You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here: Winner of the Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Award

‘This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish coming-of-age novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.’ Daily Mail

A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE

AN IRISH TIMES, IRISH INDEPENDENT and SUNDAY INDEPENDENT ‘TITLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020’

Katie, Maeve and Evelyn - friends forever, united by their childhood games and their dreams of escaping the tiny Irish town of Glenbruff.

Outspoken, unpredictable and intoxicating, Evelyn is the undisputed leader of the trio. That is, until the beautiful, bold Pamela Cooney arrives from Dublin and changes Glenbruff forever…

Told from Katie’s witty, quirky perspective, Frances Macken’s debut beautifully captures life in a small town and the power of yearning for something bigger. Filled with unforgettable characters and crackling dialogue, You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here takes a keen-eyed look at the complexities of female friendship, the corrosive power of jealousy and guilt, and the way that life can quietly erode our dreams unless we’re willing to fight for them.