'A scorching burst of new talent' THE TIMES
About Trevor Byrne
Trevor is an award-winning novelist and literary editor. His debut novel, Ghosts & Lightning, was published to international critical acclaim, and was selected as a Book of the Year in the Guardian and the Irish Times. His short stories and nonfiction have appeared in numerous anthologies, journals and magazines,
Trevor holds a degree in English and an M.Phil. in Creative Writing from the University of South Wales, where he lectured from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, Trevor co-founded the hugely successful Hyland & Byrne Editing Firm. Together with Maria Hyland, he has edited hundreds of novels and stories, and helped dozens of new writers to publication.
Trevor has led writing masterclasses for Faber Academy, Arvon, the Irish Writers Centre and other prestigious institutions, and has taken part in literary events at the Edinburgh Festival, the University of Cambridge, NUI Maynooth and many more. He has served as Writing Fellow at the University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing, and Artist in Residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.
He is currently working on his second novel and a collection of short stories.
'Byrne is undoubtedly a powerful new talent' IRISH TIMES
'A profound debut novel... A witty and often disturbing portrait of the Irish underclass' THE NEW YORKER
'This is a rough, real slice of punkish Dublin lowlife, a black comedy, a ghost-story and more... A fab first novel' THE TIMES
'Ghosts & Lightning is a powerful novel and Trevor Byrne is a very powerful writer . . . Often funny, sometimes frightening, always very human. I loved it' RODDY DOYLE
'An amazing book, written with force and passion. A gripping and dark ride to the mad side of town, Ghosts & Lightning marks Byrne as a writer to get hooked on' MATT HAIG
'Byrne displays an unmistakable gift for storytelling. Messy, funny, troubled and tragic' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'Engaging, exuberant and hilarious' THE GUARDIAN
'Though Ghosts & Lightning is about grief and loss and survival, it's also one of the funniest novels I've read in a long, long time. I hated to see it end' DONALD RAY POLLOCK
'A kickass debut novel' ELLE