Interview

Emma Donoghue interview: ‘I’m interested in the things that cage people, it makes better stories’

Isolation and seclusion are the recurring themes of the acclaimed Dublin-born author’s new novel Haven, a fictional imagining of the discovery of Skellig Michael by seventh-century monks

Emma Donoghue: ‘It’s funny writing a story of survival which also has this kind of death-seeking underlying message to it.’ Picture: Peter Power/PA

You might expect an author like Emma Donoghue to have more than a few airs and graces. She has, after all, written 12 novels for adults, two for children, and five short story collections, not to mention her academic works, radio and stage plays, and screenwriting. Her awards and accolades are too numerous to count, but include a Booker shortlisting, an IFTA award and, of course, an Oscar nomination for her adapted screenplay Room.

But ...