Nothing Compares To You:
What Sinéad O’Connor Means to Us
Nothing Compares To You: What Sinéad O’Connor Means to Us. Edited by Sonya Huber & Martha Bayne. Atria/One Signal, Simon & Schuster, July 2025. Forward by Neko Case.
$28.99, hardcover, 256 pages. ISBN: 9781668078334
Send media and ARC requests to Maria Mann, maria.mann@simonandschuster.com.
Interview requests to Sonya Huber at shuber@fairfield.edu and Martha Bayne at xxxxxxx.
Cover Image and editor headshots available under “Resources and Downloads” on the Simon & Schuster website.
One song, one author. The book we need right now.
We invited some of our favorite essayists to choose a song, and what we received in these essays has
NEKO CASE—Foreward: Sinéad the Undying
SHARBARI ZOHRA AHMED—For Shuhada: “Heroine”
ZOE ZOLBROD—When We All Knew They Were All Wrong: “Jackie”
SINÉAD GLEESON—Feel No Pain: “Mandinka”
GINA FRANGELLO—Of Fire and Ash: “Troy”
POROCHISTA KHAKPOUR—Open Letters to a Spiritual Soldier: “I Want Your (Hands on Me)”
MILLICENT SOURIS—Listen to the Man at the Liquor Store: “Drink Before the War”
MADHUSHREE GHOSH—Bindaas: “Feel So Different”
HEIDI CZERWIEC—Keen and Keen: “I Am Stretched on Your Grave”
BROOKE CHAMPAGNE—Bringing You Closer to Me: “Three Babies”
SARAH VIREN—Brambles: “Black Boys on Mopeds”
MEGAN STIELSTRA—Girl You Better Try to Have Fun: “Nothing Compares 2 U”
MAY-LEE CHAI—A Mother-Daughter Blood Story: “Jump in the River”
SONYA HUBER—As You Summon Steel: “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance”
STACEY LYNN BROWN—To Go Without: “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got”
MIEKE EERKENS—You Are Something: “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
STEPHANIE ELIZONDO GRIEST—I Say War: “War”
LEAH LAKSHMI PIEPZNA-SAMARASINHA—patron saint: “Thank You for Hearing Me”
LAURETTA HANNON—St. Sinéad: “Famine”
MARTHA BAYNE—Sunshower: “The Wolf Is Getting Married”
LIDIA YUKNAVITCH—Holy Shit (A Love Letter): “Song to the Siren”
JILL CHRISTMAN—Precious to Me: “My Special Child”
RAYNE FISHER-QUANN—Sorry for Disappointing: “Daddy I’m Fine”
MYRIAM GURBA—Lo Siento: “All Apologies”
NALINI JONES—Ghosts: “Molly Malone”
ALLYSON McCABE—Truthful Witness: “Horse on the Highway”
More than thirty years ago, Sinéad O’Connor shocked the world by tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II in an act of protest against the violence perpetrated by the Catholic Church. This single act cemented O’Connor’s place as a fearless voice and activist that would later push even further as Sinead became an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, the LGBTQ+ community, and abortion rights. Here in Nothing Compares to You, a renowned and multi-generational group of women and non-binary authors come together to pay tribute to O’Connor’s impact on our world and in their own lives and development as humans and artists.
Nothing Compares to You is a loving and accessible reconsideration and entry point for understanding the Irish icon. Exploring themes such as gender identity, spirituality, artistic expression, and personal transformation, this collection shows that Sinead’s voice continues to ring on even after her death and brilliantly illustrates the power of creative expression to inspire far beyond any presumed lines of age, culture, or class.
Events
June 12, 2025: South Bend, Indiana
6 pm: Book Party at Nonfiction Now! Join us to raise a glass at Danny Boy’s Draft Brewery
July xxx, 2025: West Cork, Ireland
West Cork Literary Festival
July 28, 2025: Chicago, Illinois
Party and Choral Performance at G-Man (Bar attached to Cabaret Metro)
August 7, 2025: Westport Public Library, Westport, Connecticut
Launch Party with readings by Sharbari Ahmed, Sonya Huber, and Nalini Jones
Praise & Reviews
