John Patrick McHugh

FUN AND GAMES by @johnpamchugh is out now 💋🇮🇪✨🏐 A stunning debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland. A darkly comic and beautifully crafted novel that is full of feeling both harsh and tender. And just look at some the incredible reviews for it so far… ⭐️ ‘A triumph – an irresistible tribute to the agonies of adolescence – and also the funniest novel I’ve read in years’ SALLY ROONEY ⭐️ ‘A funny and frank coming-of age-drama, propelled by the heart-swelling comic agony of the protagonist’s incapacity to act without second-guessing the consequences for his social rank’ OBSERVER, ‘The best new novelists for 2025’ ⭐️ ‘I had a blast with this super-smart novel …In 20 years of reviewing, I’m not sure I’ve read a funnier book, or one I’ve enjoyed more’ DAILY MAIL, Anthony Cummins ⭐️ ‘A male Sally Rooney … A coming-of-age novel that not only deftly explores young masculinity today but also dives into the sexual discovery of it all with both feet, shoelaces flying’ INEWS ⭐️ ‘A writer at the top of his technical game … McHugh’s writing has the full range: it can be funny, and deeply sad, and at times horribly apt’ TELEGRAPH #FunandGames #JohnPatrickMcHugh #literaryfiction #debutnovel #4thestatebooks

very proud and grateful to be one of the @obsnewreview debut novelists for 2025. It’s means so much and I’m so thrilled/privileged to be alongside such wonderful writers. Very thankful to Anthony Cummins for the interview and Sophia Evans for the (fairly) pain free photos. Grateful to Ange and everyone at @4thestatebooks : Kish, Patrick, Patricia, Matt, Tayiba, Eve. ‘Fun and Games’ is out on the 24th of April and I am really proud of it. 👩‍❤️‍👨🏐 You write a book and you wonder will anyone ever read it, will you ever finish it, will it be any good, will anyone laugh at your airport jokes: so today feels very special indeed. And yes the cardigan is very very cosy. 🐑

Issue 21 (spring/summer 2026) has gone to print! View the contents, pre-order your copy or renew your subscription at the links in bio ✨ Feat. work by: @jeannedesutun @bethkilkenny_ Joe Cottrell-Boyce Saoirse McCann Callanan Rosemary O' Dowd @catherineairey @drnollid @lorraine_haigney @the_clown_correspondent Morgan MacVaugh Chris Cottom Carol Mbugua @karenarnold1287 @denysewoodstypist @rmlferrier @zmameadows @faekplastiksteev @maimaiomai @snehaskanta @ingy_pops @aineroseconnell Jacob Mckibbin Meg Mulcahy @leggettbohan Sean Thomas Dougherty @olwenrowe @fifinolala Chris Kitson @karanchamberspoetry Stephen Spratt @shakeemastar @rowanlyster Gerard Smyth

💛 FUN AND GAMES by @johnpamchugh - out now in paperback and @waterstones Irish Book of the Month! ‘A triumph … the funniest novel I’ve read in years’ SALLY ROONEY ‘A brilliant and bittersweet ode to young love’ IRISH TIMES ‘One of my favourite books of the year’ JULIA ARMFIELD ‘A funny and frank coming-of age-drama’ OBSERVER John Masterson has no idea what he wants. It’s his last summer on the small island where he has grown up. He should be enjoying the weeks until his exam results come through, but instead he’s desperately trying to keep his head down after his mother’s nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island. He’s doing his best to distract himself with his Gaelic football ambitions, going out with his mates and a blossoming, sort-of, romance with his slightly older co-worker Amber. But soon John must face up to the choices before him: to stand out or fit in and whether to love and let himself be loved, despite, or perhaps because of, the flaws that make us all human. 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Next one. Ticket link in bio xxxxx

‘Fun and Games’ was published a year ago today and this is the fitter, stronger, Championship-focused paperback which will be published on the 7th of May. 🌱 So grateful to everyone who has read it, reviewed it, blurbed it, talked about it, sent me a message: truly the greatest feeling is hearing from someone who has read the book and enjoyed it, it does not get better. I am proud of this novel and I feel very lucky that it has met readers and had such a kind reception. Big thanks to @kishani & @4thestatebooks & @angetranvan . Seeya till the next one 🙏

very lovely to be included in this book on video games. My essay is about Final Fantasy IX, my first love, and told via the battle commands. Very grateful to @dean_fee and @lilliputpress . Honoured to be among such great writers 🙏 Yes, the hat can be removed🧙🏻‍♂️

Tolka, a literary journal that publishes ‘formally promiscuous’ non-fiction, talks to three writers about voice: John Patrick McHugh, Maija Makela and Declan Toohey 💫 In pieces written for Tolka, John Patrick McHugh considers the voices in his head when writing and when playing football, Maija Makela searches for ghostly voices while on a haunted writer’s residency, and Declan Toohey spends an afternoon housesitting and wonders if the voice in his head is really him at all 🔎 🗓️ Thursday, 23 April 2026 ⌚️ 1:00pm 🎟️ Free 📌 The Mick Lally Theatre @themicklallytheatre 🔗 Tickets in bio | Cúirt.ie | @thtgalway Cúirt International Festival of Literature is presented by Galway Arts Centre

very happy and proud to see ‘Fun and Games’ named as one of the Observer’s Books of the Year today amongst so many great titles. All things F&G became real when it managed to get onto the Observer debut novelist list so this is a lovely full circle moment and a nice way to end its hardback career. (Also aware how annoying lists are as a writer…) Grateful for all readers and kind mentions of the book: they mean the world Please appreciate our catty snowman ⛄️ Please don’t hate on the starless tree 🌲 Please kiss my novel like this cartoon man smooches his 🎅🏻

“We’re a very hungry nation when it comes to books.” It was great to chat with @johnpamchugh , author of ‘Fun and Games’, which is shortlisted for the 2025 @eason_ireland Novel of the Year. But have you voted for YOUR favourite book? Our public vote closes at 6pm TOMORROW! Follow the link in our bio to have your say. @4thestatebooks #APIBA #StoriesMakeUs

very proud to have my essay ‘Voice, Voice, Voice’ published in the tenth issue of @tolkajournal and in such esteemed company. Dinho, Rooney, Keano and now Tolka with ten on the back ⚽️ Essay is about voice in writing, sport, and head 🌝

✏️Seventeen-year-old John Masterson has no idea what he wants. It’s his last summer on the small island where he has grown up and he should be enjoying the weeks until his exam results come through. ✏️Instead, he’s working mind-numbing shifts at the local hotel and trying to keep his head down after his mother’s nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island. ✏️As John joins the local senior football team, gets caught up in fights and parties, and embarks on a tentative relationship with his slightly older co-worker Amber that he feels both proud and ashamed of, he can almost pretend that this summer will last forever. ✏️But soon John must face up to the choices before to stay or leave, to stand out or fit in, and whether to love and let himself be loved, despite or perhaps because of, the flaws that make us all human. ✏️Fun and Games is a darkly comic, beautifully crafted debut novel that is full of feeling both harsh and tender. It takes in social class and its firm borders, manhood and its frailties, family and, of course, love. A stunning, darkly comic and deeply moving debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland, from the author of the acclaimed short story collection Pure Gold. #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookreader #bookstoread #books #readwithme #readingcommunity #bookreadingcommunity #bookclub #irelandbookclub #bookclubofinstagram #bookrecommendations #fictionbooks #irishauthors #ireland #dublin #booksbasedinireland #booksireland #bookrecs #debutnovel #lgbtbooks #comingofage #irishliterature