Athenry’s David Green, a relative newbie to the world of novel writing, has just had one of his books shortlisted for a prestigious literary prize in the UK.

His novel, Path of War, was nominated for the Robert Holdstock Award for Fantasy Writing last month, alongside top names in the gene.

The othe shortlisted authors “are huge, they’re people I’m fans of. It’s amazing to find a spot on the list; to be recognised by readers and to be shortlisted by the jury”, he says.

David’s first fantasy book, In Solitude’s Shadow, was published in 2021, as part of a four-book deal with Canadian company, Eerie River Publishing. Path of War is the second in the series. Beyond Sundered Seas is the third, with the fourth, At Eternity’s Gates due to be published at the 2023 FantasyCon next month in Birmingham, where the winner of this year’s fantasy prize will also be announced. These awards, first held in 1972, were renamed in 2012 in honour of Robert Holdstock, a leader of the genre.

Fantasy fiction has fascinated David since childhood.

“My family are from Athenry but we grew up outside Manchester, close to the Welsh border, ” he says.

It’s an area rich in mythology and it was a similar situation when the family came home to Ireland, “so I had it on all sides”, he laughs. David had always wanted to write fantasy and that finally happened five years ago when his son was born.

He’d moved back to Ireland by then, settling in Galway City first in 2009, and then Beech Hill, near Athenry, with his wife and baby in 2019. David who had worked in senior retail management in the UK and Ireland, became a stay-at-home dad while his wife continued working outside the home.

Pictured: Author David Green