Rooney. Padraig. The Escape Artist. First Edition. Huddersfield, Smith/Doorstop Books, 2006. Octavo. 56 pages. Original Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Padraig Rooney (born 1956) is an Irish poet, short-story writer and novelist who was born in Monaghan, Ireland. Rooney was born in Monaghan, Ireland and studied at Maynooth College and at the Sorbonne. He has travelled extensively all his life, living in Paris, Bangkok, Yokohama, Rome, Budapest and, latterly, in Switzerland. He was the recipient of two Irish Arts Council bursaries. He has taught abroad for many years and currently resides in Switzerland as an IB English teacher. He won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1986, the Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition in 2005 and the Strokestown International Poetry Prize in 2009. (Wikipedia).