An Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of 10 novels for adults, 7 books for children, 7 plays and screenplays and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. His work is set primarily in Ireland, especially working-class Dublin, and is notable for its heavy use of dialogue written in slang and Irish English dialect. He was awarded the Booker Prize in 1993 for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.