Having been shortlisted for the first writing competition she entered during her fourth year of school, Álanna Hammel fell into writing at a young age. From this, she soon joined writer's groups in Wexford that gave her the opportunity to perform her work and network with some of the biggest names in Irish contemporary writing. Álanna's work has been featured in several anthologies, newspapers and magazines around Ireland as well as abroad. She dabbles in poetry, academic writing, literary translation, prose and most recently theatre.
In 2021 Álanna started her podcast The Art of Conversation which gives artists of all genres a platform to discuss their work ad encourage others. She has chaired writing and podcasting workshops along with open-mic nights around Leinster for four years now. In 2022, she was appointed editor of the literary anthology  The Wexford Bohemian. She is currently studying Irish and French in Trinity College Dublin.

PRAISE FOR CRUEL & VICIOUS

"With startling and freshly unique imagery Álanna Hammel captures the deep and the real with an all-encompassing vigour. Her sense of rhythm, intelligent use of rhyme, alliteration and assonance reveals an accomplished and cultivated style. Her ability to catch and hold the reader's attention is imaginative and revitalising as she challenges the reader to think while simultaneously illustrating gems of wisdom and insights. Álanna Hammel's work is a breath of fresh air in a sometimes stagnant and predictable field and she exhibits skilful, natural rawness and groundbreaking originality.She is most definitely one to watch." - ANNE IRETON

"Álanna Hammel’s debut poetry pamphlet reflects on lived experiences and invites us to find amusement at our own expense. In a compelling voice, this collection meditates on life and writing. Throughout, Hammel underlines the struggle to make meaning or sense of poetry, yet in doing so she succeeds. This is a pamphlet of multitudes: from lost schooldays to the green shoots of college life in Two Lattés and a Lemon Meringue, from the wonder of crafting poetry to the sense of exasperation at not knowing 'the rules.' Taken together it is a collection that asks the reader to go beyond the binary of either/or and embrace a sense of both within the same space. Hammel’s work speaks to trial and error in a wonderfully playful collection that flows with wit. Her poetry captures the tonal range of youth and she brings the reader with her in her lyrical debut that vibrates with energy." - GRÁINNE DALY