Gerard Whelan (born 1957) is an Irish writer.

Career overview

Whelan was born in

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, and has lived and worked in several

European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...

. After some time living in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, he has returned to live in his native

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

. He is the author of many books for children and is a multiple award-winner. He has also written the non-fiction book ''Spiked: Church, State Intrigue and the Rose Tattoo'' and edited the anthology, ''Big Pictures''. He is married and has 1 son called Davy. ''The Guns of Easter'', ''A Winter of Spies'' and ''War Children'' are

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

based on the Irish struggle for independence in the early 20th century, while ''Dream Invader'' and ''Out of Nowhere'' are

fantasy novels Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

Bibliography

*''The Guns of Easter'' (

O'Brien Press The O'Brien Press is an independent Irish publishing house based in Dublin. Founded in 1974 by Michael O'Brien, the company has become best known for its focus on children's literature and adult non-fiction. History The O'Brien Press emerged f ...

, 1996) *''Dream Invader'' (O'Brien, 1997) *''A Winter of Spies'' (O'Brien, 1998) *''Big Pictures'' (editor) (LETS, 1998) *''Out of Nowhere'' (O'Brien, 1999) *''War Children'' (O'Brien, 2002) *''Spiked: Church, State Intrigue and the Rose Tattoo'' (New Island, 2002)

Awards

*''The Guns of Easter'' won the Eilís Dillon Memorial Award for first-time writers and a Merit Award at the 1997

Bisto Book of the Year Awards The KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards, previously known as the CBI Book of the Year Awards () and the Bisto Book of the Year Awards, are literary awards presented annually in the Republic of Ireland to writers and illustrators of books for ch ...

*''Dream Invader'' won Book of the Year at the 1998

*''War Children'' won a Merit Award at the 2003

References

External links

Gerard Whelan
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Gerard Living people Irish novelists Irish children's writers Writers from County Wexford People from Enniscorthy Irish male novelists 1957 births