Sebastian Barry was born in 1955 and educated at Catholic University School and Trinity College, Dublin. For his plays he has won a number of awards, including a Critics' Circle Award and Lloyd's Private Banking Playwright of the Year. For his novels he has been awarded the Costa Book of the Year Award (twice), the Walter Scott Prize (twice), the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and was twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has honorary doctorates from the Open University, NUI Galway, and the University of East Anglia. Sebastian Barry is the Laureate for Irish Fiction 2018-2021.
