Prestige Drama

By: Séamas O'Reilly

A LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2026

A dazzling debut about a community where an upcoming film production brings their past into sharp focus—and nobody’s version is the same

In Derry, the locals are already in a twist about the arrival of Hollywood actress Monica Logue to research her role for a show about the Troubles—and then she goes missing.

Everyone has a story to tell—about Monica’s possible whereabouts, and about the historic events that brought her here in the first place: the show’s screenwriter, desperate for this last shot at success; the grieving mother whose story he’s adapting; the ex-IRA member who knows the price of survival; the local psychic who’s seen too much... Prestige Drama brings to life a chorus of characters as they locate themselves in Monica's disappearance, and in the truth about their own history.

From the author of the acclaimed memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, Prestige Drama is heartbreaking, hilarious, and profound, an indelible portrait of a community both obsessed with its past, and desperate to forget it.

Critic reviews

“A hilarious and profound novel. Séamas O'Reilly has an acute ear for the rhythms of real speech, and for the lies we tell ourselves.”—Ed Caesar, author of The Moth and the Mountain

"Bristlingly funny, richly humane, and alive with insight into how we live with the complexities of a violent past. Séamas O'Reilly is a writer with a rare and vital comic gift."—Mark O'Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse

“A comedy about tragedy. Séamas O'Reilly has written a brutal, profound, and very funny novel.”—Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina

“Séamas O'Reilly is one of my favourite living writers. Honestly—there is nobody else who could write a book like this about tragedy, loss and who gets to tell a story, with such deft and moving wit.”—Eva Wiseman, author of My Canary Yellow Star