Maeve Binchy (born in 1939 in Dalkey, Ireland, died in 2012 in Dublin) was an Irish novelist, short story writer and journalist. Her debut collection of short stories, Central Line, was published in 1978 by the Irish Book Centre. It has been followed by 17 novels, including Circle of Friends (1990), The Glass Lake (1994), Tara Road (1998), Whitethorn Woods (2006), five collection of short-stories, a play and a novella. Her novel Heart and Soul (2008) depicts the experiences of Polish migrants in Ireland and was inspired by the author’s stay in hospital, where she met a girl from Poland.

Her work was critically acclaimed and she received a range of awards: the Jacob’s Award in 1978, the British Book Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999, the WH Smith Book Award for Fiction in 2001, the Irish PEN Award in 2007 and Irish Book Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010. She has also contributed to a variety of newspapers and magazines, including Irish Independent and The Irish Times.

– compiled by Katarzyna Czarnecka

The following are links to websites with information about the author:

http://www.maevebinchy.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeve_Binchy#Publications

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3532.Maeve_Binchy