Caitriona Lally

Caitríona Lally
NationalityIrish
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
GenreFiction
Notable worksEggshells

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

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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

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  • Eggshells. Melville House, 2017. ISBN 9781612195971[11][12]
  • Wunderland, New Island Books, 2021.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Wunderland: A Novel". NEW ISLAND BOOKS. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Caitriona Lally wins major literary prize in Trinity (where she works as a cleaner)". Irish Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b "This writer is also a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary award from the university she cleans". Washington Post. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". the Guardian. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ^ Finding Success through the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, 14 September 2020, retrieved 11 March 2022
  7. ^ "Caitriona Lally". www.artscouncil.ie. Arts Council of Ireland. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Writer's Block with Caitriona Lally". The Gloss Magazine. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Miller, E. Ce (31 October 2018). "This Writer Works As A Janitor At The University That Just Awarded Her A Literary Prize". Bustle. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  12. ^ Kilroy, Claire (12 September 2015). "Eggshells by Caitriona Lally review – a daring debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  13. ^ "An Post Irish Book Awards » Caitriona Lally". Retrieved 6 April 2020.
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