Trinity graduate and Irish author Sally Rooney has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2022.
Rooney has penned three best-selling novels since 2017 which have been met with critical acclaim, with two of the novels since adapted into television series.
The Trinity alum was named in the “Titans” category of the distinguished list. Other figures included in this category were Apple CEO Tim Cook and talk-show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey.
Actor and author, Lena Dunham, praised Rooney’s writing in a tribute to the Mayo-born author for the magazine. Dunham described Rooney as a “writer who speaks such basic truths—in such skillful prose”.
“She [Rooney] won’t just be the hottest young novelist of the year—she will be a permanent fixture, not just as a hardback in the hands of appealing youth but as a critic in the collective conscience.”
This honour follows the release of the television adaptation of Rooney’s debut novel Conversations With Friends in May, which stars Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn.
The series is currently airing on RTÉ One, with two half-hour instalments released each Wednesday.
Filming on College campus took place over four days in June and July of 2021, in locations including Front Gate, the Berkeley library and the cricket pitch.
Rooney’s novel follows two Trinity students, Frances and Bobbi, who unexpectedly form a bond with a married couple, Melissa and Nick.
The new series comes after the global success of Rooney’s first TV adaptation Normal People in the summer of 2020, with over 62 million streams on BBC iPlayer.
Normal People told the story of Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, two Trinity students who have an on-again/off-again relationship throughout their leaving certificate and College years.
The series was directed by Lenny Abrahamson, who has continued in the same role in Conversations with Friends.
Normal People won numerous awards, with lead actor Paul Mescal, who is also a Trinity graduate, picking up both an Emmy and a BAFTA for his work. Actress Daisy Edgar Jones, who played the character Marrianne, won a Golden Globe award for her role in the show.
Rooney’s most recent novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, published in September 2021, sold nearly 50,000 copies in the UK within its first week and was one of the best-selling novels of 2021.
