CQAF 2025

Caoilinn Hughes talks about her work and her latest novel ‘The Alternatives’.

From the writer Anthony Doerr calls ‘a massive talent’, The Alternatives is the story of four brilliant sisters, orphaned in childhood, who scramble to reconnect when the eldest disappears into the Irish countryside.

Caoilinn Hughes is an Irish writer whose second novel, The Wild Laughter (2020) won the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award 2021, was longlisted for the 2021 Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize and was shortlisted for three other awards.

Her first novel, Orchid & the Wasp (2018), won the Collyer Bristow Prize 2019, was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for four other awards. Her poetry book, Gathering Evidence (2014) won the Irish Times Shine/Strong Award.

Her short stories have been awarded the Moth Short Story Prize, the Irish Book Awards’ Story of the Year, and an O. Henry Prize. She has been Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The Alternatives is her third novel.

A Book of the Year according to The Irish Times & Irish Independent.

‘Surprising and delightful… The Alternatives made me laugh, cry, and think.’ Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses

Perfect for fans of Jonathan Franzen, Maggie O’Farrell and Claire Vaye Watkins.