Born in 1962 in Dublin, Anne Enright has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood, about the birth of her two children. Her writing explores themes such as family, love, identity and motherhood. She has written seven novels, three short story collections, and a book of essays, as well as contributing stories and articles to various newspapers and magazines. 

After studying in British Columbia for two years on an international scholarship, she earned a BA in English and Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. She began writing in earnest when she was given an electric typewriter for her 21st birthday. She won a Chevening Scholarship to the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing Course, where she studied under Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury and completed an MA degree.

Enright was a television producer and director in Dublin for six years, producing adult and children’s programs while writing on weekends. Her full-time career as a writer came about when she left television due to a breakdown, later remarking: “I recommend it...having a breakdown early. If your life just falls apart early on, you can put it together again. It's the people who are always on the brink of crisis and don't hit bottom who are in trouble.”

She is married to Martin Murphy, a theater director and adviser to the Arts Council of Ireland. They have a son and daughter. She has described her working practice as “rocking the pram with one hand and typing with the other.”

Enright has won the Man Booker Prize, the Rooney Award for Irish Literature, Irish Novel of the Year, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, among others. She is currently a professor of creative writing at University College Dublin.