Claire Keegan (born 1968) is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', '' Best American Short Stories'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', and ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''. She is also known for her novellas, two of which have been adapted as films.

Early life and education

Claire Keegan was born in 1968, and raised on a farm as one of a large family in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland. She travelled to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States, when she was 17 and studied English and political science at Loyola University. She returned to Ireland in 1992, and later lived for a year in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. There she undertook an MA in creative writing and taught undergraduates at the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. She subsequently received an M. Phil at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

Career

Keegan's first collection of short stories, ''

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

'' (1999), won the

Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is administered by the Oscar Wilde ...

and the William Trevor Prize. Her second collection of short stories, '' Walk the Blue Fields'', was published in 2007. Keegan's 'long, short story' "

Foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...

" won the 2009

Davy Byrnes Short Story Award Davy may refer to: * Davy (given name) * Davy (surname) * Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen * Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town * Davy Sound, Greenland * Davy (crater), a crater on the Moon * Davy ...

. "Foster" appeared in the 15 February 2010 issue of ''

'' and was included in '' The Best American Short Stories 2011''. It was later published by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

in a longer form. "Foster" is now included as a text for the Irish Leaving Certificate. It was adapted for film by writer/director

Colm Bairéad Colm Bairéad (born 1981) is an Irish film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the film ''The Quiet Girl'' (2022). Career Born in Dublin in 1981, Bairéad grew up speaking English and Irish language, Irish at home. ''The Quiet Gir ...

as '' An Cailín Ciúin'' (''The Quiet Girl''; 2022), and was nominated in 2023 for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. In late 2021, Keegan published a novella, '' Small Things Like These'', set in Ireland in the mid-1980s. It was shortlisted for the

2022 Booker Prize The Booker Prize is a literary award given for the best English novel of the year. The 2022 award was announced on 17 October 2022, during a ceremony hosted by Sophie Duker at the Roundhouse in London. The longlist was announced on 26 July 20 ...

. The

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

, starring

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Ware ...

, and

Eileen Walsh Eileen Walsh (born 16 April 1977) is an Irish actress. Her credits include '' Miss Julie'' (1999), '' Janice Beard 45 WPM'' (1999), '' When Brendan Met Trudy'' (2000), '' The Magdalene Sisters'' (2002), '' Pure Mule'' (2005), ''Eden'' (2008), ' ...

, had its world premiere at the

74th Berlin International Film Festival The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o was named the Jury President for the main competition. This ye ...

on 15 February 2024. In February 2022 the story ''So Late in the Day'' was published in ''The New Yorker,'' and was released in a hardback edition in 2023 by Faber.

Awards and honours

Keegan has won the inaugural William Trevor Prize, the

, the Olive Cook Award and the Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award 2009. Other awards include the Hugh Leonard Bursary, the Macaulay Fellowship, the Martin Healy Prize, the Kilkenny Prize, and the Tom Gallon Award. She was also a 2002 Wingate Scholar and a two-time recipient of the

Francis MacManus Award Francis MacManus (8 March 1909 – 27 November 1965) was an Irish novelist and broadcaster. Life and writings Born in Kilkenny, MacManus was educated in the local Christian Brothers school and later at St. Patrick's College, Dublin and Univers ...

. She was a visiting professor at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

in 2008. Keegan was the Ireland Fund Artist-in-Residence in the Celtic Studies Department of St. Michael's College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in March 2009. In 2019, she was appointed as Writing Fellow at

. Pembroke College Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin selected Keegan as the 2021 Briena Staunton Visiting Fellow. The French translation of ''Small Things Like These'' (''Ce genre de petites choses'') has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards: the Francophonie Ambassadors' Literary Award and the Grand Prix de L'Heroine Madame Figaro. In March 2021, Keegan and her French translator, Jacqueline Odin, won the Francophonie Ambassadors' Literary Award. ''Small Things Like These'' won the 2022

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

for Political Fiction. It became the shortest book to be shortlisted for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

at the ceremony in 2022. It was also shortlisted for the

Rathbones Folio Prize The Writers' Prize, previously known as the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher Folio Society, The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2 ...

. In 2023 Keegan was named "Author of the Year" in conjunction with the

Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...

. Her book ''So Late in the Day'' was also shortlisted for the Irish "Novel of the Year" award. Keegan has been a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

since 2008.

Works

Novella

* 2021 – '' Small Things Like These''

Short story collections

* 1999 – ''Antarctica''. Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-19712-5. * 2007 – ''Walk the Blue Fields.'' Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-23306-9. * 2019 – ''The Forester's Daughter.'' Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-35185-5. * 2023 – ''So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men.'' Grove Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-6085-0.

Short stories

* 2010 – "

". Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-25565-8. (First published in ''

'', February 15, 2010) * 2022 – "So Late in the Day". Published in ''The New Yorker'', 21 February 2022.

References

External links

Claire Keegan
at

A reading of ''Foster''
by

Evanna Lynch Evanna Patricia Lynch (born 16 August 1991) is an Irish actress and activist. She is best known for portraying Luna Lovegood in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. Born in County Louth, Ireland, Lynch made her film debut in '' Harry Potter and ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keegan, Claire 1968 births Living people 21st-century Irish short story writers 21st-century Irish women writers Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Aosdána members Irish women short story writers Writers from County Wicklow