Rónán Hession is an Irish author, musician, and social worker. Although now known primarily as a novelist, Hession also writes literary criticism, short fiction, and a column for The Irish Times. Recent columns include an interview with Nobel Prize winner Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian (2007), We Do Not Part (2025), and Human Acts (2014), and an interview with Booker Prize winner Georgi Gospodinov, best known for his 2020 novel Time Shelter. Hession has additionally published two short stories: “The Translator’s Funeral” appeared in The Irish Times, and “The Christmas Census” was published in The Irish Independent.

In his full-length works, Hession is interested in human nature and human relationships; all his novels explore individual identity and the complexities of familial, romantic, and platonic bonds. His second novel, Panenka (2021), follows an aging protagonist confronting past mistakes and their lasting consequences. It shares with Leonard and Hungry Paul a meditative narrative structure and an interest in parent-child relationships. Although darker in tone than Leonard and Hungry Paul, it offers hope that fractured bonds can be mended and argues that it is possible to change past patterns and forge new relationships even late in life. His third novel, Ghost Mountain (2024), is a marked departure from the realism of his first two novels. The fabulist narrative centers the aftermath of the sudden appearance of a mountain. Much more concerned with interiority than Leonard and Hungry Paul and Panenka, Ghost Mountain looks at the interconnected pieces that come together to create the self.

Hession is also known for his music. Under the stage name Mumblin’ Deaf Ro, he has released three albums. His songs bridge the gap between blues and folk, foregrounding storytelling and in-depth narration. Like his novels, Hession’s music is focused on the everyday, exploring family, relationships, and loss. Many of his songs feature parent-child relationships, and he hopes to create music that people can relate to across generations. His debt to the blues is evident in the musical structure of his songs and albums, but his storytelling pays homage to the traditions of folk. He views his novels as an extension of his composing; he has commented on his interest in similar themes in his music and writing. Hession draws on his experiences as a devoted husband and father for songs especially attuned to marriage and parenting. His album Dictionary Crimes (2012) was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year.