Orna Ross

Orna Ross is the pen name of Aine McCarthy, born 1960. She is an Irish author, former university teacher and advocate for creativism. She is the founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors, a professional association for authors who self-publish their work, and has been named one of the top 100 most influential people in publishing by The Bookseller, the UK publishing trade magazine.

Early life Ross was born in Waterford, Ireland and was raised in Murrintown, County Wexford. She attended Murrintown National School and the Loreto Convent Wexford. She completed two degrees at the University College Dublin, including a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies. She also worked for some years as a lecturer in culture and creativity studies at UCD, teaching a groundbreaking Creative & Imaginative Practice course that forms the basis of her Go Creative! book series.

She is related to author and historian Nicholas Furlong as well as director of Tandem Press Paula Panczenko.

Career

Writing career Ross published her first two books, A Lover's Hollow and A Dance in Time, with Penguin Books. Ross published a double special edition work titled Secret Rose as a tribute to W. B. Yeats in 2015 which compiles Yeats' The Secret Rose (1897) and Ross' Her Secret Rose (2015).

That same year, Ross contributed a volume to Outside the Box: Women Writing Women. She collaborated on the box set of novels with six other female writers. Ross' works of fiction are often set in her home country of Ireland and have won multiple awards like the CAP Carousel Award and Goethe Grand Prize (2021). Her family drama sagas have been lauded by the Sunday Independent, Irish Times, RTÉ Guide and many other review outlets.

Orna Ross is also a poet and a creative practitioner. Ross has published multiple poetry collections over the years, each collection on a different topic: motherhood, love, loss and new beginnings. Her work Allowing Now has won the Gold Award at the Literary Titan Book Awards Ross also practises and teaches 'creativism' through her work under Go Creative! She defines 'creativism' as the conscious application of creative principles to everything in life.

Alliance of Independent Authors Ross believes strongly in the benefits of self-publishing for authors both established and just starting out in their careers. In 2012, she launched the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), a not-for-profit organization that aims to protect the rights of writers and promote self-published books.

In her capacity as the head of ALLi, she has advised the BBC on publishing costs for an independent author. In 2014, she was referred to by The Guardian as an "indie star" of the writing world, and featured on the Guardian Books Podcast.

Works and appearances

Fiction Lovers’ Hollow, Penguin, 2005 A Dance in Time, Penguin, 2008 After the Rising, Orna Ross, 2012 Before the Fall, Orna Ross, 2012 Blue Mercy, Orna Ross, 2013

Poetry Ten Thoughts About Love, Orna Ross, 2011 Ten More Thoughts About Love, Orna Ross, 2013 Ten More Thoughts About Love 2, Orna Ross, 2013 Poetry for Christmas: Twelve Inspirational Poems for the Holiday Season, Orna Ross, 2013 First Flush: Sample Inspirational Poetry, Orna Ross, 2019 Keepers: Selected Inspirational Poetry, Orna Ross, 2018 Allowing Now: A Book of Mindfulness Poetry, Orna Ross, 2019 Bright Star: Inspirational Poetry, Orna Ross, 2019 Night Light As It Rises, Orna Ross, 2022 The Light of Love, Orna Ross, 2023 Circle of Life, Orna Ross, 2022

Non-fiction F-R-E-E Writing Notebook: A Go! Creative Tool. OrnaRoss, 2013 Opening Up To Indie Authors: A Guide for Bookstores, Libraries, Reviewers, Literary Event Organisers ... and Self-Publishing Writers, Alliance for Independent Authors, 2013 (with Dan Holloway and Debbie Young) Choosing A Self Publishing Service 2014: The Alliance of Independent Authors Guide. Alliance for Independent Authors, 2014 (with Mick Rooney and GiacomoGiammatteo) A Compendium For Creativists: How To Apply Creative Principles to Life: An Anthology, Orna Ross, 2015 Creative Self-Publishing (3rd Edition), 2023 SelfPub3: Author Business Campaign, 2023 Go Creative! Planning Workbook for Authors & Poets, 2023 Go Creative! Monthly Mapping for Authors & Poets, 2023 Go Creative! Quarterly Review & Forecast for Authors & Poets, 2023 How Authors Sell Publishing Rights (2nd Edition), 2024

Podcast appearances Guardian Books Podcast (9 May 2014): Indie stars Hugh Howey, Orna Ross and Catherine Quinn explore how self-publishing is changing the literary landscape (Podcast) Creative Penn by Joanna Penn (2014): Creating Money, Creating Meaning. Getting Into Financial Flow With Orna Ross

Personal life McCarthy is married and has two children. She currently lives and writes in London. In 2008, she revealed her breast cancer diagnosis.