Stonewall Book Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 24 (1997) Winner
-
Edition 38 (2011) Winner
Emma Donoghue
エマ・ドノヒュー
Ema Donohyū
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1969-10-01 （Dublin, Ireland）
- Nationality
- Irish, Canadian
- Languages
- English, French
- Residence History
- Dublin, Ireland → Cambridge, UK → London, Ontario, Canada
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Screenwriter, Playwright, Literary historian
- Active Years
- 1994-2025
- Influenced By
- Emily Dickinson, Jeanette Winterson, Alan Garner
- Nominations
- Booker Prize Finalist (Room, 2010), Giller Prize longlists etc.
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College Dublin | — | English and French | Bachelor of Arts (first-class honours) | — | Ireland |
| Girton College, Cambridge | — | English | PhD | — | United Kingdom |
University College Dublin
English and French
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts (first-class honours)
Country:
Ireland
Girton College, Cambridge
English
Degree:
PhD
Country:
United Kingdom
Thesis on friendship between men and women in 18th-century fiction
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Stonewall Book Award | Hood | Literature | American Library Association | winner |
| 2002 | Ferro-Grumley Award | Slammerkin | Lesbian Fiction | Publishing Triangle | winner |
| 2010 | Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize | Room | — | — | winner |
| 2010 | Irish Book Awards | Room | — | — | winner |
| 2011 | Alex Awards | Room | — | American Library Association | winner |
| 2025 | Alice B Readers Award | — | — | — | winner |
Stonewall Book Award
1997
Work:
Hood
Category:
Literature
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
winner
Ferro-Grumley Award
2002
Work:
Slammerkin
Category:
Lesbian Fiction
Organization:
Publishing Triangle
Result:
winner
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
2010
Work:
Room
Result:
winner
Irish Book Awards
2010
Work:
Room
Result:
winner
Alex Awards
2011
Work:
Room
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
winner
Alice B Readers Award
2025
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Women's Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (2010) Winner
Irish Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (2010) Winner
Goodreads Choice Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (2010) Winner
Works
Major Works
Room
2010 Literary Fiction 321 pagesA novel told from the perspective of a 5-year-old boy held captive in a single room with his mother.
CaptivityMother-child relationshipTraumaEscape
Adaptations
- [Film] Room / Lenny Abrahamson (2015)
- [Play] Room (2017)
The Wonder
2016 Historical FictionA historical novel about a fasting girl in 19th-century Ireland, shadowed by the Crimean War and Great Famine.
FaithFamineMiracles
Adaptations
- [Film] The Wonder / Sebastián Lelio (2022)
Hood
1995 Contemporary FictionAn Irish woman coming to terms with her girlfriend's death.
LossLesbian relationships
Slammerkin
2000 Historical FictionHistorical novel about a prostitute inspired by an 18th-century murder case.
PovertyDesireExecution
Bibliography
- Stir Fry (1994), Hood (1995), Slammerkin (2000), Life Mask (2004), Landing (2007), The Sealed Letter (2008), Room (2010), Frog Music (2014), The Wonder (2016), Akin (2019), The Pull of the Stars (2020), Haven (2022), Learned by Heart (2023), The Paris Express (2025) and many more
Adaptations
- Room (film, 2015), The Wonder (film, 2022)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Industrious and unpretentious styleHistorical fiction based on factsDiverse narrative perspectives
- Recurring Motifs
- Relationships between womenHistorical eventsMiracles and faithFamily and loss
Legacy
Achieved international bestseller status with Room, Booker Prize finalist. Highly regarded for LGBTQ+ literature and historical fiction, with numerous awards and adaptations.
Trivia
- Youngest of eight children
- Partner is Professor Christine Roulston, two children
- Became Canadian citizen in 2004
- Met partner at Cambridge