Sally Rooney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sally Rooney
Born	(1991-02-20) 20 February 1991 (age 34) Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Occupation	Author screenwriter
Language	English
Education	Trinity College Dublin
Genre	Fiction
Notable works	Conversations with Friends (2017) Normal People (2018) Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) Intermezzo (2024)
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Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is a well-known Irish author and screenwriter. She has written four popular novels. These include Conversations with Friends (2017), Normal People (2018), Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), and Intermezzo (2024). Her first two books were even made into TV shows. These shows are Normal People (2020) and Conversations with Friends (2022).

Many people praise Rooney's books. They have been very successful. She is seen as one of the most important writers of her generation. In 2022, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early Life and Education Journey

Sally Rooney was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, in 1991. She grew up there and still lives in her hometown today. Before returning home, she lived in Dublin and spent some time in New York City. Her father, Kieran Rooney, worked for a phone company. Her mother, Marie Farrell, managed an arts center. Sally has an older brother and a younger sister.

She studied English at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). In 2011, she was chosen as a scholar there. She started a master's degree in politics but did not finish it. Instead, she completed a degree in American literature. She earned her master's degree in 2013. Rooney has said she believes in Marxism, which is a way of thinking about society and economics.

While at Trinity College Dublin, Rooney was a talented debater. She became the best debater at the European Universities Debating Championships in 2013. She later wrote about this experience. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in an office role at a restaurant.

Author's Career Path

Starting Her Writing Journey

Sally Rooney wrote her first novel when she was 15 years old. She later called it "absolute trash." Her first published works were two poems. They appeared in The Stinging Fly magazine when she was still in high school. She started writing "constantly" in late 2014. She finished her first published novel, Conversations with Friends, while studying for her master's degree. She wrote 100,000 words of the book in just three months.

In 2015, an agent named Tracy Bohan read Rooney's essay "Even If You Beat Me." This essay was about her time as a top debater. Bohan contacted Rooney and asked to see her work. Rooney gave Bohan a book manuscript. Bohan then shared it with many publishers. Seven different publishers wanted to buy the rights to her book.

Conversations with Friends (2017) Book Release

Sally Rooney signed with agent Tracy Bohan. Her novel Conversations with Friends was highly sought after by publishers. The publishing rights were sold in 12 different countries. The book was published in June 2017 by Faber and Faber. It was nominated for several awards. These included the 2018 Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize. It also won the 2017 Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award.

In March 2017, her short story "Mr Salary" was a finalist for an award. In November 2017, Rooney became the editor of The Stinging Fly. This is an Irish literary magazine. She oversaw two issues of the magazine in 2018. She then passed the role to Danny Denton. She still helps the magazine as a contributing editor. In 2018, Rooney also took part in the Cúirt International Festival of Literature.

Normal People (2018) Novel's Success

Rooney's second novel, Normal People, came out in September 2018. It was also published by Faber & Faber. The story grew from a short story she wrote called "At the Clinic." This story was published in 2016. In July 2018, Normal People was considered for the Man Booker Prize. On November 27, 2018, it won "Irish Novel of the Year" at the Irish Book Awards. It was also named Waterstones' Book of the Year for 2018. In January 2019, it won the Costa Book Award for the Novel category. It was also considered for the 2019 Dylan Thomas Prize and the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction. The book has been translated into 46 languages. Famous people like Barack Obama and Taylor Swift have praised it.

Television Show Adaptations

Normal People was made into a 12-part TV series. It was a joint project by BBC Three and Hulu. Filming took place in Dublin and County Sligo. Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald directed the series. Daisy Edgar-Jones played Marianne, and Paul Mescal played Connell. The show was very popular with critics. It received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

In February 2020, it was announced that Conversations with Friends would also become a 12-episode TV series. This show would also be a BBC Three/Hulu miniseries. The same creative team from Normal People worked on this adaptation. This included director Lenny Abrahamson and co-writer Alice Birch.

Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) Release

In April 2019, the New York Public Library announced its fellows for the year. Sally Rooney was among them. The announcement said she would be writing a new novel. Its working title was Beautiful World, Where Are You. The book would explore art and political problems. The novel was published in September 2021. It was released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US. Faber published it in the UK and Ireland.

Sally Rooney decided not to let an Israeli publisher translate Beautiful World, Where Are You into Hebrew. She explained that she supports a movement called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). This movement aims to help Palestinians. In October 2021, Rooney said she would be happy to sell the translation rights if it followed the BDS movement's rules. After her decision, two Israeli bookshop chains stopped selling her books. However, Rooney's Israeli publisher continued to sell them. Many writers and publishers supported Rooney's choice. They signed a letter organized by Artists for Palestine UK.

Intermezzo (2024) New Novel

Sally Rooney's fourth novel, Intermezzo, is set to be released in September 2024. This new book will focus on the complex relationship between two brothers.

Political and Social Views

Sally Rooney describes herself as a feminist and a Marxist. Feminism means believing in equal rights for all genders. Marxism is a way of thinking about how society and money work. Both of her parents are socialists. They taught her about socialist values.

Rooney has said that her writing often includes Marxist ideas. Some literary critics have discussed this part of her work. Some have said that her political ideas are not always deeply explored in her books. Others have praised her for bringing these topics into her stories.

Her books are very popular in China. The feminist themes in her works have made them best sellers there.

Television Work

Personal Life

Sally Rooney lives in her childhood hometown of Castlebar. She is married to John Prasifka, who is a mathematics teacher.

Images for kids

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  Sally Rooney's signature

See also

In Spanish: Sally Rooney para niños