Ferdia Lennon

Ferdia Lennon (born 1988) 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 (BA) in history and classics from University College Dublin and a Master of Arts (MA) 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 Costa Awards. the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

Awards and honours

Literary awards Year Work Award Category Result Ref 2024 Glorious Exploits Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction — Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Waterstones Book of the Year Nero Debut Fiction Award Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards Fiction 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize — British Book Awards Runciman Award Authors’ Club First Novel Award Premio Gregor von Rezzori Walter Scott Prize Rooney Prize for Irish Literature