John McGahern wrote six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, and was the recipient of many awards and honors, including an award from the Society of Author, the American Ireland Fund Literary Awards, the Prix Ecureuil de Littérature Etrangère and the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Amongst Women, which won both the GPA Book Award and the Irish Times Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He died in 2006.