There's a wealth of popular fiction on the way in 2009 from Irish writers, although some of the publishers are reluctant to give too much away at this stage. There will be a new Cecelia Ahern novel next October, for example, but her publishers HarperCollins will not say what it's about or even what the title will be. Among the highlights in popular fiction this year will be the following:

We Need to Talk About Ross -- The True History of the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Gang, by Everyone Who Knows Him, Penguin Ireland, June:

Sportsman. Lover. Bon vivant. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is many things to many people. But 10 years after he lifted the Leinster Schools Senior Cup, the man remains a misunderstood figure. His accomplishments on the rugby field -- and in the bedroom -- remain the stuff of legend, but the truth about him is hidden by the accretion of myth.

Now the lid is lifted in interviews with those who've loved him and hated him. From the friends who shared his misadventures to the women who shared his bed -- or, failing that, a back alley or a bus shelter -- this searingly honest biography fills in the blanks

The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marian Keyes, Penguin, October:

It's hard to give a summary of this one because the publishers are being tight-lipped. But what we do know is that this story will be a bit of a departure for Marian, involving a 'presence' from another place infiltrating the lives of real people. Like most of her books, it will be a comedy about serious issues, with her customary down-to-earth humour and acute observation.

Darling Sweetheart, by Stephen Price, New Island, June:

Young actress Annalise is getting her break in a Hollywood blockbuster opposite film star Harry Emerson. However, Emerson wants more from her than just her screen presence and the director is a lecherous Swede. Darling Sweetheart, Price's third novel, is a satire on celebrity, a romantic comedy and a psychological thriller all tied into one. Just what you'd expect from the former radio producer who used to be one half of the Navan Man duo.

Once In A Lifetime, by Cathy Kelly, HarperCollins, March:

Kenny's Department Store is the jewel in Ardagh town's crown. TV presenter Ingrid Fitzgerald has watched her husband David, the owner of Kenny's, pour his heart and soul into the family store, making it the epitome of chic. She's juggled family life and her glittering career admirably. Now, as their children fly the nest, Ingrid discovers a secret that will shake her world to its very foundations.

That, plus several other characters whose lives revolve around the store, make this another big, involving read from Cathy Kelly for this summer.

Designer Genes, by Emma Hannigan, Poolbeg, April:

This is the first novel from Wicklow woman Hannigan who, like the heroine in her book, discovered she was carrying the BrCA1 gene, the one that means you've an 85pc chance of getting breast cancer. She had just turned 32, has two children and had to have a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed. She got through it and decided she could best describe the life-changing experience in novel form. Which is how this remarkable book came about.

Cathy Kelly says it is "fabulously funny and heartbreakingly poignant at the same time . . . she has a strong, vibrant voice that will touch you on every page".

The Space Between Us, by John McKenna, New Island, April:

The story of an Irish architect who loses his wife, Beth, in a car accident, and is left to bring up his three-year-old daughter alone. After Beth's death, his emotions lurch from relief to guilt: relief because he no longer has to pretend to have any interest in the relationship, and guilt because he did not have the courage to talk to Beth before her death. As time goes by, and his daughter grows up, father and daughter grow closer. The reader gradually realises that this relationship is not as it should be. A disturbing and shocking story.

Letters to a Love Rat, by Niamh Greene, Penguin Ireland, May:

From the bestselling author of Secret Diary of a Demented House comes a new novel that explores the question: what do you do when the love of your life turns out to be a good-for-nothing love rat? Three very different women have one thing in common -- a good-for-nothing Casanova called Charlie. When he betrays them, they choose three very different ways to cope.

The Butterfly State, by Carol Coffey, Poolbeg Crimson, March:

Women's fiction with an edge is what Poolbeg's new Crimson imprint is about. This is the fifth title in the successful series, and it tells the disturbing story of a Co Wicklow family whose lives are forever altered when their violent, alcoholic father is murdered by the lake near their home.

Tess, his autistic daughter, is charged with the murder, having been found near the body with the murder weapon in her hand. But could a 10-year-old girl actually be guilty of murder? Tess is sent to an institution for years and her sibling's lives are also ruined.

When she finally returns home, it opens old wounds and starts a chain of events that reveals what really happened at the lake. Full of tension and atmosphere, a welcome new direction for Poolbeg.

Counting Down, by Gerard Stembridge, Penguin Ireland, January:

Stembridge is best known for satire like Scrap Saturday and films he has written and directed like About Adam. This is his second novel and it's about a guy who is almost 40 and is counting down the days until he sees his son. It also covers the years he spent with his wife before it all fell apart and the inches he has to lose off his waist so he can be a babe magnet again ... he's a self-deluding mess but he still doesn't get it.

Reservations, by Fiona O'Brien, Hachette Ireland, May:

Love is the dish of the day served up in O'Brien's new novel set in Dominic's, the hottest restaurant in Dublin. There's the owner Dom, his blonde PR girlfriend Tanya, the beautiful Italian American waitress Carla, the sexy doctor PJ, who is one of Dom's best customers, and several others who will be familiar to those who dined for Ireland in the Celtic Tiger decade. It all gets very steamy -- and not just in the kitchen.

The Runners, by Fiachra Sheridan, New Island, May:

The debut novel from Fiachra Sheridan (son of writer Peter Sheridan), this story follows the lives of 13-year-old Bobby and his best friend Jay. Set in 1980s inner-city Dublin, The Runners explores how the two lively teenagers inadvertently become 'runners' for a drug dealer.

Anything for Love, by Sarah Webb, Macmillan, January:

Life isn't looking too rosy for Alice Devine. She's a single mum and her love life has been a disaster. Things start to look up when she lands a job as assistant fund raiser for St Jude's Maternity Hospital -- particularly when she meets her new boss, the gorgeous Jack. What she hadn't bargained for was dealing with the ladies who lunch who are on the fundraising committee. Secrets and lies abound before Alice finds her way to happiness.

Happy Ever After, by Patricia Scanlan, Transworld, March:

This one is a sequel to Scanlan's number-one bestseller, Forgive and Forget. Newly married Debbie is at her wits' end with coke-sniffing hubby Bryan, who has no desire to become a stay-at-home husband. Career woman Aimee is horrified to discover she's pregnant, but her husband Barry wants the baby. Connie, Barry's ex, has seen their daughter Debbie safely up the aisle and, with an interesting new man on her horizon, is all set to make a life of her own. Will any of them be happy ever after?

Missing You Already, by Pauline McLynn, Headline, January:

McLynn shrugged off Mrs Doyle's cardie a long time back and this, her seventh novel, sees her continuing the move away from unbridled humour to more difficult topics. Kitty is in her 30s and attractive. Her mother May has Alzheiner's. The women head off on a final holiday together and when they get back their lives are turned upside down. An exploration of family, memory, identity and the way our lives are shaped.

The Truth Will Out, by Anna McPartlin, Poolbeg, March:

Author of the bestseller Pack Up The Moon, McPartlin's new novel is about Harri, a 30-year-old decorator in Dublin who has felt at odds with her own family since she was a child in Wicklow. It's the second time she has tried to marry her fiancee and the second time she has had a panic attack and ended up in hospital in her wedding dress. Something is seriously wrong and eventually the truth will out.

If This is Paradise, I Want my Money Back, by Claudia Carroll, Transworld Ireland, February:

Former actress and now full-time writer Carroll has gone into the afterlife in her new novel. Charlotte is in a coma, and it has taken this shock to make her see that she's made a mess of her short life, especially the five years she wasted dating the faithless James. When she passes on, she gets the chance to go back to earth as guardian angel to James. And just because she's passed on, doesn't mean she's moved on.

Chasing Rainbows, by Nuala Woulfe, Poolbeg, February:

Ali is 28 and is plodding along with a boring job in marketing, a crummy 1970s apartment and no decent man in her life. All around her in Dublin, friends have reaped the benefits of the Celtic Tiger with pension plans and property portfolios while she is left behind. It seems like a dead end ... but then she does a journalism course and her life starts to change. And eventually she learns that there's a lot to be said for a slower pace of life and that a cup of tea is always better for you than a line of coke.

- JS/S O'N