Best-loved Joyce

James Joyce (1882–1941) is regarded as one of the most influential and important authors of the twentieth century. After graduating from University College Dublin, Joyce went to Paris. During World War One, Joyce and Barnacle, and their two children, Giorgio and Lucia, moved to Zurich where Joyce began Ulysses. He returned to Paris for two decades, and his reputation as an avant-garde writer grew. Joyce’s works include the short story collection Dubliners (1914); novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), Ulysses (1922) and Finnegans Wake (1939); two poetry collections Chamber Music (1907) and Pomes Penyeach (1927); and one play, Exiles (1918). Every year on 16 June, Joyceans across the globe celebrate Bloomsday, the day on which the action of Ulysses took place, proving Joyce’s importance to literature.

Jamie O’Connell's debut novel, Diving for Pearls (Doubleday) was published in June 2021. His work has been Highly Commended by the Costa Short Story Award and the An Post Irish Book Award Writing.ie Short Story of the Year. He has been long-listed for BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines Short Story Competition and short-listed for the Maeve Binchy Travel Award and the Sky Arts Futures Fund. His short fiction has been published in a number of journals, featured on TV3, RTE Radio and BBC Radio, and he has read at many festivals and universities in Ireland, China, Spain and the USA. He has received bursaries from The Arts Council of Ireland, Culture Ireland, Dublin City Council and Cork City Council.

Bob Joyce is a grand-nephew of James Joyce, and is on the board of the James Joyce Centre in Dublin.