BIO: Born in Dublin in 1957, Mary Morrissy's literary work includes a collection of short stories, "A Lazy Eye," and an exceptional novel, "Mother of Pearl." Morrissy's fiction has been described as an intricate and often disturbing interior portrait of isolated working class women in Ireland. "Mother of Pearl," a novel about a disappearance of a baby born to an unhappy marriage in 1950s Ireland, was recommended by the magazine "Irish America." Since their introduction in 1989, the Lannan Literary Awards have honored many writers and distributed prizes to writers the Foundation believes have made a significant contribution to English-language literature. The Lannan Foundation was established in 1960 by Irish-American J. Patrick Lannan, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist. Mary Morrissy, the "Irish Times" journalist and authoress was named one of the 10 winners of the 1995 Lannan Literary Awards, the U.S. based prize for writers of poetry, fiction and nonfiction in the English language. The award is granted for the body of a writer's work, and not a single book. Morrissy received a cash prize and joined a small group of Irish writers that included Eavan Boland, Seamus Heaney and Derek Mahon who have won that prize.