Author Name
Author Name
LITERARY, FILM & TV AGENCY
MARIANNE GUNN O'CONNOR
Louise Nealon
Louise Nealon
“I only began to write seriously when I gave up the idea of becoming a serious writer”
Winner of the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year for debut novel Snowflake at The An Post Irish Book Awards 2021
The One Dublin One Book choice for 2024
Louise Nealon is a writer from Co. Kildare.
She studied English literature in Trinity College Dublin, and then completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast in 2016.
In 2017, she won the Seán Ó’Faoláin International Short Story Competition. She also received the Francis Ledwidge Creative Writing Award.
She has been published both online and in print in The Irish Times and Southward.
In May 2020 Manilla Press, (Bonnier Books UK) pre-empted Louise’s debut novel ‘Snowflake’, in a two book deal for a substantial six figure sum. It sold in auction in the US to Emily Griffin at HarperCollins. Element Pictures have acquired TV/Film rights. It is in development with the BBC. Foreign rights to Germany, Russia, Poland and Slovkia.
Published in May 2021 Louise says of her debut novel
“The title, Snowflake, addresses my generation who are often referred to as snowflakes in a disparaging way. A snowflake is a rare and wonderful thing. The six arms of a snow crystal reflect the internal order of water molecules. Like human cells, it reflects nature at its best. Snowflakes are also flawed. They are irregular in structure – evidence that nature is capable of failure, not just humans, which is a relief”
"Fiction has a dreamlike dimension that invites us out of our sense of self and into someone else’s imagination. It brings us in touch with a wisdom that is buried deep within us, a kind of fantastical knowledge that invites endless possibilities. I think I have secretly known that literature has the ability to save lives, ever since I was a child reading Alice in Wonderland, poking the pop-up book and reading Alice’s worry: “I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night.”
Described by the publisher as “an exquisite coming-of-age story”, Margaret Stead, publisher for Manilla Press and Zaffre, said: “Snowflake is a brilliant novel, with huge heart and a raw, honest, hilariously funny and real look at coming of age, mental health, at the meaning of home. Louise Nealon is a huge talent, and we are so pleased and proud -and excited - to be publishing her at Manilla Press.”
Upon publication Snowflake went straight to number one on the bestsellers list where it stayed for a number of weeks . Snowflake also featured on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime this week, read by Louisa Harland of Derry Girls fame.
Published by Harper Collins in the US in September People Magazine selected Snowflake as a People’s Pick in their October 4th issue. Snowflake was also an Amazon US spotlight Pick For The Month Of September As Featured Debut, selected among Bustle’s Most Anticipated Books of the Month and picked as one of Shondaland 5 Best Books for September. Snowflake was also chosen by The Nervous Book Club (TNB) as their September book.
Read by the author Snowflake was featured as The Book on One on RTÉ Radio 1 for three weeks in October 2021 and on 23rd November Louise was announced as the winner of the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year at The An Post Irish Book Awards 2021.
Snowflake was also announced as the One Dublin One Book choice for 2024
One Dublin One Book aims to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a designated book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year. This annual project is a Dublin City Council initiative, led by Dublin City Libraries and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, which encourages reading for pleasure.
On 9th April 2026 Louise’s second novel Everything That Is Beautiful was published today by Manilla Press (Bonnier Books UK). Told through the perspectives of three very different women, Everything That Is Beautiful unfolds the story of one complicated family in startlingly honest prose. By turns funny and deeply moving, and with unmatched emotional intelligence, this is an unforgettable story of love and family, heartbreak and hope - and who we might become after we pick up the pieces.
Praise for Snowflake
‘SNOWFLAKE is mad and wonderful. I thought I was reading one thing, then discovered - several times as I read - that I was reading a different, even better thing’
Roddy Doyle
‘GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching'
Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups
‘It's a long time since I've loved a novel as much as Snowflake. The prose shines with observations about life love family mental health, milking the cows and what it means to be coming of age in the times we live in—I felt I had discovered a diamond—a real treasure!’
Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo
‘Snowflake is raw, sharp-sighted, affirming, and also very very funny. Louise Nealon's prose shimmers as do her irregular and damaged characters. Stunning’
Una Mannion, author of A Crooked Tree
'Tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving'
Louise O'Neill, author of After the Silence
‘Astonishing. Louise Nealon is a ridiculously talented writer’
Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars
“These are Beckett like characters, mythologised, haunted, mired in trauma using craic as deflection… Debbie’s fresh bleakly funny voice marks her out as original”
The Sunday Times
“The depiction of mental illness is raw and often painful, making this not just a sharp, tender coming-of-age story for Debbie, but for the whole cast of Nealon’s characters”
The Irish Independent
“A sweet, clever coming-of-age novel that finds charity and depth for its older characters as well as the young”
The Irish Times
“Stylistically and formally, Nealon is very much her own thing. Snowflake is intimate, chatty, immensely readable. There’s an original and distinctive voice here , and a strong sense of character and place”
The Sunday Times
“Clever, witty, wryly elegant and full of emotional truth”
The Sunday Independent
“Nealon’s bald honesty about rural life is reminiscent of Patrick Kavanagh and his anti- pastorals”
RTE.ie
https://www.rte.ie/culture/2021/0520/1222909-reviewed-snowflake-by-louise-nealon/
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21953396
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w4np
Praise for Snowflake in the US
“But it’s Nealon’s razor-sharp focus on the shame surrounding mental health issues, sexual promiscuity and substance abuse in Irish culture — and her female characters’ determination to not only face but conquer their shortcomings — that makes an indelible mark.”
The Washington Post
“In an entirely unique, dark, and hilariously human novel, Nealon manages to weave the pressure of youth with the hopeful reality of unconditional love.”
Shondaland, The 5 Best Books for September 2021
https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a37435436/the-5-best-books-for-september-2021/
“A fresh and often humorous debut. . . . this tale of two worlds vibrates on an otherworldly frequency.”
Publishers Weekly
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-307393-7
Praise for Everything That Is Beautiful
“I absolutely loved it . . . So realistic about the complexity of loving people who will break our hearts”
Marian Keyes
“A big-hearted, immersive novel about the complex bonds of family and friendships. With her second novel, Nealon extends her narrative range and further establishes herself as one of the leading chroniclers of the contemporary Irish female experience. The world she creates is so vivid and compelling: readers will live in these farmhouse kitchens, in the fields and on the camogie pitches, with characters who begin to feel like friends.”
Roisin O'Donnell, award-winning author of NESTING
“Intimate and panoramic, tender-hearted and clear-eyed, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, this dazzling novel brims with compassion and unforgettable characters. A book you'll read and love, then immediately buy for those you love”
Colin Walsh, author of KALA
“I BLOODY LOVED IT. Complicated families, gorgeous fully- realised characters, heartbreak and laughter”
Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS
“A deeply moving exploration of all the joys and pains of living in community. Beautifully written, funny, emotionally complex and always quietly hopeful. I loved it”
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin, award-winning author of ORDINARY SAINTS
“It's rare to read a novel where rage and compassion are so delicately balanced on each page. This book made me want to open a window and shout”
Sheila Armstrong, author of HOW TO GUT A FISH
“Fresh and engaging . . . Her characters are alive and real, and the familial relationships, with all their petty cruelties and their bumbling acts of love, are so acutely observed”
Claire Gleeson, author of SHOW ME WHERE IT HURTS
“A striking portrait of three women and their strength and devotion in the face of devastation. Everything That is Beautiful is wrought with tension, humour, irreverence and warmth. Louise Nealon captures so well the nuances of Irish family life - the chaos, the imperfections, and the unconditional love. I felt I was in the family kitchen, experiencing their laughter and celebrating their triumphs - and heartbreak. The Foleys will inhabit your heart long after the last page”
Charleen Hurtubise, author of SAOIRSE
“I was deeply touched by this warm, funny, complex novel. Louise Nealon is a writer attuned to the nuances and contradictions of life. In Everything that is Beautiful, Nealon writes with a deftness of touch and an eye for beauty. An immensely rewarding read”
Danielle McLaughlin, author of THE ART OF FALLING
“I couldn't put this novel down. So full of empathy and understanding about what it means to love people and how to belong to a family, even when you're on the outside looking in”
Ciara Geraghty, bestselling author of LATE LEARNER
Rights Sold:
Snowflake: UK Ireland, Commonwealth (Manilla Press/ Bonnier Books) , US (HarperCollins),China (Ginkgo Shanghai Book Co., Ltd) Croatia, (Znanje D.O), Germany (Mareverlag Gmbh & Co. OHG) , Italy (Bompiani (Giunti Editore S.P.A), Poland, (Muza S.A , Russia (Sindbad Publishers Limited), , Slovakia (Albatros Media) , Spain (Alianza Editorial S.A.,) Ukraine (Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva Ltd. (Old Lion Publishing House),)
European enquiries to Vicki Satlow Literary Agency for:
Germany, Russia
