Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern was born on 30 September 1981 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the daughter of Bertie Ahern, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) since 26 June 1997, and is the sister-in-law of Nicky Byrne of Irish popgroup Westlife, who is married to her older sister, Georgina Ahern. In 2000, Cecelia was part of the Irish pop-group Shimma, who finished third in the Irish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Before embarking on her writing career, Cecelia Ahern completed a Degree in Journalism and Media Communications.

At twenty-one, she wrote her debut novel PS, I Love You, published in January 2004, which was sold to over forty countries. The novel was one of the biggest-selling debut novels of 2004, reaching No.1 in Ireland and in the U.K. Sunday Times bestseller list and was selected for the Richard and Judy Summer Read campaign. It was also a bestseller throughout Europe and the U.S.A., staying on the best-seller list in Germany for over 52 weeks. For her debut novel, she was nominated for Best Newcomer 2004/05 at the British Book and in 2006, she was long-listed for the IMPAC award. The film of the same title was optioned by Warner Bros and Wendy Finerman Productions. It has now been made into a motion picture directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates, Gerry Butler, Harry Connick Jr., Gina Gershon and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Cecelia Ahern continues living in Dublin and is currently writing her next novel.