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Author Spotlight
Marcus Hale
IrelandRural Fiction
The novelist on rural landscape, inherited silence, and men who don't know how to speak.
"The land keeps every word we never said."
A life in letters
Marcus Hale farms sheep in County Kerry and writes at a kitchen table older than the house it stands in.
Quiet Country
Rural Fiction
Quiet Country
The novelist on rural landscape, inherited silence, and men who don't know how to speak.
From first draft to found voice
His stories first appeared in The Stinging Fly; Quiet Country is his second novel.
Awards & honors
- Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (2023)
Fun facts
- Has never owned a mobile phone.
- Writes in longhand, always in pencil.
Featured interview
Interview
A conversation with Marcus Hale
On craft, quiet obsessions, and the making of Quiet Country.
Book discussion history
- Circle No. 2 — Quiet CountryMarch 5, 2026