The award-winning Irish novelist and journalist shares her process …
Edel Coffey has worked as an editor with the Sunday Tribune, Irish Independent and THE GLOSS magazine, and as a reporter and presenter with RTE. She is a regular contributor to The Irish Times. Her debut novel Breaking Point won the An Post Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction Book Of The Year and was a number one bestseller in Ireland. Her second novel, In Her Place, was a number one bestseller and was nominated for an Irish book award. In Glass Houses is her third novel.
My daily writing routine changes depending on how close I am to a deadline (I blame the journalist in me). When I’m at the start of a project, the routine will include a fair bit of gazing, reading around my subject, scribbling in notebooks, and drawing flow charts connecting characters and storylines – it’s the grown-up equivalent of decorating a study plan instead of actually studying but it’s all part of the process. The closer I get to a deadline, the less whimsical the writing process becomes until eventually it’s just me, at my desk, for as many hours as I can tolerate, until the book is done.
My writing spot is officially a small study at the front of my house, but I’ll write anywhere and always have a notebook with me. I write most days at a large desk, so I can spread out, plan and edit. When I need a change of scene, I go to my local library where I tend to work very diligently because there are no snacks to lure me away from the desk.
My favourite part of the writing process is the fun part, which is the creative process of developing an idea. It excites me and usually keeps me awake all night as I turn the story over in my head. This is a very optimistic stage because it’s still full of hope and possibilities that anything might happen.
The books that are inspiring me right now are a mixture of non-fiction and fiction. I love reading scientific journals, life writing, memoir, fiction and smart psychological thrillers. I’m currently reading and loving Clare Carlisle’s Transcendence for Beginners (Fitzcarraldo Editions), and the last book I was really excited and inspired by was Gillian McAllister’s Wrong Place, Wrong Time. It was so inventive and clever, and made me think a lot about new ways to tell stories.
Right now, I’m working on my fourth novel which I’m very excited about because I’m still in that optimistic first-draft stage … @edelcoffey
In Glass Houses by Edel Coffey (Sphere) is out on February 12, 2026.
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