Marian
Keyes

Marian Keyes is one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time. Though she was brought up in a home where a lot of story-telling went on, it never occurred to her that she could write. Instead, she studied law and accountancy and finally started writing short stories in 1993 “out of the blue”. Though she had no intention of ever writing a novel (“It would take too long”) she sent her short stories to a publisher with a letter saying she’d started work on a novel. The publishers replied, asking to see the novel and, once her panic had subsided, she began to write what subsequently became her first book, Watermelon.

Watermelon was published in Ireland in 1995, where it was an immediate runaway success. Marian went on to write further books on the Walsh family, including the iconic Rachel's Holiday as well as a host of other novels. Marian's works have been translated into 33 languages. 

Marian was born in Limerick in 1963, and brought up in Cavan, Cork, Galway and Dublin; she spent her twenties in London, but is now living in Dún Laoghaire with her husband Tony. She includes among her hobbies, reading, movies, shoes, handbags and feminism. In January 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick.