Marita Conlon-McKenna

Marita Conlon-McKenna (born 1956) is one of Ireland’s most famous children’s writers. Her first novel, Under the Hawthorn Tree (1990), part of the Children of the Famine trilogy, became an immediate bestseller. It has been called ‘the most successful historical novel for children’ and has been reprinted many times since its first publication, and, having been translated into different languages in different countries, it has entered the world market. The sequels to the story, Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home, have also been extremely successful. To date, Marita has written thirteen best-selling children’s books in Ireland. Marita lives in Dublin with her husband and their four children.