Gráinne O'Brien is no stranger to anyone on the Irish book scene! A bookseller, a creative writing coach, and a published author, she released her debut YA novel in April 2025 to instant acclaim. We were delighted that she made time in a very busy day - with thanks to The Campus Bookshop in UCD, Sinéad's old workplace, for giving her somewhere to set up her computer so she could talk to us! - and we had a brilliant natter about stories, books, and the importance of listening to the voices in your head. (If you know, you know!)
Find Rontu, Gráinne's creative writing coaching service, HERE
Find Kenny's Bookshop, where Gráinne is Children's Buyer, HERE
Books mentioned in this week's episode include Gráinne's own:
A Limerick Fairytale
Solo
And the stories which shaped her include:
Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
These Are the Words, by Nikita Gill
The work of Sarah Crossan
The life and work of Mary O'Shea, elementary school librarian in Palo Alto, CA
Ramona Quimby, by Beverly Cleary
The Baby-sitters' Club, by Ann M. Martin
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, by Louis Sachar
Holes, by Louis Sachar
The Magician of Tiger Castle, by Louis Sachar
The Goosebumps books, by RL Stine
The work of Maeve Binchy
Flowers in the Attic, by Virginia Andrews
The work of Marian Keyes
JAWS, by Peter Benchley
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
The work of Jessica Townsend
The Murder Most Unladylike series, by Robin Stevens
The Song of the Lioness, by Tamora Pierce
Nina Peanut Is Amazing and Nina Peanut, Mega Mystery Solver, by Sarah Bowie
Pablo and Splash, by Sheena Dempsey
Notes from a Coma, by Mike McCormack
The work of Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
The work of Donal Ryan
The work of Joseph O'Connor
The Book of Secrets, by Alex Dunne
Under the Hawthorn Tree (trilogy), by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Creative Writing for Dummies, by Maggie Hamand
Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!
In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.