Cathy Kelly (born September 12, 1966) is an Irish writer of women's fiction and a former journalist. In 2001, her novel Someone Like You won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.[2]
Cathy Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 September 1966[1] Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Period | 1997–present |
| Genre | Women's fiction |
| Subject | Women and relationships |
| Notable awards | RoNA Award |
| Website | |
| www | |
Life and career
editBorn in Belfast but raised in Dublin,[3] Kelly studied at a convent school. She was a journalist for the Sunday World, where she published an advice column and film criticism.[3]
Kelly published her first book Woman To Woman, which became an international bestseller, in 1997.[3] She published two more books, She’s The One and Never Too Late, before retiring from journalism in 2001.[4]
Someone Like You, What She Wants, Just Between Us, and Best of Friends followed in successive years.[4] Always and Forever was her first hardback to reach number one, then it topped the overall UK bestseller list in October 2005.[4]
Her books Lessons in Heartbreak and Homecoming were shortlisted for the Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.[5] Once in a Lifetime topped the UK bestsellers again[6] for multiple weeks.[7] In March 2011, Homecoming did the same. Her short story collection, Christmas Magic, was the Christmas number one in Ireland.[4] She is a number one bestseller in Australia and New Zealand, where she tours annually, and her works have been translated into many different languages.[8]
Kelly is involved with many charities and has been an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2005.[3][9]
In 2022, Kelly appeared on the fifth series of the Irish version of Dancing With the Stars.[10]
Published works
editNovels
edit- Woman to Woman (1997)
- She's the One (1998)
- Never Too Late (1999)
- Someone Like You (2000)
- What She Wants (2001)
- Just Between Us (2002)
- Best of Friends (2003)
- Always and Forever (2005)
- Past Secrets (2006)
- Lessons in Heartbreak (2008)
- Once in a Lifetime (2009)
- The Perfect Holiday (2010)
- Homecoming (2010)
- The House on Willow Street (2012)
- The Honey Queen (2013)
- It Started With Paris (2014)
- Between Sisters (2015)
- Secrets of a Happy Marriage (2017)[11]
Novellas
edit- Letter from Chicago (2002)
Collections
edit- Christmas Magic (2011)
References and sources
edit- ^ "Cathy Kelly goes from agony aunt to bestselling novelist". Brisbane Courier-Mail. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- ^ "Awards". RNA. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d Askin, Pauline (1 April 2009). "Book Talk: Modern, ancient Ireland inspire novelist Cathy Kelly". Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Home". Cathy Kelly. 6 March 2012.
- ^ Burke-Kennedy, Eoin (1 April 2009). "Eclectic shortlist for Irish Book Awards". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Byrne, Andrea (20 September 2009). "Literary elite bring their words to life". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Stone, Philip (15 September 2009). "Cathy Kelly stays on top for HarperCollins". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Cathy Kelly". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "what you can do to help unicef". Irish Independent. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Fetherstonhaugh, Neil (14 December 2021). "Author Cathy Kelly to compete on Dancing with the Stars". SundayWorld.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Secrets of a Happy Marriage by Cathy Kelly". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved 29 January 2017.