Occupation Author Name Orna Ross Education University College Dublin | Nationality Irish Role Author | |
Alma mater University College Dublin Books After the Rising, Blue Mercy, F‑R‑E‑E‑Writing Notebook: A Go Cre, Before the Fall, After the Rising & Before th | ||
Self publishing independent publishing and empowering the author with orna ross
Orna Ross (born Aine McCarthy, 1960) is an Irish author, former literary agent, blogger and an advocate for creativism. She is the founder of the Alliance for 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.
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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.
Writing career
Ross published her first two books, A Lover’s Hollow and A Dance in Time, with Penguin Books. In 2012 she self-published the first two books in a forthcoming trilogy, The Irish Trilogy I: After the Rising and The Irish Trilogy II: Before the Fall, She has since gone on to self-publish her next two works of fiction, Blue Mercy and The Secret Rose, a tribute to W.B. Yeats.
In 2015, 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, family drama sagas that have been lauded by the Sunday Independent, Irish Times, RTE Guide and many other review outlets .
Alliance for 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 for 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.
Fiction
Poetry
Non-fiction
Podcast appearances
Personal life
She has been married for over thirty years, and has two children named Ornagh and Ross (whose names she combines to use as her pen name). She currently lives and writes in London.