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Kate Kerrigan is the nom de plume of Morag Prunty. Books published under the name Kate Kerrigan include "Recipes for a Perfect Marriage" (Pan MacMillan 2005), "The Miracle of Grace" (Pan MacMillan 2007), "Ellis Island: A Novel" (Pan MacMillan 2009), and "City of Hope" (Pan MacMillan 2012). Kate Kerrigan currently lives in Killala, County Mayo, Ireland, with her husband and two sons. She writes a weekly column, Keeping It Together for the Thursday Femail section of the Irish Mail, as well as a Sunday column every other Sunday.

Early Life
Morag was born on 19 July 1964 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland to Irish parents, both of whom were teachers. The family moved to Hendon in North West London when Kate was two years old. She left school after her O-level Exams, just before her sixteenth birthday, after a disastrous school career and went into hairdressing. Morag worked in local North London hair salons and the Smile salon in Knightsbridge. As a colorist her clients included many celebrities and pop singers, including Martin Shaw, Cilla Black, Janet Street-Porter, designer Jasper Conron, Kim Wilde, Peter Gabriel, and American actor Divine.

Magazine Career
Morag Prunty’s first article was published in 1983 in Just Seventeen when she was nineteen, catalyzing a career in magazines. While working as a freelance journalist, she landed her first full-time magazine position as the beauty editor of the launch edition of Best (Gruner + Jahr). In 1986, she became the youngest ever editor of a national women’s magazine when she took the helm of Looks (Emap-Metro) at twenty-two years old. That year she was nominated for BSME Youth Editor, but lost to the fledgling Viz magazine. Prunty took over More! from the launch editor, Wendy Bristow, in 1988, relaunching the magazine with great sales success. In 1990, Prunty moved to the editor position of Just Seventeen, the flagship title for Metro. During her time with Metro she was nominated twice for the BSME Awards, but never won. However, she went on to win EMAP’s own Editor of the Year twice.

Editor of the Irish Tatler
In 1991, Morag moved to Dublin to relaunch the Irish Tatler (IT), where she remained as editor until her marriage to graphic designer and artist Niall Kerrigan in 1999. Shortly after the publication of Marion Keyes’ first book, Watermelon, the author moved back to Dublin and began writing for IT. Her time with Morag and the IT offices served as inspiration for her fifth book, Sushi for Beginners. During Prunty's tenure at Irish Tatler, she continued to work as a consultant in the UK for publisher Mary Keane-Dawson on various corporate publications, as well as editing Superquinn and U magazines. In 1998, Kerrigan oversaw the publication of the landmark centenary issue of IT, celebrating its achievement as the oldest continually published magazine in Ireland. To mark the event, she gathered together one hundred women “who changed the face of Ireland”. The issue caused some controversy when it was suggested that some of Ireland's most influential women were left off the list.

Morag Prunty
In 1993 Prunty published her first book. Boys: A Users Guide (Piccadilly Press) is a guide aimed at helping young girls deal with their first relationships with boys. It went on to be published in ten different languages. In early 2000, Prunty was signed to a six figure book deal with Pan Macmillan Publishing House for four raunchy, comedic “chicklit” books: Dancing with Mules [Wildcats and Colleens (Harper Collins) in the United States], Disco Daddy, Poison Arrows, and Superstar Lovers - all published under her own name Morag Prunty.

"Recipes for a Perfect Marriage"
Morag changed her working name to Kate Kerrigan after she wrote Recipes for a Perfect Marriage which was released in 2006. This novel marked the beginning of her trend towards more serious, introspective novels. The rights for Recipes for a Perfect Marriage were immediately sold to Augustine Films in America, where Liam Nielson expressed interest in playing the lead role. The book has been translated into twenty-five languages, and was nominated for Romantic Novel of the Year in the UK on the year of its release. It is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity and has been re-released in paperback and as an ebook in the UK in March 2012. The ebook will be released in America by Hyperion in June 2012.

Due to the marked differences of Recipes for a Perfect Marriage in theme and material from Kerrigan’s previous books, her publishers at Pan MacMillan urged her to adopt a pen name. Thus, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage is the first book to be published under the name Kate Kerrigan. The name Kate is derived from Kerrigan’s middle name, Katherine, and Kerrigan is her husband’s surname. However, Hyperion published Recipes for a Perfect Marriage in America under the name Morag Prunty.

"The Miracle of Grace"
" The Miracle of Grace'' was published in 2007 and was inspired by her close relationship with her Irish mother. With Irish Film Board funding, Kerrigan collaborated in developing a screenplay for this novel with fellow novelist and screenwriter Helen Falconer and it is currently in development with Irish production company Newgrange Pictures.

The "Ellis Island" Trilogy
In 2009, Ellis Island: A Novel was released. Channel 4 TV chose it as a Book Club Summer Read. Its sequel, City of Hope, launched in trade paperback in Ireland in October 2011, and in paperback in the UK in March 2012. Kate Kerrigan is currently working on the third book in the Ellis Island trilogy, Land of Dreams, which is due for publication in early 2013. All of Kate Kerrigan’s books have been widely acclaimed and published into many different languages.

Personal Tragedy
Kate Kerrigan became pregnant with her second child at forty-five in 2009, and soon after her younger brother died unexpectedly. Her family also suffered the additional loss of several other close family members. As a result of this tumultuous year, Kerrigan struggled with depression. She began writing a column about her experiences in the Irish Daily Mail called Keeping It Together. The column continues to date, along with regular Sunday commentary pieces. In addition to her fiction, this has inspired Kate to write a memoir, which she hopes to publish in the future.

TV and Radio Appearances
Kate Kerrigan has been chosen as a writing mentor for the RTE series A Story With Me In It (Animo Productions). The episode is due to air in April 2012. As a media person she has appeared often as a pundit on Irish and British radio and television including Channel 4 Bookclub, The Gay Byrne Show, Marion Finucane, Moncrieff, and TV3 AM.