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Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published four novels: Conversations with Friends (2017), Normal People (2018), Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), and Intermezzo (2024). The first two were adapted into the television miniseries Normal People (2020) and Conversations with Friends (2022).
Sally Rooney | |
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| Born | 20 February 1991 Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland |
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| Language | English |
| Education | Trinity College Dublin |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | Conversations with Friends (2017) Normal People (2018) Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) Intermezzo (2024) |
| Signature | |
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Rooney's work has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, and she is regarded as one of the foremost millennial writers.[1][2][3] Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.[4]
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Rooney was born in Castlebar, County Mayo,[5] in 1991, where she also grew up[6] and lives today, after studying in Dublin and a stint in New York City.[7] Her father, Kieran Rooney, worked for Telecom Éireann and her mother, Marie Farrell, ran an arts centre.[6][8][9] Rooney has an older brother and a younger sister.[6] She studied English at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where she was elected a scholar in 2011.[10] She started (but did not complete) a master's degree in politics there, completing a degree in American literature instead, and graduated with an MA in 2013.[11]
While attending Trinity College Dublin, Rooney was a university debater and eventually became the top debater at the European Universities Debating Championships in 2013,[12][13] later writing of the experience.[14] Before becoming a writer, she worked for a restaurant in an administrative role.[15][16]
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Early career
Rooney completed her first novel—which she has called "absolute trash"—at age 15.[17] Her first published works were two poems in The Stinging Fly, submitted to the magazine when she was in secondary school.[18] She began writing "constantly" in late 2014. She completed her debut novel, Conversations with Friends, while studying for her master's degree in American literature. She wrote 100,000 words of the book in three months.[17]
In 2015, her essay "Even If You Beat Me", about her time as the "top competitive debater on the continent of Europe", was seen by an agent, Tracy Bohan, of the Wylie Agency, and Bohan contacted Rooney. Rooney gave Bohan a manuscript, and Bohan circulated it to publishers, receiving seven bids.[9][19][20]
She had seen my story and wondered whether I had anything else she could read... But I didn’t send her anything for ages... I don’t know why. I didn't want her to see this shoddy draft.[15]
Conversations with Friends (2017)
Rooney signed with Tracy Bohan of the Wylie Agency, and Conversations with Friends was subject to a seven-party auction for its publishing rights, which were eventually sold in 12 countries.[21][15] The novel was published in June 2017 by Faber & Faber. It was nominated for the 2018 Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize,[22] and the 2018 Folio Prize, and won the 2017 Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award.[23][24]
In March 2017, her short story "Mr Salary" was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.[25] In November 2017, Rooney was announced as editor of the Irish literary magazine The Stinging Fly.[26] She was a contributing writer to the magazine.[27] She oversaw the magazine's two issues in 2018, before handing the editorship over to Danny Denton. She remains a contributing editor to the magazine.[28]
In 2018, Rooney was announced as taking part in the Cúirt International Festival of Literature.[29]
Normal People (2018)
Rooney's second novel, Normal People, was published in September 2018, also by Faber & Faber.[30][31] The novel grew out of Rooney's exploration of the history between the two main characters of her short story "At the Clinic", which was first published in London-based literary magazine The White Review in 2016.[32][33] In July 2018, Normal People was longlisted for that year's Man Booker Prize.[34] On 27 November 2018, the work won "Irish Novel of the Year" at the Irish Book Awards[35] and was named Waterstones' Book of the Year for 2018.[36] In January 2019, it won the Costa Book Award (formerly the Whitbread) for the Novel category.[37][38] It was longlisted for the 2019 Dylan Thomas Prize[39] and the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction.[40] It has been translated into 46 languages and earned praise from Barack Obama and Taylor Swift, among others.[7]
Television adaptations
Normal People was made into a 12-part series as a co-production of BBC Three and the online platform Hulu, with filming taking place in Dublin and County Sligo.[41] The series was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal played Marianne and Connell, respectively. The series was a critical success and earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations including for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series.[42]
In May 2022, the novel Conversations with Friends was also made into a 12-episode BBC Three/Hulu miniseries,[43][44] with the same creative team that was behind Normal People. Director Lenny Abrahamson and co-writer Alice Birch worked on this adaptation, too.[45][46]
Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021)
In April 2019, the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers announced its 2019 class of fellows, which included Rooney. The press release stated, "she will be writing a new novel under the working title Beautiful World, Where Are You, examining aesthetics and political crisis."[47] The novel was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the United States and by Faber in the UK and Ireland in September 2021.[48][49][50] She did not accept any options for a film adaptation.[51]
Intermezzo (2024)
Rooney's fourth novel, Intermezzo, was released in September 2024. The novel focuses on the complicated relationship between two brothers.[52][53][54][55]
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Rooney describes herself as a feminist and a Marxist;[56][57][7] both her parents are socialists and instilled socialist values in Rooney.[58][59] Rooney has said that her work has a Marxist character, and noted that her characters tend to live in economically precarious conditions despite often being college educated.[60]
The feminist themes in Rooney's works have made them popular in China, where they have been best sellers.[61][62]
During the 2018 referendum on the legality of abortion in Ireland, Rooney campaigned for a Yes vote.[9][63]
Views on Israel
Rooney declined an offer from an Israeli publisher to translate Beautiful World, Where Are You into Hebrew, citing her support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[64][65] In October 2021, she said, "The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available, and if I can find a way to sell these rights that is compliant with the BDS movement's institutional boycott guidelines, I will be very pleased and proud to do so".[66] In retaliation, two Israeli bookshop chains announced a withdrawal of all of Rooney's titles from their shelves in early November.[67] Rooney's Israeli publisher said it would continue selling her titles.[68] Subsequently, in a letter organized by Artists for Palestine UK, 70 writers and publishers, including Kevin Barry, Rachel Kushner, Geoff Dyer, Pankaj Mishra, Carmen Callil, and Ahdaf Soueif, said they supported Rooney’s decision.[69] In October 2024, Rooney and over 5,500 other writers signed an open letter pledging not to work with Israeli cultural institutions.[70]
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Normal People | Writer / executive producer | 12 episodes: Hulu & BBC Three |
| 2022 | Conversations with Friends | Executive producer | 12 episodes: Hulu & BBC Three |
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Novels
- Conversations with Friends. London: Faber & Faber. 2017. ISBN 9780571333127.
- Normal People. London: Faber & Faber. 2018. ISBN 9780571334643.
- Beautiful World, Where Are You. London: Faber & Faber. 2021. ISBN 9780571365425.
- Intermezzo. London: Faber & Faber. 2024. ISBN 9780571365463.
Short fiction
- After Eleanor Left. Vol. 1. Ballinafad: Winter Pages. Winter 2015. pp. 25–30. ISBN 9780993302909.[71][72][73][74]
- Concord 34. Vol. 63. Dublin: The Dublin Review. Summer 2016. ISBN 9780992991579.[75]
- At the Clinic. Vol. 18. London: The White Review. September 2016. ISBN 9780992756291.[76][77]
- Features prototypes of characters Marianne and Connell from 2018's Normal People.[78]
- "Robbie Brady's astonishing late goal takes its place in our personal histories". New Statesman. 10 August 2017.[79]
- Mr Salary. London: Faber & Faber. 3 January 2019. p. 48. ISBN 9780571351954. OCLC 1104816821.[80]
- "Color and Light". The New Yorker. 11 March 2019.[83]
- (Also published in Being Various: New Irish Short Stories. London: Faber & Faber. 2019. ISBN 9780571342501.)[84]
- "Unread Messages". The New Yorker. 5 July 2021.[85]
Poetry
- "Tírghrá". The Stinging Fly. 2 (15). Spring 2010.[86]
- "Impossibilities". The Stinging Fly. 2 (15). Spring 2010.[87]
- "The Stillest Horse". The Stinging Fly. 2 (23). Winter 2012.[88]
- "After a Road Traffic Accident, Chennai". The Stinging Fly. 2 (28). Summer 2014.[89]
- "The Most Amazing Live Instrumental Performance You Have Ever Heard". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[90]
- "Seven AM in April". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[91]
- "An Account of Vital Clues Which Appear To You In A Dream". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[92]
- "It Is Monday". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[93]
- "Have I Been Severe?". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[94]
- "Leaving You". The Stinging Fly. 2 (30). Spring 2015. ISBN 9781906539443.[95]
Essays
- Even if you beat me. Vol. 58. The Dublin Review. Spring 2015. ISBN 9780992991524.[14]
- "An Irish Problem". London Review of Books. 40 (10). 24 May 2018.[63]
- "An App to Cure My Fainting Spells". The New Yorker. 20 November 2017.[96]
Audiobooks
- Two Stories (Audiobook). Narrated by Aofie McMahon & Sam O'Mahony. London: Audible & Faber & Faber. 11 May 2020.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)[97]
- This audiobook contains unabridged readings of the stories "Mr Salary" and "Color and Light", previously published in Granta and The New Yorker, respectively.
Book reviews
- Rooney, Sally (9 February 2018). "Troubled Marriages, Old and New". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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- Schwartz, Alexandra (31 July 2017). "A New Kind of Adultery Novel". The New Yorker.
- Collins, Lauren (7 January 2019). "Post and riposte : Sally Rooney's novels of love and late capitalism". Life and Letters. The New Yorker. Vol. 94, no. 43. pp. 24–29.[note 1]
- Garner, Dwight (8 April 2019). "Sally Rooney's 'Normal People' Explores Intense Love Across Social Classes". The New York Times.
- Martin, Andrew (15 April 2019). "Is Sally Rooney's New Novel as Great as Her First?". The New York Times.
- "'Normal People' Appeals Across Genders And Generations". NPR. 16 April 2019.
- Grady, Constance (3 September 2019). "The cult of Sally Rooney". Vox.
- Baucina, Anastasia (6 May 2020). "How Sally Rooney Gave Normal People Radical Politics". Jacobin. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- Eakin, Emily (12 February 2020). "He Courted Me Through My Favorite Novel". The New York Times.
Consider Sally Rooney's 2017 'Conversations With Friends,' widely heralded as the first great novel of millennial life.
- "The corporeal imagination of Sally Rooney's 'Normal People'". America Magazine. 8 May 2020.
- Sheahan, Fionná (23 May 2020). "It's Marianne's fault we can't get a government to satisfy Normal People". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
The author of Normal People is a self-professed Marxist... her politics seeps through her writing. It's no accident the central protagonists of the book that has captured the nation's imagination are the rich girl living in the mansion and the poor boy whose mother works as her family's cleaner. The TV version glosses over the discussions around 'The Communist Manifesto' and the feminist bible 'The Golden Notebook'.
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- 2017 The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year[22]
- 2018 Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year – Normal People[98]
- 2018 Costa Book Awards – Normal People[99]
- 2019 Encore Award – Normal People[100]
- 2022 Dalkey Literary Awards – Beautiful World, Where Are You[101]
- 2024 Irish Book Awards Author of the Year[102]
Rooney lives in her childhood hometown of Castlebar and is married to John Prasifka, a mathematics teacher.[7][103]
- Online version is titled "Sally Rooney gets in your head".
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