Ed O'Loughlin

Ed O’Loughlin is an Irish-Canadian author and journalist.[1] His first novel, Not Untrue and Not Unkind, dealt with foreign journalists reporting on African conflicts.[2][3] It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2009[4] and shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Fiction award in 2010.[4]

A second novel, Toploader, was a dark satire on drone warfare and the war against terror.[5] A third novel, Minds of Winter,[6] a multi-generational polar mystery story, was longlisted for the Sir Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction[7] and shortlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize.[8] His fourth novel, This Eden, a metaphysical thriller about money and technology, will be published in June 2021.[9]

Before turning to fiction, O’Loughlin worked for twenty years as a newspaper reporter, including fourteen years as a foreign correspondent in Africa and the Middle East for the Sydney Morning Herald, Age of Melbourne, Independent of London, The Irish Times, and others.[10]

Born in Toronto, he was brought up near Kildare Town in rural Ireland. He now lives in Dublin with his wife and two children.[10] Following the success of Minds of Winter, with its themes of mapping and exploration, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.[11]

Since returning to Dublin, he has reported on Ireland for the Atlantic, the Economist, and the New York Times,[12] and he reviews non-fiction for the Irish Times and the Times Literary Supplement, among others.