Dufour Editions

The Judas Kiss – David Butler

Dufour — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:15:03 +0000

When Bluebottle runs away from a religious institution to live on the streets of Dublin, he is taken in by Malcolm, an aging sensualist with a penchant for younger boys. But lust soon turns into full-blown sexual obsession. There follows the first of a series of increasingly violent encounters which lead relentlessly to disfigurement and bloody murder. The Judas Kiss is dark and moody. But the tale is relieved throughout not only by a pervasive black humor, but by the emergence of love in all its various guises.

“Several darkly comic characters share narrative duty in this affecting, tightly controlled story that’s never dull.”-Publishers Weekly

2013, 292 pages (New Island)
ISBN 978-1-84840-168-6 Paperback $25.95

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Twisted Truths: Stories From the IrishEdited by Brian O Conchubhair

Dufour — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:07:37 +0000

Twisted Truths is an exciting anthology which brings together some of the finest and most innovative writing in the Irish language published in the past three decades. It is a carefully chosen selection of twenty-two stories, by thirteen authors, which offer witty, edgy, often risky, and always insightful fiction. It is the first anthology to fully represent the vast range of innovation in contemporary writing from Ireland.

“Vintage dilemmas of the folkloric grand narratives re-emerge in a globalized world, and the anthology’s featured authors place characters firmly on twenty-first-century Irish soil that is also, somehow, universal.”-World Literature Today

2012, 264 pages (Clo Iar-Chonnachta)
ISBN 978-1-905560-71-4 Paperback $27.95

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Jammy Dodger – Kevin Smith

Dufour — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:49:39 +0000

Life is sweet for would-be bohemian Artie Conville. Safe at the helm of his subsidized magazine-with a cozy office paid for by the tax-payer-he’s content to drift along quoting poetry, lingering over long lunches, and flirting with the lovely Rosie McCann. The main thing is to keep the real world-of nine-to-five jobs, mortgages, and political violence-at bay. So when his cushy number is threatened, Artie hatches a cunning plan to keep the funds coming in. But events quickly spiral out of control and before long he is up to his ears in a bizarre fraud. Can he avert disaster? Will he get the girl? With a cast of characters that includes a gun-toting playwright, a jealous police chief, a drunken actor and a giant white rabbit, this is a rich and riotous tale about coming-of-age in 1980s Belfast; a novel that is by turns darkly ironic and laugh-out-loud funny.

“Smith is a good writer, with a funny sensibility.”-Publishers Weekly

2012, 280 pages (Sandstone)
ISBN 978-1-908737-08-3 Paperback $16.95

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The Sleep of Reason – Morri Creech

Dufour — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:29:17 +0000

Morri Creech’s third collection of poems, The Sleep of Reason, is a lyrical examination of liminal states of consciousness and experience. Including both a surprising take on Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale” and a dark meditation on the perils of the sublime, The Sleep of Reason explores the anxieties, horrors, and dreams that flash just beneath the surface of the waking mind, combining formal elegance and an acknowledgment of literary tradition with a fresh, contemporary voice.

“What’s especially impressive is Creech’s sense of pacing and musicality…. A poet to watch and, for poetry devotees, certainly to read.”-Library Journal

2013, 72 pages (Waywiser)
ISBN 978-1-904130-53-6 Paperback $17.95

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Colm & the Ghost’s Revenge – Kieran Mark Crowley

Dufour — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:42:05 +0000

It’s been over a year since the terrifying events at the Red House Hotel, but Colm is still uneasy. When strange things begin to happen, he’s plunged back into a world of sarcastic detectives and frightening mercenaries, awkward romance and the supernatural. Dealing with bullies and parents is nothing compared to this – if the master criminal known as The Ghost finds the two remaining Lazarus Keys, he will become more powerful than anyone who has ever lived. The clock is ticking. But how do you stop what you can’t see? Grade 4 & up.

“Fans of fantasy and science fiction novels will really enjoy this book. It has everything from moments of horror and hilarity, to moments of heroism.”-VOYA

2012, 320 pages (Mercier Press)
ISBN 978-1-85635-997-9 Paperback $13.95

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The Best Beatles Book Ever – Paul Charles

Dufour — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:52:11 +0000

On March 22, 1963 the album Please, Please Me was released and a world-wide, multicultural phenomenon was sparked. Created by four street-wise lads from Liverpool, one classy Parlophone producer, and one publicity-savvy manager, the album was only the first in a long line of worldwide hits from this incredible collaboration. Now, 50 years later, The Beatles remain one of the most successful and recognizable groups on the planet.

In this detail-filled book, musicologist Paul Charles looks at the years The Beatles were writing and recording music together. With an open and certainly opinionated eye, he explores their music, their cronies, and their stories. This is rock ‘n’ roll chronology at its best, from an author who knows a thing or two about the music business.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Paul Charles has worked in London’s music industry since the age of 17 as manager, lyricist, roadie, sound-engineer, and agent. He co-founded the music promotion company Asgard Promotions, and has handled a variety of musical acts. A Beatles fanatic since the beginning, (he even has a replica of the Sgt. Pepper Drum head) Paul also brings to this, his 16th book, decades of experience in the industry.

2013, 128 pages (Dufour Editions)
ISBN 978-0-8023-1356-0 Paper $16.95

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Something to Chew OnChallenging Controversies in Food and Health – Mike Gibney

Dufour — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:09:53 +0000

An informative and entertaining book, which examines all of the worldwide controversies dominating the popular press in relation to the modern food chain, from a scientific perspective.

Something to Chew On is an informative and entertaining book that covers – from a scientific point of view – all of the worldwide controversies dominating the popular press in relation to the modern food chain. It deals with the topics of organic food, GM foods, obesity, growing old, the integrity of food research, global warming, global malnutrition, consumer perception of food-borne risk, our gut bacteria, and how nutrition during pregnancy primes us for health in later life. Each chapter presents multiple arguments and comes to a well-supported conclusion. The book is highly suitable for the general reader and will be an invaluable guide to the science of nutrition for students of food and health.

“Something to Chew On has a sharp bite as it addresses tangy topics related to global dietary concerns. Gibney (director, Institute of Food and Health, Univ. College Dublin, UK) uses wit and scientific expertise to lucidly explain contentious subjects that currently bemuse and emotionally arouse the public….Whether describing microbial life in the gut, nutritional epidemiology, public policy, plant dynamics, global hunger, or other nutritional topics, Gibney challenges the public distrust of scientific intervention with cogent explanations that would facilitate a forceful debate with placard protestors. Aimed at the general public, this work should be required reading for all concerned citizens. Summing Up: Highly recommended.”-Choice

2012, 202 pages (Univ College Dublin)
ISBN 978-1-906359-67-6 Paperback $38.95

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Murder, Mutiny and MayhemThe Blackest-Hearted Villains from Irish History – Joe O’Shea

Dufour — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:53:24 +0000

The Irish are often thought of as a nation of missionaries, explorers, freedom fighters, artists, and writers. But for every Tom Crean or Bernardo O’Higgins, there is a Captain William Cotter or Antoine Walsh wreaking havoc around the world. This dramatic book explores the most obscure and unbelievable stories of the Irish slavers, grave-robbers, duelists, con men, drug-lords, and killers who wreaked havoc around the world.

“Natural storyteller and Dublin-based journalist O’Shea brings the past to life in 11 accounts of the “bad guys” of Irish history. . . . Readers who like their history told on a human scale—and with a little blood and backstabbing—will be entertained and educated.”-Publishers Weekly

2012, 232 pages (O’Brien Press)
ISBN 978-1-84717-299-0 Paperback $21.95

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Extended Family – James Silas Rogers

Dufour — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:52:42 +0000

A leading journal of Irish Studies, New Hibernia Review opens each issue with a personal essay. For the first time, here is a selection of the finest of these, of which four have been recognized as “Notable Essays of the Year” in Best American Essays. This engaging collection sheds light on the perplexing state of being an Irish American-though the question is usually posed in deflected ways. Often deeply personal, each account in Extended Family: Essays on Being Irish American from New Hibernia Review tackles this question with verve; the conclusions range from the piquant, to the humorous, to the bittersweet. This book marks a welcome re-evaluation of the Irish Diaspora that is sure to challenge and stimulate our current understandings. James Silas Rogers has previously co-edited After the Flood: Irish America, 1945 – 1960 and published a poetry chapbook, Sundogs. He is the editor of New Hibernia Review at the University of St. Thomas, and served as president of the American Conference for Irish Studies from 2009 to 2011.

“Extended Family is a milestone in the long day’s journey of Irish America from cliché, caricature, and scholarly neglect to a true accounting of its important role in the making of our country’s multicultural identity. Each of the pieces in this collection—whether poetry, history, or memoir—is a gem. I was engaged and enlightened from first to last. This is a real achievement.”—Peter Quinn – author of Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America - president and co-founder of Irish-American Writers and Artists

“A rich collection of memoir, poetry and scholarly essays, Extended Family provides fascinating insights into modern Irish American culture. The memoirs are particularly powerful, offering personal testaments to the complexities of home, return and family in Irish American writing. A rare combination of human reflection and quality scholarship, Extended Family is a welcome addition to the dynamic field of Irish diasporic studies.”—Sean Farrell, historian, Northern Illinois University – President, American Conference for Irish Studies

“Both deeply personal as well as penetrating and subtle in their broad analysis of what constitutes Irishness today – a time when traditional ethnic identities are collapsing in the United States – the epiphanies disclosed on page after page of this volume are a revelation. The stories function both individually and collectively as a kind of poetic reverie on the continued relevance of roots, communal memory and cultural connectedness as an antidote to the gray conformity and anomie of modern existence.”—James W Flannery, Emory University – Director, W. B. Yeats Foundation

2013, 256 pages (Dufour)
ISBN 978-0-8023-1355-3 Paper $18.95

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Dead Dogs – Joe Murphy

Dufour — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:52:38 +0000

In rural Wexford, a young teenager is worried about his friend Sean – Sean, you see, has just accidentally killed a pregnant dog and her puppies. Sean isn’t stupid but he sometimes gets a bit confused. When the unnamed narrator brings him to Dr. Thorpe’s house to see about some new medication, they end up watching through the letterbox as Dr. Thorpe beats a woman to death. This sharp-witted, psychological narrative explores the troubles these teenagers face as they move towards a climax that will tear their worlds asunder.

“In the tradition of many Irish writers, Murphy’s language is as important as the narrative…A smart examination of the lonely struggles of being a teenager.”-Publishers Weekly

2012, 256 pages (Liberties Press)
ISBN 978-1-907593-45-1 Paperback $24.95

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