Alice Ryan.
Granddaughter of Mary Lavin, and daughter of the writer James Ryan, and the late Caroline Walsh, (Books editor of the Irish Times,) Alice had an idyllic childhood. “But I wasn’t interested in books,” she says. …
Lily Lindon
At 14, Lily wrote what she thought was a great work of fiction – until she realised that she had plagiarised Agatha Christie. “I loved music and drama too. I played the piano, and the trombone.”…
Emma Donoghue
When Emma Donoghue was holidaying on the Beara Peninsular, a friend booked a boat trip around the famous Skelligs. Transfixed by the spikiest landscape she had ever seen, Donoghue wondered how monks had managed to land…
E.V. Kelly
Ellen grew up in a household of writers. “My mum wrote short stories, just for herself, and my dad had some poetry published.” After college, Ellen became a researcher for the health board – working with…
Rosamund Taylor.
Rosamund was a dreamy child, who enjoyed making up stories. “I was an only child,” she says, “and I was great at entertaining myself.” She was introduced to poetry at 10, through the Puffin collection,…
Bobby Palmer
Bobby has always wanted to create something. “As a kid I wanted to be a comic book writer,” he says. “I was obsessed with drawing and colouring in.” After university Bobby jumped straight into journalism. “I…
Louisa Reid
Louisa was an early reader. “My mother took me to mass every week. I’d follow her finger along the lines of her hymnbook, grasping language.” She discovered poetry in her teens, reading it, and,…
Frances Flannery
Leaving school, Frances had no idea what she wanted to do, so, having taken a commercial course, she went to London using her Pitman skills to work in offices. “I worked in every business including…
David Park.
David Park, 68, is the most self-effacing author I have ever come across. He didn’t even call himself a writer until his seventh novel was published back in 2012 – and only then because, faced with…
Tony O’Reilly.
As a child, Tony loved his local library, enjoying science fiction, and novels by Alastair MacLean at an early age. Leaving school at 16, he went into the printing industry as a pre-press technician rising to…
Sean Hewitt.
The middle of three brothers, Seán remembers his childhood as a time of freedom. “I was a very self-sufficient child. I read a lot, and wandered around, fishing in the stream, or making an ant…
Niamh Mulvey
Leaving college, Niamh had no idea what she wanted to do. “I loved writing, always, but I didn’t think I could be a writer.” Instead, she worked in primary schools teaching English, History and Irish, teaching…