Following her recent win at the Irish Book Awards, Cecelia Ahern opened up about the cosmic origins of her new story and the realities of life in the publishing industry. The beloved novelist shared how a single phrase from an astronomer inspired a journey of self-discovery set against the backdrop of a small Irish bogland town.
Authors get inspiration from all kinds of random places, and for bestseller Cecelia Ahern and her latest book, the seed of the idea was planted during a talk given by an astronomer in the UK about finding "signals from a distant star".
“That phrase to me, signal from a distant star, was just one of those things that went ping pinging around my head and sparked up all kinds of thoughts. I wrote it down because I thought it would be a beautiful title. And it was the title of this book until the very end… I loved the whole astronomy part of it, how we are getting signals from stars and what that means, and why we’re searching for them. And I wanted to set a book in that world,” she explains.
The book "Paper Heart", recently named Winner of the Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year 2025, tells the story of Pip, a young woman living a very small life. For years, she has tucked away her dreams, shrinking herself into the space left behind – like the delicate origami she creates alone in her room. Then hope comes from an unlikely place: an astronomer from the local observatory. He teaches her to look up at the stars, and to see a world far bigger and more beautiful than she ever imagined.
Cecelia says, “So many of us are waiting for a sign to tell us to do something. And we don't always just make life happen ourselves. Sometimes we can sit there too long waiting and life passes us by…. Pip is someone who has so many dreams, hopes, desires. She’s so passionate about things, but she’s literally just sitting there and waiting and everything’s passing her by.”
Listen to Celia Ahern speak to "Natter" podcast here:
The story is firmly rooted in a small Irish bogland town where traditional cultures are being forced to move with the times for environmental reasons, creating conflict between those who want to grasp tightly to the right to work their land and those who are ready to embrace change.
Then Pip’s new friend, the astronomer, teaches her to look up for the first time, and, by doing so, to get out of the passenger seat and into the driver’s seat of her own life.
“He teaches her that it’s not just about her town, or even about Ireland. It’s not even about this world, it’s about the whole universe and her place in it. It’s so much bigger than she imagined.”
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Cecelia was speaking to writers Kate Durrant and Michelle McDonagh on Irish books podcast Natter with Kate and Michelle, produced in association with Bookstation, Ireland’s fastest growing and best value bookseller, and IrishCentral, your daily source for all things Irish.
Since her debut international bestseller "P.S. I Love You" was published in 2004, Cecelia Ahern has gone on to sell over 25 million copies of her books in 37 languages, and there can be few readers worldwide who haven't encountered her impressive body of work. "P.S. I Love You" was also a hit on the big screen, as was her second novel, "Where Rainbows End", which screened as "Love, Rosie". She is also the author of a highly acclaimed collection of stories, "Raw", which is now an Apple original series starring Nicole Kidman.
However, while her head may often be in one of her stories, the former Taoiseach’s daughter’s feet remain very much on the ground. She lives with her husband, children, and her poodle (and writing companion) Buddy, in the North County Dublin village of Malahide, where she grew up. She loves walking, particularly by the sea, and feels ‘blessed’ to live where she does and to have ‘the job’ she has.
Despite the phenomenal success of her career, Cecelia is no stranger to rejection and the highs and lows of the publishing industry. As well as her novels, she’s constantly working on her own original material for TV and film and sending it out, and continually dealing with rejection.
“But it depends how you look at rejection. It depends what the project is, but if I hear a no, it’s not for us, I'm like, okay, well, who is it for then? What other way can I tell the story? And maybe it's a short story. I don't just take the no. I’m constantly pivoting, but that's not to say I’m not desperately disappointed. It is a roller coaster, this publishing life. So you know, you're going to come down, but you’re going to go back up again and you’re going to come down, you’re going to go up. That’s just the way it is.”
You can purchase "Paper Heart" by Cecelia Ahern at Bookstation. Listen to Cecelia’s interview on Natter with Kate and Michelle now at Acast or on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @NatterWithKateAndMichelle or Facebook.
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