leeanne o’donnell
Agent: Sian Ellis-Martin
Biography: Leeanne O’ Donnell was born in Dublin and now lives in an old farmhouse on the foothills of a mountain in the remote south west of Ireland. She feeds her cats, dogs, chickens, daughters and wife reasonably regularly - and occasionally waters her poly-tunnel. She has yet to learn to write a proper shopping list but has managed to finish her first novel while hiding in an old caravan in the garden.
SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER was inspired by the magic of the mountain where she lives and the whispers of the ancient stories buried in the surrounding landscape. She is interested in all the big questions like what it means to be alive, and which crisps go best with a pint of Murphy’s stout. In SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER she explores the liminal spaces between magic and reality, spirit and matter, love and lust.
She started her storytelling career working in radio with RTE and BBC - and has made a number of award winning documentaries for RTE’s Doc on One series. Notably THE LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN about two Irish aristocrats who ran away together in the 18th century and DIVING AND FALLING about dancer and artist Lucia Joyce. She is also a trained psychotherapist and is frequently awed by the sacred work of helping people to understand and transform their own real-life stories.