John Boyne

I was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1971, and studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, where I was awarded the Curtis Brown prize.

My early writing consisted mostly of short stories and I published a number of them. My first story, The Entertainments Jar, was shortlisted for the Hennessy Literary Award in Ireland. In total, I’ve published about 70 short stories.

I’ve published eight novels, six for adults: THE THIEF OF TIME (2000), THE CONGRESS OF ROUGH RIDERS (2001), CRIPPEN (2004), NEXT OF KIN (2006), MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (2008) and THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE (2009) and two for younger readers: THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS (2006) and NOAH BARLEYWATER RUNS AWAY (2010).

My 2006 novel, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, was made into an award-winning Miramax film. The novel itself won 2 Irish Book Awards, the Bisto Book of the Year, and was shortlisted or won a host of international awards. Amongst other accolades, it spent more than 80 weeks at no.1 in Ireland, topped the New York Times Bestseller List, and was the bestselling book in Spain in both 2007 and 2008. Worldwide, it has sold more than 5 million copies.

My novels are published in 42 languages.

My eighth novel, NOAH BARLEYWATER RUNS AWAY, a book for younger readers, was published in October 2010 and reached no.1 on the Irish Bestseller Chart. It was also shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. It’s currently due to be published in 20 languages.

My ninth novel, THE ABSOLUTIST, will be published in the UK in May 2011.

I live in Dublin.

John Boyne