the series was lauded by The Washington Post as an “intimate epic that is at once a sprawling account of 2,000 years of tumultuous Irish history and a meditation on the enduring importance of stories.” In the second book, Delaney sought to continue that mix by offering, in his own words, “a passionate romance within an epic struggle for nationhood.” Shannon, in turn, promises to be a treat for Delaney’s fans and to bring new readers into the fold.

Although his stunning success as a novelist has been more recent, Delaney’s career stretches back over four decades, including his work covering bombings, shootings, kidnappings and more troubles as a BBC reporter in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, delving into the arts and culture with his shows Bookshelf and Frank Delaney in the 1980s, and creating a number of other highly popular series, including Word of Mouth and The Celts, the latter syndicated around the world. In addition to his novels, Delaney has also written several works of nonfiction, ranging from James Joyce’s Odyssey, his first book, in 1979, to Simple Courage: A True Tale of Peril on the Sea, published in 2006.

For more information on Delaney, visit his website or come meet him in person on Monday afternoon, September 22, at 1:30 p.m. in the Provident Tent, outside the Johnson Center on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus.