Biography.guide
Home › People › Writer › Deirdre Madden
Portrait of Deirdre Madden

Deirdre Madden

b. 1960

British Irish writer

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Deirdre Madden

Born 1960. Deirdre Madden is a British writer.

Deirdre Madden (born 20 August 1960) is a novelist and writer of children's books from Northern Ireland. She was educated at St Mary's Grammar School in Magherafelt. She took a BA in English at Trinity College, Dublin. Her first stories were published during this time. She then took an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

Awards and recognition On 2 April 2024, Deirdre Madden was awarded the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize from Yale University, one of the world's most significant literary prizes, for the totality of her work to date.

She has won various other awards, including the 1987 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for her novel Hidden Symptoms, a 1989 Somerset Maugham Award for writers under 35 years of age for her novel The Birds of the Innocent Wood, and the 1980 Hennessy Literary Award, later (2014) being inducted into the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame. She has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize twice: first in 1997 for her novel One by One in the Darkness then in 2009 for her novel Molly Fox's Birthday. She has been described as "a pivotal voice in Northern Irish writing, her understated yet complex fictions often touching on the religious and political turmoil of the North".

Works Novels Hidden Symptoms (1986) The Birds of the Innocent Wood (1988) Remembering Light and Stone (1993) Nothing Is Black (1994) One by One in the Darkness (1996) Authenticity (2002) Molly Fox's Birthday (2008) Time Present and Time Past (2013)

For children Snake's Elbows (2005) Thanks for Telling Me, Emily (2007) Jasper and the Green Marvel (2011)

As editor All Over Ireland: New Irish Short Stories (2015)

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Trinity College, Dublin, University of East Anglia, St Mary's Grammar School
Awards
Rooney Prize for Irish Literature; Somerset Maugham Award

People in Deirdre Madden's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Deirdre Madden's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Deirdre Madden?

British Irish writer

When was Deirdre Madden born?

Deirdre Madden was born on 20 August 1960.

What is Deirdre Madden's occupation?

Deirdre Madden is a writer.

What nationality is Deirdre Madden?

Deirdre Madden is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Deirdre Madden

· Wikidata: Q1183384

· DBpedia: Deirdre Madden

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Deirdre Madden. https://biography.guide/deirdre-madden/

MLA: "Deirdre Madden." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/deirdre-madden/.

Chicago: "Deirdre Madden." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/deirdre-madden/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:02 UTC