Author(s): Sarah Gilmartin

Novel | Ireland

'Sarah Gilmartin is a natural writer' - Anne Enright

Kate meticulously plans a dinner to mark the anniversary of a death in the family, from the fancy table setting to the perfect baked alaska waiting in the freezer. But by the end of the night, dessert is in the bin, the guests are gone, and Kate is spinning out of control.

Set over four periods from the 1990s to the present day, between Carlow and Dublin, the family farmhouse and Trinity College, Dinner Party is a beautifully observed, dark and twisty novel that thrillingly unravels into past family secrets and tragedy. Kate is coming to terms both with what it means to be a survivor, as well as a longstanding battle with anorexia.

Haunting and unforgettable, Dinner Party explores, in searing detail, how the past informs the present, the inevitability of childhood damage resurfacing in later life - and yet, how despite everything, we can't help returning home.

'Astutely captures the claustrophobia of Irish families - disappointments, rivalry and the need to make everyone happy' - Sinead Gleeson, author of CONSTELLATIONS


'An immensely powerful debut novel from a writer here to stay. Sarah Gilmartin is a really wonderful storyteller' - Joseph O'Connor, bestselling author of STAR OF THE SEA


'Gilmartin has a forensic eye for the little moments and mumbled asides which reveal both her character's faults and strengths. She writes sharply and cleanly but always with a degree of compassion' - Jan Carson, author of THE FIRESTARTERS


'Stylish and funny, acutely attentive to the painful dynamics of family, Dinner Party is a good book and an exceptional first novel from a gifted writer' - Conor O'Callaghan, author of WE ARE NOT IN THE WORLD


'A different kind of modern Irish novel [...] it made me think of Belinda McKeon or Anne Enright [...] It's a really open-hearted, compassionate book shaped by tragedies and the subdued, but finally warm, survival instinct of one family in the face of tragedy' - Niamh Campbell, author of THIS HAPPY

Author Biography: Sarah Gilmartin is an arts journalist who reviews debut fiction for the Irish Times as well as a prize-winning writer of short stories. She is co-editor of the anthology Stinging Fly Stories (2018) and has just completed an MFA in University College Dublin. She recently won Best Playwright for her short play Match at the Short+Sweet Dublin festival. Her short stories have been listed for the Sean O'Faolain Short Story Award, the RTE Francis MacManus Short Story Award and Hennessy New Irish Writing. Her story 'The Wife' won the 2020 Mairtin Crawford Award at Belfast Book Festival in June. Earlier this year, Sarah received a bursary for her novel-in-progress from the Arts Council of Ireland.