Orna Ross Media Kit: Short bio
Orna Ross is an award-winning Irish novelist and poet and founder and co-director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).
An international bestseller, her writing awards include the Goethe Grand Prize for Historical Fiction and the Gold Literary Titan award for poetry, and she has been named one of the ‘Top 100 People in Publishing' (The Bookseller).
Born and raised in Wexford, in the south-east of Ireland, she now lives in St Leonards on Sea, in the south-east of England, near historical Hastings and within working distance of London.
Orna Ross Media Kit: Medium Bio
Orna Ross (born Aine McCarthy, 1960) is an award-winning Irish novelist and poet. An international bestseller, her writing awards include the Goethe Grand Prize for Historical Fiction and the Gold Literary Titan award for poetry.
A strong educational background, and a desire to help other authors achieve their creative potential in writing and in publishing, led her to found the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), the professional association for self-publishing authors,
Ross is a passionate promoter of creative writing and publishing as forms of artistic expression, as personal development tools, and as a viable business option for authors. “One of the rising stars in the indie world”, (The Guardian) she has repeatedly been named one of the Top 100 People in Publishing by The Bookseller, the organ of the British publishing industry, for her work with ALLi.
As a novelist she writes mostly historical fiction, often cross-generational, with an Irish setting. She also writes poetry and non-fiction guides for authors.
She was born and raised in Wexford, in the south-east of Ireland, and now lives in St Leonard's on Sea, in the south-east of England, within working reach of London.
Her motto is: “When in doubt, be braver.”
Orna Ross Media Kit: Long Bio
The work of this bestselling and award-winning Irish author, with a strong educational background–“one of the rising stars in the indie world” (The Guardian)–is defined by her desire to empower others to achieve their creative potential — in writing, in publishing, and in life.
Orna Ross’s writing achievements have gone hand in hand with a career in media, academia and publishing. With a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies, she has previously worked as a freelance journalist, creative writing tutor, literary agent, and lecturer in culture and creativity studies at her alma mater, University College Dublin (UCD).
During her time at UCD, Ross devised the postgraduate “Creative and Imaginative Practice” course that later formed the basis of her Go Creative! books and podcast. She has taught creativity and creativism in a great variety of settings, from university lecture theatres to community halls, from publishing conferences to online webinars. And facilitated people in every life situation, from asylum seekers to captains of industry, from women recovering from drug dependencies to internationally-renowned creatives.
As a novelist she writes mostly historical fiction, often cross-generational, with an Irish setting. In addition to her fiction, Ross has written and edited non-fiction guides for writers and creatives and published a number of poetry books. (See the publications list below to find a full title list).
Her writing life has had two distinct phases: first with third-party publishers, then as a self-published author. Her first books were feminist guidebooks issued by Attic Press in Dublin (Bodymatters for Women, 1989; Get Up & Go: A Travel Guide For Women, 1992) and fiction with Penguin Ireland (Lover’s Hollow, 2006; A Dance in Time 2008). After a cancer diagnosis and subsequent move to London from Dublin, Ross left the world of traditional media and publishing, starting her own blog and taking her publishing rights back from Penguin. She describes this as “the best move of her publishing life.”
Her first novel has now developed into a trilogy: The Irish Trilogy incorporating I: After the Rising (2012); II: Before the Fall (2013); and III: In the Hour (forthcoming) and she has published two further novels, Blue Mercy (2013) and Her Secret Rose (2015) and collaborated with six other women writers to create a book box-set: Outside the Box: Women Writing Women (2014).
Ross has always supported other creatives in their progress, whether in her capacity as a lecturer at UCD, or as head of the non-profit association, the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi), which she founded in 2012. ALLi advocates for indie authors’ rights and interests, oversees the self-publishing sector, and provides a suite of member resources to help writers to publish well and build a readership. Ross and the ALLi team have advised many authors, companies, organisations, and media outlets about independent author-publishing.
She also runs a popular blog and podcast for the Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publish with ALLi, and an annual online writers' conference, the Self-Publishing Advice Conference, SelfPubCon.
She always has a fiction and poetry project on the go. She is currently working on expanding her novel 2015 novel about Maud Gonne and WB Yeats into a fiction series and is completing A Crowd of Stars, a book of the poetry of WB Yeats, inspired by Maud Gonne, with commentary by the muse.
Media Kit: Publications List
Fiction
Gonne-Yeats Series
- A Life Before
- The Holy Tree
- Her Secret Rose
The Irish Trilogy:
- After The Rising
- Before The Fall
- In The Hour
Standalone Titles:
- Blue Mercy
Poetry
Inspirational Poetry:
- First Flush
- Keepers
- Allowing Now
Gift Books
- Bright Star
- Night Light As It Rises
- The Light of Love
- Circle of Life
- Breaking Light
- Poetry of Light Boxset (Night Light As It Rises, The Light of Love & Breaking Light)
Standalone
- A Crowd of Stars: WB Yeats Poems Inspired by Maud Gonne with Commentary by the Muse
Go Creative! (How-to Nonfiction)
- Beyond the Law of Attraction
- F-R-E-E-Writing Notebook
- Creative Planning Workbook for Authors & Poets
- Monthly Mapping for Authors & Poets
- Quarterly Review & Forecast for Authors & Poets