Laura McKenna

Laura McKenna is a writer of fiction and poetry and worked for many years as a child psychiatrist. Words to Shape My Name was longlisted for the 2019 Bath Novel Award and formed the creative element of her PhD in creative writing awarded from UCC in 2019 (her critical paper examined the ethics and aesthetics of voice in fiction). Published by New Island Books in 2021, Words to Shape My Name was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year award. She is the recipient of Tyrone Guthrie...See more

Laura McKenna is a writer of fiction and poetry and worked for many years as a child psychiatrist. Words to Shape My Name was longlisted for the 2019 Bath Novel Award and formed the creative element of her PhD in creative writing awarded from UCC in 2019 (her critical paper examined the ethics and aesthetics of voice in fiction). Published by New Island Books in 2021, Words to Shape My Name was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year award. She is the recipient of Tyrone Guthrie, Cork County Council, Arts Council and John Montague Mentorship (Munster Literature Centre) bursaries. Twice nominated for a Hennessy Literary Award and a Forward Prize for poetry, Laura's work has been published in The RTE Guide, Southword, Banshee and New Irish Writing. See less