About Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue writes novels, screenplays, plays and studies literary history. In addition to Room, her 1995 novel Hood earned the Stonewall Book Award, and her 2000 book Slammerkin won the Ferro‑Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction. She received the Alex Awards in 2011. Donoghue turned Room into a movie and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2025 she was honored with the Alice B Readers Award for her consistently well‑written works about lesbians.
![“I wrote the novel [Room], and then I thought, "This could work on film, and I want to be the one to do it." So I went ahead and drafted it.” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/c50/emma-donoghue-1499_books_i-wrote-the-novel-room-and-then-i-though_2090397.png)
![“Seriously, I think what all the puzzling over parenthood I had to do to write [a novel] ROOM taught me is that children can thrive in a remarkable range of situations.” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/4ad/emma-donoghue-1499_children_seriously-i-think-what-all-the-puzzling_2099691.png)
![“Feminism is still one of those taboo words, so hardly anybody talks about it. People usually go gender-neutral and say the book and film [Room] are about "the triumph of the human spirit.” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/8a1/emma-donoghue-1499_book_feminism-is-still-one-of-those-taboo-wor_2879181.png)
![“I say "on principle" [regarding 'lesbian writer'] because whenever you get one of your minority labels applied, like "Irish Writer," "Canadian Writer," "Woman Writer," "Lesbian Writer" - any of those categories - you always slightly wince because you're afraid that people will think that means…” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a69/emma-donoghue-1499_canada_i-say-on-principle-regarding-lesbian-wri_3102220.png)
![“I needed to do a lot of saying no. I had a lot of [interest] from people who I just didn't think were quite right for it. And I didn't want a bad film to be made of the book, either a sentimental one or a creepy one, so I did a lot of, "No thank you." Then when the right filmmaker came along, yes…” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/d91/emma-donoghue-1499_book_i-needed-to-do-a-lot-of-saying-no-i-had_1728911.png)
![“He [Ma's Tooth] was part of her a minute ago but now he's not. Just a thing.” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/4d1/emma-donoghue-1499_minutes_he-ma-s-tooth-was-part-of-her-a-minute-a_1764261.png)
