In Reading Rites, Evelyn Conlon brings her wit and keen intelligence to the task of exploring her life, drawing on the events, people, books and concerns that have made her the writer she is. Part memoir, part manifesto, it is full of the sharp observation, restless questioning and hard-won wisdom that have made her one of Ireland's finest writers.

"Writers live as the work dictates, a solitary, sometimes deeply frustrating life, with moments of secret joy when the sentence hits the note, gets the meaning exactly as required."

For over five decades, Evelyn Conlon has reveled in the secret joy of writing and in the power of a well-crafted story. Hers has been a life of literature, travel and of challenging authority, including campaigning for women's reproductive rights in Ireland and for an end to the death penalty in the US.

Reading Rites offers the reader an unflinching and unapologetic account of a woman happily perched on the outside of society. Witty, humorous and always honest, it is an insight into one of Ireland's finest and most compelling storytellers, and the personal, cultural and political forces that have made her the writer she is.