Ferdia Lennon


Ferdia Lennon is an Irish author. His debut novel, Glorious Exploits, was a bestseller that won numerous awards and was adapted for BBC Radio 4.

Biography

Lennon was born to an Irish mother and a Libyan father and grew up in Tallaght, County Dublin.
Lennon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history and classics from University College Dublin and a Master of Arts in prose fiction from the University of East Anglia. He lives in Norwich with his wife and son.

Career

His debut novel, Glorious Exploits was a Sunday Times bestseller. It has been adapted for BBC Radio 4 and was the winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024, the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, the Premio Gregor von Rezzori and the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. It was also shortlisted for several other awards, including the Nero Debut Fiction Award, formerly known as the . the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

Awards and honours

Literary awards

YearWorkAwardCategoryResultRef
2024Glorious ExploitsBollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction—Won
2024Glorious ExploitsWaterstones Debut Fiction Prize—Won
2024Glorious ExploitsWaterstones Book of the Year—
2024Glorious ExploitsNero Debut Fiction Award—
2024Glorious ExploitsCarnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction—
2024Glorious ExploitsBooks Are My Bag Readers' AwardsFiction
2025Glorious ExploitsDylan Thomas Prize—
2025Glorious ExploitsBritish Book Awards—
2025Glorious ExploitsRunciman Award—
2025Glorious ExploitsAuthors’ Club First Novel Award—Won
2025Glorious ExploitsPremio Gregor von Rezzori—Won
2025Glorious ExploitsWalter Scott Prize—
2025Glorious ExploitsRooney Prize for Irish Literature—Won