Naoise Dolan#Career
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Short description|Irish novelist}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Naoise Dolan
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| alma_mater = {{ubl|Trinity College Dublin|Oxford University}}
| language = English
| occupation = Novelist
| period = 2020–present
| notable_works = Exciting Times
The Happy Couple
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|4|14|df=y}}
}}
Naoise Dolan ({{IPA|ga|ˈn̪ˠiːʃə}}; born 14 April 1992) is an Irish novelist. She is known for her novels Exciting Times (2020) and The Happy Couple (2023).{{Cite news|last=Cain|first=Sian|date=19 April 2020|title=Naoise Dolan: 'I'm not good at presenting myself as likable'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/19/naoise-dolan-im-not-good-at-presenting-myself-as-likable|access-date=23 July 2020|issn=0261-3077}}
Early life and education
Dolan was born in Dublin, Ireland.{{Cite news|last=Bol|first=Rosita|title=Naoise Dolan: 'I feel pressure to tell people I am autistic, in case I am too blunt'|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/naoise-dolan-i-feel-pressure-to-tell-people-i-am-autistic-in-case-i-am-too-blunt-1.4499007|access-date=21 March 2021|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}} She experienced homophobic bullying in school.{{Cite web|title='Why couldn't I come out at 16 when it was something kids were saying about me anyway?' - author Naoise Dolan|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/why-couldnt-i-come-out-at-16-when-it-was-something-kids-were-saying-about-me-anyway-author-naoise-dolan-40544510.html|access-date=18 June 2021|website=Independent.ie |date=18 June 2021 |language=en}} A college debater, she co-convened the Irish Mace competition in 2015/16.{{Cite AV media |title=Mace Workshop 1 - Basics of BP Debating - Daisy Onubogu & Naoise Dolan
|date=7 October 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRrAWaLwtvk |publisher=Irish Mace |via=YouTube |accessdate=16 December 2021}} She identifies as queer.{{Cite news |last=Dolan |first=Naoise |title=Naoise Dolan: We need more LGBT stories because there are so many to tell |language=en |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30995633.html}}
Dolan obtained an English degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2016{{Cite web|last=IMAGE|date=21 April 2020|title=Meet author Naoise Dolan – the Irish fiction newcomer that everybody's talking about |url=https://www.image.ie/life/interviewnaoisedolanauthor-191699 |access-date=23 July 2020|website=IMAGE.ie}} and later a Master's in Victorian literature from Oxford University.{{Cite web|title=All off script... Meet Naoise Dolan, the funniest writer you will read this year|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/all-off-script-meet-naoise-dolan-the-funniest-writer-you-will-read-this-year-39105985.html|access-date=23 July 2020 |website=Independent.ie |date=12 April 2020 |language=en}} Her desire to become a writer began while she was at Trinity College. It was during her time as a student that she first came to popularity, as the writer and illustrator of humorous feminist cartoons published to her blog.{{Cite web|last=Bobadilla|first=Suzanna|date=1 May 2015|title=The Feministing Five: Naoise Dolan|url=http://feministing.com/2015/01/05/the-feministing-five-naoise-dolan/|access-date=14 September 2021 |website=Feministing}}
In 2016, after finishing university and being unable to find work in Ireland, she moved to Singapore to work as a TEFL teacher.{{Cite news|last=Singapore|first=Naoise Dolan in|title=I hate the term 'expat', but being one brings great freedom|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/generation-emigration/i-hate-the-term-expat-but-being-one-brings-great-freedom-1.2814653|access-date=21 March 2021|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}} Later that year, she moved to Hong Kong.{{Cite web|title=Naoise Dolan: In Life & In Novels, Nothing Is More Interesting Than Relationships|url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/naoise-dolan-exciting-times|access-date=21 March 2021|website=British Vogue|date=14 March 2021|language=en-GB}} She has also lived in Italy. Since 2018, she has lived in London intermittently. Due to the climate crisis, she no longer travels by plane.{{Cite news|last=Dolan|first=Naoise|title="When Something's Wrong, It's Really Wrong" – Autism Under Lockdown|language=en|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/autism-coronavirus-lockdown|access-date=14 September 2021|website=Refinery29|date=14 April 2020}}
At age 27, Dolan was diagnosed with autism.{{Cite news|last=Dolan|first=Naoise|title=Naoise Dolan: how being diagnosed with autism aged 27 changed my life|newspaper=The Times|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/naoise-dolan-how-being-diagnosed-with-autism-aged-27-changed-my-life-lc9f7bzp0|access-date=21 March 2021|issn=0140-0460}} She has been open about her diagnosis in interviews and on social media.
Career
= ''Exciting Times'' (2020) =
{{main|Exciting Times}}
Dolan began writing Exciting Times in 2017, when she was living in Hong Kong. She completed writing the novel in five months. The novel received critical acclaim, and was often likened to the work of Sally Rooney, a fellow Trinity College Dublin graduate.{{Cite web|title=Exciting Times: Naoise Dolan's dazzling debut offers a rare treat in times of isolation|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-reviews/exciting-times-naoise-dolans-dazzling-debut-offers-a-rare-treat-in-times-of-isolation-39117620.html|access-date=23 July 2020|website=independent|date=11 April 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Gilmartin|first=Sarah|title=Exciting Times review: Whipsmart debut heralds a new star of Irish writing|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/exciting-times-review-whipsmart-debut-heralds-a-new-star-of-irish-writing-1.4213949|access-date=23 July 2020|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}} The novel follows a 22-year-old Dubliner, Ava, while she is teaching English in Hong Kong, and her relationships with Julian, an Oxford-educated banker, and Edith, a corporate lawyer from a wealthy Hong-Kong family.{{Cite news|last=Wang|first=Xuan Juliana|author-link=Xuan Juliana Wang|date=2 June 2020|title=In 'Exciting Times,' Echoes of Sally Rooney, but With a Queer Twist|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/books/review/exciting-times-naoise-dolan.html|access-date=31 March 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The New York Times described it at as a novel where "jealousy and obsession, love and late capitalism, sex and the internet all come whirling together in a wry and bracing tale of class and privilege."
Dolan was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award in 2020 and for the Dalkey — Award (Emerging Writer) in 2021.{{Cite news|last=Times|first=The Sunday|title=The Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year award 2020: shortlist announced|newspaper=The Times|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/the-sunday-times-university-of-warwick-young-writer-of-the-year-award-2020-shortlist-announced-x6sbbx3vj|access-date=1 November 2020|issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite web|title=Emerging Writer Award Shortlist 2021|url=https://www.zurich.ie/dalkey-literary-awards/2021/emerging-writer/shortlist|access-date=20 April 2021|website=www.zurich.ie|language=en}} In May 2020 it was announced that Exciting Times had been optioned for a US television series by Black Bear Pictures, and in August 2021 it was revealed that Phoebe Dynevor would star in the adaptation and act as executive producer. The series will be produced by Amazon Studios.{{Cite news|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|title=Phoebe Dynevor Set To EP & Poised To Star In 'Exciting Times' Series In Works At Amazon Studios|url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/phoebe-dynevor-ep-star-exciting-times-series-amazon-studios-1234816651/|access-date=18 June 2021|website=Deadline|date=17 August 2021|language=en}}
= ''The Happy Couple'' (2023) =
{{main|The Happy Couple}}
In a March 2021 interview, Dolan stated that she was making edits on her second novel.{{Cite web|last=AnOther|date=8 March 2021|title=Naoise Dolan, the Queer New Prodigy of Irish Literature|url=https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/13134/naoise-dolan-new-queer-prodigy-irish-literature-exciting-times-review-interview|access-date=18 June 2021|website=AnOther|language=en}} Her sophomore novel The Happy Couple was released in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2023. The novel revolves around a couple dealing with their flawed relationship days before their wedding told from different perspectives. The Guardian gave it a mostly positive review describing it as "funny and direct" while musing, "Dolan more often uses her wit simply to parcel out insights and provocations among her cast rather than using them to build personalities we really care about."{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/15/the-happy-couple-by-naoise-dolan-review-less-love-triangle-more-sex-pentangle|title= The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan review – less love triangle, more sex pentangle|newspaper= The Observer|date= 15 May 2023|last1= Cummins|first1= Anthony}} In a positive review The Telegraph lauded Dolan's skill as a writer noting, "This book confirms her as an artful comic novelist with a distinctive signature style."{{cite news|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/review-naoise-dolan-the-happy-couple/|title= A modern comedy of manners that thinks marriage is no joke|website= The Daily Telegraph|date= 12 May 2023|accessdate= June 9, 2023|last1= Feeny|first1= Madeleine}} The novel is "study not of love or romance but of the motivating force of self-delusion."{{cite web |last=Hitchens |first=Antonia |date=2023-12-04 |title=Book Review: ‘The Happy Couple,’ by Naoise Dolan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/books/review/naoise-dolan-the-happy-couple.html |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=The New York Times}}
Awards and recognition
Published works
- {{cite book |last=Dolan |first=Naoise |author-mask=2 |title=Exciting Times |year=2020 |publisher=Orion Publishing |isbn=9781474618908}}
- {{cite book |last=Dolan |first=Naoise |author-mask=2 |title=The Happy Couple |year=2023 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9781474613521}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Naoise}}
Category:21st-century Irish novelists
Category:21st-century Irish women writers
Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:Expatriates in Singapore
Category:Irish expatriates in England
Category:Irish expatriates in Hong Kong
Category:Irish expatriates in Italy
Category:Irish LGBTQ novelists
Category:Irish women novelists
Category:Irish autistic people
Category:LGBTQ writers with disabilities
Category:Writers from Dublin (city)