International bestselling Irish author Cecelia Ahern says she is ‘delighted’ to be invited to attend The Queen’s Reading Room festival. Hosted at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire from 19-20 September, the charity’s major event brings renowned novelists like Kate Mosse, Jojo Moyes, Meg Mason, and Elif Shafak together to promote literacy and champion literature.
“I’m so honored to be invited. And I’m really looking forward to it; it’s such an honor to be invited,” said the author of the bestselling novel *P.S. I Love You.
* “And I’m so excited that it’s at Chatsworth, which is such a stunning building.
There’s an incredible list of authors and I will be getting to meet my readers, which I love doing.” She said that getting to catch up with other writers, discussing issues that affect the literary landscape is one of the highlights of attending such literary events.
Championing literature: Queen Camilla. Source: The Crown Chronicles
Ahern is yet to meet The Queen Consort, who launched The Queen’s Reading Room to bring people together on the subjects that have captivated the royal for decades. If The Queen attends the September festival she will be meeting readers who are avid fans of the novelist, while, as a guest of her father, a former Taoiseach, in May 2011, Ahern met the late Queen.
The writer added, “I think it’s amazing that she’s shining a light on books and the importance of reading. I’m always grateful to anybody who puts that so high on their list of importance.”
Eurovision: The Author’s Beginning
Ahern also studied at Griffith College, Dublin where she pursued her Journalism and Media Communications studies. While at the institute she had a stint as a member of Irish girl group Shimma, reaching third in Ireland’s 2000 Eurovision selection contest.
Four years prior the 44-year-old, then at just 21, sent her first manuscript to her agent and it turned into her first novel, P.S. I Love You. Published in 2004, her debut novel sold millions worldwide and was turned into a hugely successful movie that same year starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.
Key Dates in Cecelia Ahern’s Writing Career: 10+ Books Published: She has published numerous other novels and short story collections since her 2004 debut.
Over 25 million Books Sold worldwide: Her books have been translated into more than 50 languages. Screen Adaptations: Her 2004 novel Where Rainbows End was adapted in 2014 as the rom-com Love, Rosie.
Ahern met Queen Elizabeth II, alongside a number of other public figures, as her father’s plus-one at a formal reception held at Dublin Castle to honour The Queen’s state visit in 2011.
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“I met her when I came along as my dad’s date,” Ahern recalled. “I remember that her eyes really captured you; they were very twinkly. She was with Prince Philip and there were hundreds of people to meet, but I felt she was taking in everything, really registering everybody there.”