Family Surprises: Monica McInerney

Family Surprises: Monica McInerney

Monica McInerneyBorn: In the Clare Valley, a wine region of South Australia.

Childhood: Grew up in a family of seven children. Her father was the railway station master, her mother worked in the local library.

Best known for: Hello from the Gillespies, Those Faraday Girls, The Alphabet Sisters.

Most recent book: The Trip of a Lifetime. At the age of 85, Lola Quinlan is going home, travelling to Ireland for the first time since she emigrated to Australia as a twenty-year-old. What – and who – will be waiting for her there, alongside her memories?

How many books published: 15

How she became a writer: Monica had always wanted to write and when she was between jobs, living in Hobart, she started writing short stories for magazines. Monica came runner-up in a ‘write a bestseller’ competition organised by Marian Keyes’ Irish publisher, Poolbeg and as a result, was offered a three-book contract. Her debut novel, A Taste For It, was published in 2001.

Star Sign: Aries

Quotable quotes: ‘No matter where we live, we’ve all been through the joy and the grief, and the ties and tensions of family life.’

Interests: Cooking, reading, long walks, photography. (She often posts photo galleries on her Facebook page.)

Did you know? On Monica’s mother’s side, the family were all great musicians who arrived from Ireland via ship in Australia with very few clothes but a great number of musical instruments. Her father’s grandfather, a political activist forced to go into hiding, had two choices: go to jail or emigrate.

Favourite Book: She has dozens of favourites, but currently it’s Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge.

Likes: Salty things. Cats.

Dislikes: The sound of revving engines. Racism. Unkindness.

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                    Monica McInerney
                    About the author

                    Monica McInerney

                    One of the stars of Australian fiction, Monica McInerney is the author of the internationally bestselling novels A Taste for ItUpside Down Inside OutSpin the BottleThe Alphabet SistersFamily BaggageThose Faraday Girls, At Home with the Templetons, Lola's Secret, The House of Memories, Hello from the Gillespies, The Trip of a Lifetime and The Godmothers, and a short story collection, All Together Now. Those Faraday Girls was the winner of the General Fiction Book of the Year prize at the 2008 Australian Book Industry Awards. In 2006 Monica was the ambassador for the Australian Government initiative Books Alive, with her novella Odd One Out. Monica grew up in a family of seven children in the Clare Valley of South Australia and has been living between Australia and Ireland for twenty years. She and her Irish husband currently live in Dublin.

                    Books by Monica McInerney

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