Award-winning Irish author Louise O’Neill will be at Kennys Bookshop on October 7th, joining author Catherine Doyle in conversation about A Bigger Life, her upcoming memoir.

Tickets for this event are free but are limited.

Louise O’Neill is a bestselling author from Clonakilty, West Cork. Her debut novel, Only Ever Yours, won multiple awards including the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year and the inaugural YA Book Prize. Her second novel, Asking For It, spent 52 consecutive weeks in the Irish top 10 and was awarded the Michael L Printz honour by the American Library Association.

She has since published The Surface Breaks, a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid, which was shortlisted for the Specsavers National Book Awards, and four novels for adults: Almost Love, After the Silence — named Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2020 — Idol, which went straight into the Irish book charts at #1 and Whatever Happened to Madeline Stone? A Bigger Life is her first memoir.

Catherine Doyle is an Irish author of children’s and young adult fiction. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Publishing. Her award-winning and internationally bestselling work, which includes middle grade and young adult fiction, has been published in 30 languages.

About A Bigger Life:
At 38, Louise O’Neill had the life she thought she wanted—until her long-term relationship ended, taking with it the home, future, and sense of certainty she’d built. Heartbroken but defiant, she made a radical decision: to say yes to everything, to take risks, and to reclaim her life—on her own terms.

What followed was a dating experiment that took her across Paris, London, New York, and beyond. Through the men she meets and the moments in between, Louise begins to challenge everything she’s been taught to settle for – in life, love, and in herself.

Part memoir, part manifesto, A Bigger Life is a candid, courageous exploration of modern womanhood, sexual freedom, and the myths we’re sold about what makes a life worthwhile. It’s about embracing uncertainty, finding joy after heartbreak, and creating space for the version of yourself that doesn’t play small.

Louise invites us to laugh, wince, and reflect as she asks the question at the heart of the book: What does it really mean to live a bigger life?

Copies of Louise O’Neill’s A Bigger Life are available for pre-order here. Copies will also be available to buy at the event.

If you have any questions on this event or would like to be notified of other events at Kennys Bookshop, please email martha@kennys.ie.