Emma Donoghue

Born in 1969 in Ireland to esteemed literary critic Denis Donoghue and his wife Frances, Emma Donoghue grew up in Dublin and earned degrees in English literature from University College Dublin and the University of Cambridge. In 1998, Donoghue and her partner Christine Roulson relocated to Roulson’s home country of Canada, where they have lived ever since. Donoghue’s novels, including Stir Fry, Hood, Slammerkin, and 2010’s worldwide smash Room, are largely about the lives and concerns of women throughout history and often focus on lesbian themes. Room, her most successful work to date, was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction, and was later adapted into a 2015 film starring Brie Larson. The film version of Room garnered commercial and critical attention for Larson, and she won an Academy Award for the role. Donoghue wrote the screenplay, adapting it from her own novel, and was nominated for her work at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs. Donoghue is also the author of numerous short stories, plays, and critical essays, and she holds dual Irish and Canadian citizenship.