Winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award

Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature

Winner of the Guardian first book award

A recovering addict drifts closer to the oblivion he’d hoped to avoid by returning to his home town; two estranged friends hide themselves away in a darkened pub, reluctant to attend the funeral of the woman they both loved; a bouncer who cannot envisage a world beyond the walls of the small town nightclub his life revolves around.

Set for the most part in Glanbeigh, a small fictional town in County Mayo, the stories in Young Skins deftly explore the wayward lives and loves of young men and women. Published internationally and translated into several languages, Colin Barrett’s singular debut collection has been universally celebrated for its vigorous prose and ambitious storytelling.