Are you a fan of author Marita Conlon McKenna’s books? Here are 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Marita Conlon McKenna:

#1. She was born in Dublin in 1956 and was adopted soon afterwards.

#2. Marita grew up in Goatstown, Dublin but her family had a second home in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, where she spent time during the summer months.

#3. Marita attended school at Mount Anville. She loved English, Art and History and was always fascinated by the Famine period of Irish history.

She says, “I lived in a world of imagination and wanted to be a mermaid, to be a cowboy, an Indian, be able to fly like Peter Pan, be a Roman gladiator, a Viking… my head was always so full of stories. Then I began to realise what I really wanted to be was a writer.”

#4. Marita’s first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree was inspired when she heard a radio presenter report on the discovery of an unmarked children’s grave, with 3 bodies, from Famine times, found under a Hawthorn tree.

#5. Marita has won several literary awards, including the Bisto Book of the Year Award,  International Reading Association Award’, the Osterreichischer Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis, and the Reading Association of Ireland Award and the Bisto Book of the Year Award (1993).

#6. Marita has 4 children Amanda (Mandy), Fiona, Laura and James. Under The Hawthorn Tree was written for her eldest daughter, Mandy.

#7. Maritia has coeliac disease, an intolerance to wheat.

#8. Martita’s favourite colour is blue.

#9. She started writing stories and kept a diary from aged 8. Her first book was published in 1990.

#10. Marita has written books for both children and adults.

You might also enjoy reading Marita Conlon-McKenna Author Profile

Stop by and visit Marita Conlon-McKenna’s website for previews of her new books and great pictures and info.

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