Emma Donoghue Biography

Born in Dublin, Ireland, in October 1969, Emma Donoghue is the youngest of eight children of Frances and Denis Donoghue (the literary critic). She attended Catholic convent schools in Dublin, apart from one eye-opening year in New York at the age of ten. In 1990 she earned a first-class honours BA in English and French from University College Dublin (unfortunately, without learning to actually speak French). She moved to England, and in 1997 received her PhD (on the concept of friendship between men and women in eighteenth-century English fiction) from the University of Cambridge. From the age of 23, she has earned her living as a writer, and has been lucky enough to never have an 'honest job' since she was sacked after a single summer month as a chambermaid. After years of commuting between England, Ireland, and Canada, in 1998 she settled in London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner Chris Roulston and their son Finn (15) and daughter Una (11).

Donoghue is best known for her fiction, which has been translated into over forty languages. Her novels for adults include Slammerkin (2001), Landing (2007), The Sealed Letter (2008), Room (2010), Frog Music (2014), The Wonder (2016), and Akin (2019). She has also published four collections of short stories, several plays and screenplays, and a series for middle-grade readers called The Lotterys (2017-2018).

Emma Donoghue's website

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