Enright, Anne (1962– )

Irish writer. Her essays, short stories, and novels explore themes of family and sexual relationships in the context of historic and modern Ireland. Her fourth novel, The Gathering, a bleak family saga, won the 2007 Man Booker Prize.

The Gathering chronicles the troubled lives of a grieving Irish family who gather at the wake of their brother, who has committed suicide. Her other novels include The Wig My Father Wore (1995), What Are You Like (2000), and The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch (2002). She has received critical acclaim for her striking prose and unflinching portraits of troubled relationships.

Enright was born in Dublin. She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature and philosophy from Trinity College, Dublin, and a master's degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, where she studied with English writers Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter. She then worked as a television director and producer, producing the RTÉ late-night chat show Nighthawks, before turning to writing full-time. Other works include the short story collections The Portable Virgin (1991; Rooney Prize for Irish Literature), Taking Pictures and Yesterday's Weather (both 2008), and the essay collection Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood (2004). Based in Bray, Co Wicklow, she also writes for the London Review of Books and Irish Times.