Marita Conlon-McKenna  Marita Conlon-McKenna (born 5 November 1956) is an award-winning Irish author of children's books and adult fiction. She is best known for her Famine-era historical children's book "Under the Hawthorn Tree", the first book of the "Children of the Famine" trilogy, which was published in 1990 and achieved immediate success. Praised for its child-accessible yet honest depiction of the Great Famine, "Under the Hawthorn Tree" has been translated into over a dozen languages and is taught in classrooms worldwide. Conlon-McKenna went on to be a prolific writer and has published over 20 books for both young readers and adults. Her debut adult novel "Magdalen" was published in 1999. Conlon-McKenna was born in Dublin and raised in Goatstown. She attended school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Mount Anville. She excelled at school but deferred a place at university to care for her father. She married James McKenna at age 20 and had jobs in the family business, in a bank, and with a travel agency. She took an interest in writing and enrolled in writing classes in UCD, including courses in Anglo-Irish literature, women's studies and children's literature. While a mother of young children, she began writing a picture book for her daughter. She credits Dr Pat Donlon, director of the Children's Literature course, with encouraging and supporting her to publish her work. The inspiration for her first children's novel "Under the Hawthorn Tree" came when she heard a radio report on the discovery of an unmarked grave under a hawthorn tree, where three children from the Famine era were buried. "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was a worldwide success and sold over 250,000 copies in the Irish market alone, earning its status as a classic children's novel. Conlon-McKenna went on to write more books for young readers. Her characters are often depicted in challenging situations or life events. Among her historical children's books are "Safe Harbour", set during World War II, which was shortlisted for the Bisto Book of the Year Award, and two follow-up books to "Under the Hawthorn Tree: Wildflower Girl" and "Fields of Home", which completed the "Children of the Famine" trilogy. Other children's books include "The Blue Horse", which won the Bisto Irish Book of the Year Award and reached the top of the bestseller's list in 1993, "No Goodbye", and "A Girl Called Blue".