LAURA McKENNA is a writer of fiction and poetry and worked for many years as a child psychiatrist. Words to Shape My Name was longlisted for the 2019 Bath Novel Award and was a winner at the 2020 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair. She is the recipient of Tyrone Guthrie, Cork County Council, John Montague Mentorship (Munster Literature Centre) and Arts Council bursaries. Twice nominated for a Hennessy Literary Award and a Forward Prize for poetry, Laura's work has been published in The RTÉ Guide, Southword, Banshee and New Irish Writing.