Niamh Hargan.
Niamh has always believed that she would write a novel. “It seemed a very standard aspiration,” she says. “As normal as buying a house.” After training as a solicitor in a commercial law firm in…
Sally Hanan.
The second of six children brought up in County Wicklow, Sally was an early reader. “I was always reading,” she says. “I started school aged three. At National School we had to write our news…
Olivia Fitzsimons.
After studying history at university, Olivia went to London and worked as a business manager in advertising. After two years, moving to Dublin, she took an MA in Film. “I met my husband there, and stayed…
Catherine Prasifka.
Catherine wrote her first story – about two witches and a dragon when she was nine; and as a teenager wrote two novels as a practice project. “I always said I wanted to be a writer,”…
Sophie Haydock.
Books formed a huge part of Sophie’s childhood. “My Mum was always writing,” says Sophie. “She was never published but she always encouraged me. I felt writing was possible.” Sophie started writing in the final…
Alison Weatherby
After moving from California to Texas, Connecticut and Missouri, the teenage Alison lived in Seattle. After university, she worked there for Microsoft, before moving to New York to take an MA. “Then I moved back…
Rosemary Hennigan
Rosemary has always read voraciously. “I wrote my first novel at 12 – it was about the 1916 rising, and my second as a teenager. I loved drama and ballet, always, but studied law to…
Amy Cronin
A bookish, non-sporty child, Amy was always writing stories, and they were always dark and edgy. After college she moved to Northampton with her boyfriend, now husband. “I worked in the Avon headquarters, and…
Eddie Hobbs.
Eddie comes from an artistic family. “As a child I was always happy to entertain,” he says. “I was a ventriloquist for a while.” Leaving school at 16, with his Leaving Certificate, Eddie worked for Cork…
Sheila Armstrong
An imaginative child who read constantly, Sheila started writing in her teen years, finding the process cathartic. From university Sheila worked in publishing interning with New Island, Lilliput, and The Irish Writer’s Centre before going freelance…
Mia Doring
A prolific reader, Mia was always writing. As a child, she wrote sequels to the books she loved. After Art college, Mia moved to Berlin where she made some art, and taught English as a Foreign…
Tracey Lange
Brought up in Manhattan, Tracey comes from a large extended Irish family. “We spent a lot of summers in Northern Ireland,” she says. “My Dad comes from County Down, and Mum’s family came from Dublin…