Irish author and Trinity alumna Sally Rooney has been nominated for the Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize, the world’s biggest award for young writers, for her debut novel Conversation with Friends.
Rooney studied English Literature at Trinity and wrote for Trinity News. She was involved in the College Historical Society (the Hist) and finished as top speaker at the European University Debating Championships in 2013. She won the Irish Young Writer of the Year award in December and recently became the Editor of Irish magazine the Stinging Fly.
Rooney wrote her debut novel in three months while completing her Masters in American Literature at Trinity. The novel set in Dublin focuses on the involvement of two former female lovers in the affair of a married couple.
The shortlist is made up of six nominations, four female and two male. Rooney is listed alongside the Zambian -born poet Kayo Chingonyi, Cuban-American short-story writer Carmen Maria Machado, British novelist Gwendoline Riley, and debut American novelists Emily Ruskovich and Gabriel Tallent.
The award is in its 10th edition and is the world’s biggest literary prize for writers under the age of 39. The winner will be announced on May 10.
