About Betsy Cornwell

Betsy Cornwell is a New York Times bestselling author of six literary YA novels and a memoir. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame and a BA from Smith College, and currently teaches at the University of Galway, the Irish Writers Centre, and online. She also serves as a mentor for the Irish Writers Centre and was the first recipient of their Blue Mountains (Australia) Residency in 2023. She received the Markievicz Award in 2024 for her work on Ring of Salt: A Memoir of Finding Home and Hope on the Wild Coast of Ireland, which the Irish Times called “extraordinarily moving, exquisitely written, and socially revolutionary.” Betsy is the founder of The Old Knitting Factory, an arts residency and retreat space for single parents in the west of Ireland, where she lives with her young son.