Cathy Kelly

Cathy Kelly (born 12 September 1966) is an Irish former journalist and writer of women's fiction since 1997. She has gained international recognition with her popular fiction novels, which are published globally in many languages.[2] In 2001, her novel Someone Like You won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.[3] Kelly is one of the most successful female authors to come out of Ireland since Maeve Binchy, having once outsold both Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling in the UK.[2]

This article is about the Irish former journalist and writer. For the American ring announcer, television host, journalist and actress, see Cathy Kelley.

Cathy Kelly
Born (1966-09-12) 12 September 1966[1]
Belfast, Northern Ireland
LanguageEnglish
Period1997–present
GenreWomen's fiction
SubjectWomen and relationships
Notable awardsRoNA Award
Website
cathykelly.com

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Belfast but raised in Dublin,[4] she studied at a convent school. Kelly initially worked for 13 years as a newspaper journalist with the Sunday World, where she worked in news, features, along with spending time as an agony aunt and film critic.[4]

However, her overwhelming love was always fiction and she published her first international bestseller, Woman To Woman, in 1997.[4] She did not become a full-time writer until she had written another two books (She’s The One and Never Too Late) and finally decided to leave the world of journalism in 2001.[2]

Someone Like You, What She Wants, Just Between Us and Best of Friends followed in successive years.[2] Always and Forever was her first hardback number one and then topped the overall UK bestseller list during October 2005, displacing Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling who had been on top most weeks.[2]

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 for Kelly again,[6] for multiple weeks.[7] In March 2011, Homecoming achieved the same feat. Her recent short story collection, Christmas Magic, was a Christmas number one in Ireland.[2] She is hugely popular around the world: a number one bestseller in Australia and New Zealand, where she tours annually, and published in many different languages.[8]

Kelly's trademark is warm story-telling; she writes books which deal with themes ranging from relationships and marriage to depression and loss, but always with an uplifting message and strong female characters at the heart.[2]

Philanthropy

Kelly is involved with many charities and has been an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2005.[4][9] She works as a Global Parent for UNICEF, which means raising funds and awareness for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDs.[2] Her role has seen her visit Rwanda and Mozambique.[2]

Personal life

Kelly lives in Enniskerry, County Wicklow with her family and three dogs.[2]

Bibliography

Single novels
  • 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)[10]

Novellas
  • Letter from Chicago (2002)

Collections
  • Christmas Magic (2011)

References and sources
  1. "Cathy Kelly goes from agony aunt to bestselling novelist". Brisbane Courier-Mail. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  2. "Cathy Kelly The Official Site". 6 March 2012.
  3. Awards by the Romantic Novelists' Association, 13 October 2012
  4. Pauline Askin (1 April 2009). "Book Talk: Modern, ancient Ireland inspire novelist Cathy Kelly". Reuters. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  5. Eoin Burke-Kennedy (1 April 2009). "Eclectic shortlist for Irish Book Awards". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  6. Andrea Byrne (20 September 2009). "Literary elite bring their words to life". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  7. Philip Stone (15 September 2009). "Cathy Kelly stays on top for HarperCollins". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  8. "Curtis Brown". 6 March 2012.
  9. "what you can do to help unicef". Irish Independent. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  10. "Secrets of a Happy Marriage by Cathy Kelly". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
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