Caitriona Lally
Caitriona Lally | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | Eggshells |
Caitriona Lally is an Irish writer. She won the 2018 Rooney Prize.[1]
Life
Lally studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin.[2] 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 wrote her first novel Eggshells while working a job in data entry.[3] She works as a janitor at Trinity College Dublin[4] and lives in Dublin with her family.[5]
Books
Lally's first novel Eggshells tells the story of Vivian, an enchanting outsider who believes herself to be a changeling[6] 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 a competition and won the chance to pitch it to agents and publishers, an opportunity that secured her an agent and a book deal. The novel was published in 2015.[3]
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]
Lally's second novel 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."[8]
Works
- Eggshells. Melville House, 2017. ISBN 9781612195971 [9][10]
- Wunderland, New Island Books, 2021.
She performed a spoken word piece in the 2016 Dublin Port project Starboard Home.[11]
Awards
- 2014: Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, finalist[12]
- 2018: Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for Eggshells
- 2019: Lannan Literary Fellowship
Personal life
Lally and her husband, who works for the Irish government, live in Dublin.[5]
References
- ^ MacLellan, Lila. "A prestigious university just awarded a literary prize to one of its janitors". Quartz at Work. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ "Caitriona Lally wins major literary prize in Trinity (where she works as a cleaner)". Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
- ^ a b News, The Lily. "This writer is also a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary award from the university she cleans". https://www.thelily.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help); External link in|website= - ^ 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 2020-04-06.
- ^ a b Klein, Allison. "This author also works as a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary prize from the university she cleans". Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". the Guardian. 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
- ^ "Caitriona Lally". www.artscouncil.ie. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "Wunderland: A Novel". NEW ISLAND BOOKS. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
- ^ Miller, E. Ce. "This Writer Works As A Janitor At The University That Just Awarded Her A Literary Prize". Bustle. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ Kilroy, Claire (2015-09-12). "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ "Writer's Block with Caitriona Lally". The Gloss Magazine. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ^ "An Post Irish Book Awards » Caitriona Lally". Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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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