Caitriona Lally
Caitríona Lally | |
---|---|
Nationality | Irish |
Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
Genre | Fiction |
Notable works | Eggshells |
Caitríona Lally is an Irish writer. She has published two novels: Eggshells (2017) and Wunderland (2021).[1] In 2018 she was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.[2]
Biography
Lally studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin.[3] After graduating in 2004, she taught English in Japan and spent time travelling abroad. She then worked as a copywriter, and as a home aide in New York.
Lally began work on her first novel Eggshells in 2011, during a period of unemployment.[4] Eggshells tells the story of Vivian, an enchanting outsider who believes herself to be a changeling[5] and roams the streets of Dublin in search of belonging. The book explores ideas of home and the meaning of society. Lally worked on Eggshells while working a job in data entry. She entered the manuscript into the 2014 Novel Fair Competition held by the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin,[6] and won the chance to pitch it to agents and publishers. The opportunity secured her an agent and a book deal, and the novel was published in 2015.[4] Eggshells was shortlisted for the Newcomer Award at the 2015 Irish Book Awards and the Kate O’Brien Debut Novel Award. In 2015, Lally received a Literature Bursary from the Arts Council, which enabled her to start research for her second novel.[7]
She performed a spoken word piece in the 2016 Dublin Port project Starboard Home.[8]
Wunderland was published in September 2021. It follows Roy, exiled from Ireland to Hamburg, where he works as a cleaner at an exhibition of miniatures. On writing the novel, Lally said, "Writing Wunderland was a chance for me to indulge my obsessions with trains and all things miniature, and to explore two characters coming at life from very different perspectives."[1]
Lally and her husband, who works for the Irish government, live in Dublin with their family.[9] Alongside her writing, Lally works as a cleaner at Trinity College Dublin.[10]
Bibliography
- Eggshells. Melville House, 2017. ISBN 9781612195971 [11][12]
- Wunderland, New Island Books, 2021.
Awards
- 2014: Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, finalist[13]
- 2018: Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for Eggshells
- 2019: Lannan Literary Fellowship
References
- ^ a b "Wunderland: A Novel". NEW ISLAND BOOKS. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ MacLellan, Lila (7 October 2018). "A prestigious university just awarded a literary prize to one of its janitors". Quartz at Work. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Caitriona Lally wins major literary prize in Trinity (where she works as a cleaner)". Irish Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ a b "This writer is also a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary award from the university she cleans". thelily.com. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". the Guardian. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Finding Success through the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, retrieved 11 March 2022
- ^ "Caitriona Lally". www.artscouncil.ie. Arts Council of Ireland. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Writer's Block with Caitriona Lally". The Gloss Magazine. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Klein, Allison. "This author also works as a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary prize from the university she cleans". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Jones, Fionnuala. "The way the media speaks about author Catriona Lally's day job is telling of how it views the service industry". The Daily Edge. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Miller, E. Ce. "This Writer Works As A Janitor At The University That Just Awarded Her A Literary Prize". Bustle. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Kilroy, Claire (12 September 2015). "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "An Post Irish Book Awards » Caitriona Lally". Retrieved 6 April 2020.
External links
- The way the media speaks about author Catriona Lally's day job is telling of how it views the service industry
- Caitriona Lally
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- Desmond Hogan (1977)
- Peter Sheridan (1978)
- Kate Cruise O'Brien (1979)
- Bernard Farrell (1980)
- Neil Jordan (1981)
- Medbh McGuckian/Special Prize: Seán Ó Tuama & Thomas Kinsella (1982)
- Dorothy Nelson (1983)
- Ronan Sheehan (1984)
- Frank McGuinness (1985)
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- Deirdre Madden (1987)
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- David Wheatley (1998)
- Mark O'Rowe (1999)
- Claire Keegan (2000)
- Keith Ridgway (2001)
- Caitríona O'Reilly (2002)
- Eugene O'Brien (2003)
- Claire Kilroy (2004)
- Nick Laird (2005)
- Philip Ó Ceallaigh (2006)
- Kevin Barry (2007)
- Leontia Flynn (2008)
- Kevin Power (2009)
- Leanne O'Sullivan (2010)
- Lucy Caldwell (2011)
- Nancy Harris (2012)
- Ciarán Collins (2013)
- Colin Barrett (2014)
- Sara Baume (2015)
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa (2016)
- Elizabeth Reapy (2017)
- Caitriona Lally (2018)
- Mark O'Connell (2019)
- Stephen Sexton (2020)
- Niamh Campbell (2021)
- Seán Hewitt (2022)
- Michael Magee (2023)
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