Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin in 1963 and still lives in the city that has been the source of so much of his material. In the 1980’s he studied Anglo-Irish literature at University College, Dublin, receiving a first class MA. He then attended Oxford College for a brief period before working for the British Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign.
Since becoming a full-time writer in 1988, he has authored 8 best-selling novels, including the most recent, critically acclaimed “Star of the Sea” (2003) which has been shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year. His books have been published in Australia, Canada and the US. His first novel, “Cowboys and Indians," was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. This was followed by a volume of short stories, “True Believers” (1991), and three novels: “Desperados” (1993), “The Salesman” (1998) and “Inishowen” (2000).
In 1994, he published a collection of comic essays, “The Secret World of the Irish Male” which became a best seller in Ireland, spending three months at number one. His other non-fiction includes “Even the Olives are Bleeding: The Life and Times of Charles Donnelly (1993); “The Irish Male at Home and Abroad” (1996); and “Sweet Liberty: Travels in Irish America” (1996).
O’Connor’s first play, “Red Roses and Petrol”, was staged in Dublin in 1995 and was awarded the ‘In Dublin’ magazine Award for Best New Irish Play (1995). The production subsequently toured Ireland and was performed in London. His second play, “The Weeping of Angels” was performed at Dublin’s Gate Theatre in 1997. He has also written several screenplays.
O’Connor’s work has frequently been concerned with the lives of a new generation of Irish emigrants. He wrote the introduction to “Ireland in Exile” (ed. Dermot Bolger)-the first anthology of Irish expatriate literature. Among his awards are The Sunday Tribune/Hennessy First Fiction and New Irish Writer of the Year Awards (1989), the Macauley Fellowship (1994), and the Miramax Screenwriting Award (1995); the Time Out Travel Writing Prize. Joseph O’Connor is married and has a three-year- old son.
Roddy Doyle, prize-winning author of The Commitments and The Van says that, “Joseph O’Connor is the man to read if laughing out loud is the only exercise you get.”
