Shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Sunday Independent Best Newcomer of the Year Award for 2018.

This Hostel Life tells the stories of migrant women in a hidden Ireland. From a day in the life of women queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel to a young black woman’s depiction of everyday racism in Ireland, her nuanced writing shines a light on the injustice of the direct provision system and on the insidious racism experienced by migrant women living in Ireland.

A third story, set in a Nigeria of the past, tells of a woman’s life destroyed by an ancient superstition and her fierce determination to carry on, a quality Okorie believes is universally shared by women. There is also essay by Liam Thornton (UCD School of Law) explaining the Irish legal position in relation to asylum seekers and direct provision. ‘Melatu Uche Okorie has important things to say – and she does it quite brilliantly.

Her language is arresting and inventive, and very entertaining.’ Roddy Doyle ‘These fresh, devastating stories are compelling.

Melatu Uche Okorie writes with uncomfortable clarity about things we think we already know. She takes us to places we might not want to go within ourselves and to worlds we haven’t seen before in Irish writing.’ Lia Mills