Edna O'Brien is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short story writer. She is considered the "doyenne" of Irish literature. Philip Roth considers her "the most gifted woman now writing in English", while former President of Ireland Mary Robinson regards her as "one of the great creative writers of her generation."

O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men, and to society as a whole. Her first novel, The Country Girls, is often credited with breaking silence on sexual matters and social issues during a repressive period in Ireland following World War II. The book was banned, burned and denounced from the pulpit, and O'Brien left Ireland behind.

O'Brien now lives in London. She is the recipient of the James Joyce Ulysses Medal as well as, in 2001, the Irish PEN Award. Her short story collection Saints and Sinners won the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the world's richest prize for a short story collection. O'Brien is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Faber and Faber published her memoir, Country Girl, in 2012.