She completed a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford, and also studied film production at the National Film School, Dun
Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
Macken likes mysteries, twists in the tale, the supernatural, and the unexplained. She especially enjoys developing characters and creating fictional worlds. Her writing is creepy, humorous and experimental. You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here is her first novel of literary fiction.
Macken currently lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter.
At Electric Lit she tagged seven books about coming of age in a small town, including:
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline WoodsonRead about another entry on the list.
Jacqueline Woodson was born in Ohio in 1963, but raised between New York and the small town of Greenville, South Carolina, where her mother’s parents lived. Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir told in verse, detailing Woodson’s childhood and her growing awareness of adult relationships, racism, and the emerging civil rights movement. Thememoir also concerns the effect of our surroundings and community on our lives, and the real-life education it can offer to a young person.
When Woodson’s parents separate, she and her siblings move in with Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Georgiana in Greenville. Though she feels content and secure with her grandparents, racism is rife in the town, and she observes her grandfather being disrespected by his coworkers, segregation on buses, and sit-ins taking place in the locality.
Having witnessed the suffering of her loved ones as a consequence of prejudice, Woodson develops an interest in the Black Panther movement, and becomes inspired by activist Angela Davis. Brown Girl Dreaming is an emotional and impactful piece of work about the shaping of our drives, and how an individual becomes motivated to be a part of the solution.
Brown Girl Dreaming is among Laurie Halse Anderson's six favorite books and Sona Charaipotra's ten YA books that will change your life.
--Marshal Zeringue
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