September 2008

Dear Editor/Producer,

In the spellbinding tradition of Frank Delaney, Colleen McCullough, and Maeve Binchy comes a poignant historical family saga set against the backdrop of the Great Irish Starvation, shedding brilliant light on the ancestors of today's 44 million Irish Americans.

In the 1839 Ireland of GALWAY BAY by Mary Pat Kelly (Grand Central Publishing Hardcover; February 9, 2009; $26.99), young Honora Kelly and Michael Kelly wed and start a family, selling their potato crops to survive.

When blight destroys the potatoes three times in four years, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn a natural disaster into The Great Starvation that will leave one million dead. Honora and Michael’s family join two million other Irish refugees in one of the greatest rescues in human history: the Irish Emigration to America. Danger and hardship await them upon landing in Chicago. Honora and her sister Maire watch their seven sons as they transform Chicago from a frontier town to the "City of the Century", fight the Civil War, and enlist in the cause of Ireland's freedom.

GALWAY BAY is the story of one Irish family's epic journey, capturing the tragedy and triumph of the Irish-American experience. It is a story of people living through incredibly turbulent times who have everything taken away from them, a story of what someone will do to overcome adversity, and how they find strength when circumstances demand it.

Mary Pat Kelly has written and directed award-winning documentaries on Irish subjects, as well as the dramatic feature Proud. She was an associate producer on Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, wrote nonfiction books on Martin Scorsese, World War II, and Bosnia, and a novel based on her experiences as a former nun called Special Intentions. Kelly is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine and has a PhD in English and Irish literature. She lives in New York City.

Sincerely,

Elly Weisenberg

Senior Publicist

212-364-1570/elly.weisenberg@hbgusa.com