Oh, this is where I should list a bunch of awards I’ve won or been nominated for, so I can appear more credible to you, right? OK so…
Honorary Doctorate of Law from the National University of Ireland, 2018 – In recognition of my writing and advocacy for women’s rights
Creative Writing Awards
Shortlisted for The Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award 2023 for outstanding second novel – For Complicit
Winner of The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2017 – For my debut novel Dark Chapter. Awarded annually through a combination of public vote and judging panel.
Nominated for The Edgar Awards 2018 in the Best First Novel category – For Dark Chapter. These are the premier awards in the US for mystery & crime writing, run by the Mystery Writers of America.
Shortlisted for The Author’s Club Best First Novel Award 2018 – For Dark Chapter
2nd Place for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2016 – Awarded biennially to an unpublished fiction manuscript by a Black or Asian woman. For the unpublished manuscript of Dark Chapter.
Highly Commended for the CWA Debut Dagger 2015 – Awarded to a debut novelist by the Crime Writers’ Association. This was based on the opening and synopsis of Dark Chapter.
Shortlisted for the James White Award 2015 – Awarded to an unpublished science fiction short story by the British Science Fiction Association and Interzone magazine. This was for my short story “White Fur.”
Shortlisted for the Pat Kavanagh Prize 2015 – Awarded annually to a graduate of the Goldsmiths MA in Creative and Life Writing course by United Agents. This was based on my final portfolio, which consisted of extracts from what would later become Dark Chapter.
Arts Grants
Arts Council England ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Grant
Royal Society of Literature, ‘Literature Matters’ Grant
Arts Council England Project Grant
Arts Council of Northern Ireland – Individual Artist Award
Activism Awards
Winner of the Write to End Violence Against Women Awards 2022 in journalism This was my winning essay: The Emotional Labour of Dealing with the Media
Nominated for Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year Awards 2017 (Special Recognition)
Shortlisted for the Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2016 (Social & Humanitarian category) – For my work as Co-Founder of the Clear Lines Festival and elsewhere on the issue of sexual assault.
Shortlisted for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize 2015 (Individual Award) – Awarded to an individual whose writing challenges male violence against women.
Shortlisted for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize 2015 (Group Award) – The festival I co-founded, Clear Lines, was recognized for our work to address male violence against women.
Academic Distinctions
ESRC Doctoral Training Centre Grant at the London School of Economics – I have been awarded three years’ of funding by the Economic and Social Research Council to pursue my PhD at the LSE’s Department of Media and Communications, starting in October 2015. I’ll be researching the impact of social media on the public dialogue around rape.
George Mitchell Scholarship – In 2000, I was one of 12 American students selected as a George Mitchell Scholar to pursue graduate study in Ireland, in the inaugural year of the fellowship. This was awarded by the US-Ireland Alliance to introduce future American leaders to Ireland.
Selected for the Leverhulme Trust seminar at the London School of Economics – A core cross-cohort interdisciplinary seminar in association with the International Inequalities Institute, which regularly meets to examine economic, social, cultural, and political inequalities in a global context.
Phi Beta Kappa – Selected in my Junior year at Harvard for academic excellence
MA (Distinction) in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2014.
MA (First Class Honours) in English at the National University of Ireland, Cork, 2001 – My area of study was Gender and Sexuality in Irish Writing.
AB (Summa Cum Laude) in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University, 2000 – My special field was Celtic Languages and Literature.
Film awards
Selected for the Film London Emerging Producers Training Programme 2008
I’m not going to list all of them, but the films I’ve worked on have won various awards, including:
Vagabond Shoes (20 min, 2005) – Shortlisted (final 10) for Academy Awards 2007, Best Live Action short. Nominated for BAFTA Scotland Best Short Film. Winner of Kodak BAFTA Short Film Showcase: Best Film and Best Cinematography. And 13 other festival awards.
Cashback (19 min, 2004 and 104 min, 2006) – The feature tied for Best Narrative Feature at the Bermuda Film Festival 2007. The short was nominated for the Academy Awards 2006, Best Live Action Short. Won Gold Hugo for Best Narrative Short at the Chicago International Film Festival 2004 and Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival 2005. And 14 other festival awards.
The Broken (93 min, 2008) – Won Best Cinematography and nominated for Best Film at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival 2008.