Martina Devlin
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Martina Devlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Genre | Historical, Non-fiction, Speculative |
Martina Devlin is a novelist and newspaper columnist from Northern Ireland.[1]
Devlin was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She worked in Fleet Street for seven years before moving to Dublin. In England, she studied journalism, followed by a degree in English Literature at the University of London (Birkbeck College). After working as a journalist for the Press Association, Devlin went to Trinity College, Dublin where she completed an MPhil in Anglo-Irish Literature followed by a PhD in literary practice, also at Trinity College.[2] Afterwards, she combined working as a columnist for the Irish Independent in Dublin with writing novels.[3][4] Devlin does not write by genre. Five of her books are historical fiction and another is speculative fiction.[5]
She has written of her unsuccessful efforts at IVF and the toll it took on her marriage.[6] In 2012 she married RTE journalist David Murphy.[7]
A former vice-chairperson of the Irish Writers Centre, she holds a diploma in company direction from the Institute of Directors. In the wake of her novel, The House Where It Happened, she campaigned for eight years for a plaque to commemorate the Islandmagee witches, and one was erected in 2023.
Awards
Devlin has won numerous awards for both her writing and journalism.
- 1996 Hennessy Literary Award for her first short story
- 2009 Writer-in-residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco
- 2010 GALA columnist of the year
- 2011 National Newspapers of Ireland columnist of the year
- 2012 Royal Society of Literature's VS Pritchett short story award for her short story Singing Dumb.
She has been shortlisted three times for the Irish Book of the Year awards.[8] Her non-fiction account of the Irish financial collapse, Banksters, co-authored with David Murphy, topped the best seller list for eight weeks.[9]
